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Amaros -> RE: Question on Christian post??? (12/3/2005 8:27:30 AM)
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Good post Anthrosub. As far as I'm aware, "Xian", or "Xtian" is merely a term for generic Christian, ro Christianlike ideologies, as the number of Christian churches, sects, cults, and various ofshoots, most of whom differ bitterly over dogmatic minutia is truely boggling.
In any case, I believe "Xian" is simply lumping all dogmatic and outspoken religious people under a single title, not exactly sure. I think it's post modernist expression, and not strictly intended to be disparaging - though perhaps it has come to posess that quality, simply by virtue of the fact that it is mostly the critics of Christian activism that use it.
Everyone is tiptoeing around the fact that there is definite friction between organized religion and and alternative sexual lfestyles: organized religion has felt licence to slander, persecute and even kill, from time to time, those they define as sexually devient throughout history - i.e., there's some bad blood there.
I've noted a few people in here identifying themselves as Christians in here, so it's perhpas a topic best left alone, although I imagine that given the nature of the organizing principle of this site, many of it's members have experienced persecution from organized religion - this is definitely the case with myself, and I am one of those who harbors some bitterness toward organized religion and it's activists, and that sense of self rightous entitlement with which many Christians online and off tends to set me off when I encounter it.
As far as I'm concerned, it's an ideology/philosophy on par any other ideology/philosophy, and not entitled to any automatic respect simply because it's adherents believe they deserve it - respect has to be earned, and with respect to the many variations of Christianity as mentioned above, and the many different sorts of people who identify with Christianity, it's on the shoulders of Christians, I believe, to behave themselves and not come down like Moses with the law - I'm a gnostic Christan myself, come by the hard way: I try not to hit anybody over the head with it; it's my personal choice, not permission to act like an ass, or have a chip on my shoulder.
The Greek "Christos" begins with the Greek letter "Chi", sybolized by "X", and has a long history of usage in Christianity - thus "Xtian", strictly speaking, is simply a shorthand version of "Christian", not an attempt to "X out" Christians, which doesn't seem to stop Xtians from being offended when they hear it. You're on the internet, if you're not sure, google it.
Being a Christian doesn't give you any special rights, and given organized religions ongoing, and very public attack on sexual variety, and even commonsense prophylactic measures, much of the automatic respect that Christians have perhaps been previously accorded has eroded - these are no longer strictly religious issues, they're political ones, and that's the price you pay for politicking: if you don't want to get muddy, don't jump in the puddle.
If any Christians in here do have any cogent thoughts on how they reconcile their religious principles with their sexual preferences, I'd be happy to hear them - it's not a problem for a gnostic, but as it's neither an organized religion nor a prosthletizing one, I'll refrain from expounding on it.
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