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June 4th, 2012
05:43 PM ET
We don't teach hate, says church where anti-homosexual song filmedBy Ismael Estrada, CNN Greensburg, Indiana (CNN) - About 20 protesters gathered on Sunday outside the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle here to voice opposition to a viral online video that was taped in the church and shows a young child singing song with lyrics that offer a harsh message for homosexuals. The video, which surfaced on YouTube last week, shows a child in front of the congregation, singing "I know that God is right, and somebody's wrong... ain't no homo going to make it to heaven." The congregation erupts in applause at those lines, which the unidentified boy repeats as the pastor looks on. At another point in the video a voice is heard shouting,"That’s my boy." CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories In the first Sunday service since the video surfaced, congregants arrived to the church as protesters jeered them over the video. A church leader, who would not give his name, told CNN that journalists were not allowed inside the church and declined to offer anyone from church leadership to comment on the video. The leader said that he needed to be cautious about letting outsiders into the church because it had received threats over the video and asked CNN to leave the premises. Church videos with harsh words for gays go viral online The local sheriff's office said the church had not reported any verifiable threats. No one answered the door at the home of Jeff Sangl, the church's pastor. The video of the singing boy was the latest in a string of viral anti-gay videos that have surfaced from independent churches. Those videos have been resoundingly condemned by religious leaders, even by conservatives who believe homosexual sex is a sin. The Apostolic Truth Tabernacle posted a statement on its website that says in part: "The Pastor and members of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle do not condone, teach, or practice hate of any person for any reason.” The pastor's son, Josh Sangl, told CNN his father was away on vacation and that there was much more to the video than we were being told, though he wouldn’t elaborate. The majority of the church members wouldn’t comment about the controversy or respond to questions about the parents of the young boy. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter "I think it's blown out of proportion, you know," said Robert Kirby, who is not a church member but was attending Sunday's church service in support of his daughter, who teaches Sunday School there. "They love everybody. "They don't love sin though," he said. "It's all in the Bible." soundoff (3,151 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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The words of Jesus "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Jesus taught love not just with His words but with His life. So please stop saying Christians preach hatred and Christians are this and that. Ever heard of the saying "sheep dressed in wolves clothing"? Anyone who twists the words of Christ is exactly that. And for all non-believers i would meditate on these quotes "“I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is.” "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Pascal's wager? Please, not even Kirk Cameron would use it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbvQ3cohlx4
And we aren't say every Christian is like these bozos, but we do notice that you are giving them cover. To gain some respect, stop with the lukewarm repudiations and be first in line to be against it.
So why did Jesus kill so many people in the OT ? Or was that his daddy. If there is only one god it must have been Jesus doing all the killing right? Or maybe we have OT, NT, bad god good god. Is that it? Can any Christians here explain this ?
One one, God killed so many people in OT scriptures because they complained. Sound familiar?
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:4-5
Amen.
@ Heavensent
God killed them because they complained? Your god sounds like a big jerk.
To anyone opposed to gay marriage, let me just ask: Why? And don't give me some answer from the Bible. Just one logical reason. I 'm a straight guy, but if two people who love each other want to marry, who am I to stop them? Wouldn't "Jesus" be happy that people have the chance to express that love?
There are no god reasons.
M.O. was always to get away from society and do it their way. When society noticed it was always an issue with them, they did as requested ... live and let live and leave them alone. Now, they want what society has to offer, so, let us in so we can take, take, take ... still don't like you ... keep you at arms distant ... give me, give me, give me.
All right. To FINALLY resolve this dispute once and for all, I decided to take the issue up with the Man Himself, and talk directly to God. (He and I talk pretty regularly)
Here is what He said to me, in all His infinite wisdom: "Okay, look... I have NO PROBLEM with Gays, Muslims, or anyone else for that matter," He said. "That stuff in the bible? I didn't write that. I don't write. If I have something to tell you, I go directly to you."
He went on.
"I AM Love. And if two men, or two women, or one of each, share a deep abiding Love with each other then they are experiencing Me, and I have NO problem with that. Now stop all this hateful bickering and get back to doing what I put you here for."
(I thought He sounded amazingly like my Dad, another great guy by the way.)
So there you have it: GOD says it's okay if you are gay.
So get on with things. Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.
Perfectly said.
Those really were words of wisdom at the end of Python's "Meaning Of Life", weren't they?
That's all, folks!
If the guy you spoke to you told you he is ok with people living in sin, then you my friend were having a conversation with satan. God and sin does not mix, what you are doing right now is called blasphmey. God is love your right about that, which is why he sent His Son Jesus to show us the way. Repent is what God says to do (turn from your sins) not dwell in your sins. Becareful you are playing with fire by insulting the King of kings.
Pray that God will forgive your blasphemy.
Well FoC having never been a sinner myself, I have to say that your god has never been in a position of a king over me and never will be for that matter.
@Follower and Evangelical:
Minus 10 points to each of you for use of silly words like 'satan' and 'blasphemy'. Straight to bed, no dinner.
I take that back...just minus ten points to one of you, since you're both apparently the same idiot poster. Still firm on the bed without dinner part, though. And stand in the corner first, too.
thank you.. nuff said
@Follower
Sorry to break it to you, but love and eternal torture are two mutually exclusive concepts.
"God and sin does not mix, what you are doing right now is called blasphmey. God is love your right about that, which is why he sent His Son Jesus to show us the way. Repent is what God says to do (turn from your sins) not dwell in your sins."
Nowhere in your bible does your god condemn the saved loving long term relationship of a gay couple as we know and understand it today. What your bible does condemn is male prostitution, adultery, idolatry, and worshiping a god using sex. The experts have shown that being gay is NOT a mental illness, it's NOT a choice and it CAN'T be voluntarily changed. It's why there are now thousands of gay churches, gay clergy as well as pastors, nuns, rabbis that are going on record stating being gay as we know and understand it today is not a sin.
Keep telling yourself that, YeahRight, and you will end up in hell. It will be nobody's fault but your own. Nowhere in the Bible does it condemn murdering someone with a handgun as we know it today. Nevertheless, it is still killing. And two men lying together as a man lies with a woman is pure abomination to God. Moreover, in order to be saved you have to repent of your sins. You cannot be in a ho-mos-exual relationship and be saved at the same time. Get a clue.
@Evangelical The Scriptures at no point deal with homosexuality as an authentic sexual orientation, a given condition of being. The remarkably few Scriptural references to "homosexuality" deal rather with homosexual acts, not with homosexual orientation. Those acts are labeled as wrong out of the context of the times in which the writers wrote and perceived those acts to be either nonmasculine, idolatrous, exploitative, or pagan. The kind of relationships between two consenting adults of the same sex demonstrably abounding among us - relationships that are responsible and mutual, affirming and fulfilling - are not dealt with in the Scriptures.
Evangelical, the Scriptures were written approximately 2000 or more years ago when there was no knowledge of constitutional homosexuality. The Scripture writers believed that all people were naturally heterosexual so that they viewed homosexuality activity as unnatural. Women today are pointing out that the inferiority of women expressed in the scriptures was a product of culture and the times in which the Bible was written; it should not be followed today, now that we are beginning to appreciate the natural and God-given equality of men and women.
Similarly, as we know that homosexuality is just as natural and God-given as heterosexuality, we realize that the Biblical injunctions against homosexuality were conditioned by the attitudes and beliefs about this form of sexual expression which were held by people without benefit of centuries of scientific knowledge and understanding.
It is unfair of us to expect or impose a twentieth century mentality and understanding about equality of genders, races and sexual orientations on the Biblical writers. We must be able to distinguish the eternal truths the Bible is meant to convey from the cultural forms and attitudes expressed there.
ROFL, Evangelical, way to equating love between 2 consenting adults to murder.
Evangelical, too much logic fail to compute.
Evangelical: Amazing how so many of us have posted actual facts (evidence proving you wrong and dated within the last decade) and yet you still dismiss them for a 2000 year old book. Then you have the audacity to use a fictional place as a threat on us...great representation of someone I'd wish to be around if I believed for a damn second that there was life after this life. Must be us that are the evil ones...YOU ARE AN IDIOT!!!!!!
All Evangelical ever does is threaten and judge, merely for the sake of his own self-righteousness.
Only for the eyes of the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle:
The Apostles' Creed 2011: (updated by yours truly and based on the studies of historians and theologians of the past 200 years)
Should I believe in a god whose existence cannot be proven
and said god if he/she/it exists resides in an unproven,
human-created, spirit state of bliss called heaven??
I believe there was a 1st century CE, Jewish, simple,
preacher-man who was conceived by a Jewish carpenter
named Joseph living in Nazareth and born of a young Jewish
girl named Mary. (Some say he was a mamzer.)
Jesus was summarily crucified for being a temple rabble-rouser by
the Roman troops in Jerusalem serving under Pontius Pilate,
He was buried in an unmarked grave and still lies
a-mouldering in the ground somewhere outside of
Jerusalem.
Said Jesus' story was embellished and "mythicized" by
many semi-fiction writers. A descent into Hell, a bodily resurrection
and ascension stories were promulgated to compete with the
Caesar myths. Said stories were so popular that they
grew into a religion known today as Catholicism/Christianity
and featuring dark-age, daily wine to blood and bread to body rituals
called the eucharistic sacrifice of the non-atoning Jesus.
Amen
(references used are available upon request)
=================================================================================
Ironically, "Christian" religions don't teach harmony with those who have different beliefs. They teach "specialness" in various renditions. Too many teach "our way or the highway (Hell?)". What is "spiritual" about de facto bigotry and prejudice?
It's amazing how here in the South the church teaches hate toward a certain political party. It's followers follow blindly. Just amazing how narrow minded people are. Both political parties have plenty of faults but people refuse to discuss issues openly
and with merit.
Regardless of the religion whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or any other religion they all spew hatred and bigotry in different forms. Throughout history Religion is and will continue to be the Achilles Heel of the human race.
You are correct, thanks for your posting.
Mark 12:31-"The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." These are the direct words of Jesus. Where is the hatred in that?
"These are the direct words of Jesus. Where is the hatred in that?"
Then prove yourself and vote to allow gays to have their equal civil rights in marriage.
Ride on Apostolic Truth Tabernacle. Ride on brothers and sisters. GOD IS WITH YOU IN THIS. FEAR NOT! We are also with you brethren. Keep loving the sinner and HATING THE SIN. Those who despise and deny and rebel against HIM will have to stand before HIM sooner or later to answer for themselves-that time it would be too late! (I understand those who deny GOD fear death more than every one else. But we true Christians have been delivered from the fear of death-Heb.2:15)
I think it's the other way around. I think religious folks are the most afraid of death.
Religious people are the ones who are so afraid of death that they make up another life after death for comfort.
Ride on?? What the hell...
Precisely. And create h-e-l-l to scare you into believing it.
we true Christians have been delivered from the fear
-----–
Yes, of course. You're so special. No one else is so deserving of God's grace. I call Troll on this one...
If the people do not follow your particular part of religion then they are not sinners.
Delivered from fear. Hmm.
But it's fear that makes you believe it. But believing it frees you from fear. But it's fear that makes you believe it. But believing it frees you from fear....
An egg comes out of a chicken. A chicken comes out of an egg. An egg comes out of a chicken. A chicken comes out of an egg....
Not afraid of death, not in the least, Puffy Markus.
You have fantasized yourself right into the spotlight, and unless you are simply a Troll posting nonsense for fun, you'll have to endure the rotten tomatoes coming right atcha. One of my first attractions to agnosticism was observing all the weeping and wailing associated with death, and churches are the prime location for this kind of behavior. We know and understand that Life is precious, and not to be wasted imagining that "there must be something better". What could possibly top Life on Earth? It's wonderful, has its share of problems, but that's all part of the mysterious trip. Those of you who ditch this life as if it were a trifle are making the big mistake. Every moment contemplating your eternal reward is a moment you missed.
When did "marriage" become a civil right? When was Adam and Eve's wedding and who certified the marriage? How about Joesph and Mary's wedding?
"When did "marriage" become a civil right?"
Recognized federal civil rights law in the United States is grounded in the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court. By this standard, marriage has long been established as a civil right.
The operative constitutional text is section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868. The relevant passages read as follows:
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The U.S. Supreme Court first applied this standard to marriage in Loving v. Virginia (1967), where it struck down a Virginia law banning interracial marriage
Um... quick question. If L v. Virginia upheld that states couldn't ban interracial marriage based on civil rights... why does this not automatically apply to banning gay marriage? This should be a legal no-brainer.
@Jack it's why many are starting to say that the defense of marriage act isn't consti.tutional.
is everyone familiar with morman magic underwear ...google "romney magic underwear" for a few good laughs...that's the only good thing about religion...an endless stream laughter
... and the connection to this article is?
And the connection ?
no specific connection other than that people interested in religion might find it amazing (although certainly not surprising) that someone running for the leadership of the usa "may" be wearing magic underwear
higgs boson
is everyone familiar with morman magic underwear
--------
Yeah, they're self-cleaning, right?
god did this, god did that, god said this, god knows this, jesus said this, jesus did that...Why in the world does anyone need to feel like they need a god or a jesus?
Unfortunately, radical churches like this cast the wrong light on what the gospel is all about. ALL men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. When we love others with the love of christ, then they will see the real God and want to know more of this love. Only God can change people. This radicalism will only push others away. Stop the hate it is not from God our father.
No, Gregory. Parading around saying you are awful does not make you wonderful in the eyes of anyone. And telling everyone else that they are awful just so you can direct them to your magical cure does not work either. It's called snake oil, and selling that is no longer permitted. Awful, sinful, sinful, awful, awful sinful. What is the point of being a creature who feels this way? Don't you have better things to do with your life? Or have you entirely given up being creative?
.Does anybody remember what the Planet Mitt's god lives on?
Kolob
Thanks bigots for making the point of exactly why we cant allow opinions of hate filled monsters that call themselves christians to be made into laws. Its people like you- and these freak churches- DOM acts- that are making the point of why gays and lesbians need equal rights protection. Keep up the great work of hate- and showing the world how un-christ-like and hateful you are. If gays are going to hell, you'll be sitting right next to them!
Religion is make believe fairy tales for grown ups anyway. It makes me laugh how so many people get so wound up about something that isn't even close to being real. Love and respect one another as they are – end of message. If you cannot do that, then you're a bigot. It has nothing to do with whether you buy into the God bits or not. Hate is hate!
Sorry, that's a big jesus fail. You're teaching hate to children in the name of love. I couldn't have made you more ridiculous if I'd written the script. See why I don't like or trust xtians, folks? To them, this is "love."
Bible Clown, how many churches have you actually been inside? Does everything you believe about Christians come from our hip media?
"And rememember. You heard it here first !" – CNN
I think it's possible they don't actually think it's hate. If the bible speaks out against it (supposedly) then of course it isn't hate, it's just the truth. It's not logical, but, hey, why bother with logic?
a church not letting outsiders in out of fear? isnt that completely against what their God teaches?
.Please do NOT confuse the man made church, and what GOD and His Son are. Men are fallible, GOD is pure LOVE. These men HATE................
@trex,
Sure, churches are real.
"Please do NOT confuse the man made church, and what GOD and His Son are. Men are fallible, GOD is pure LOVE."
Yet, MEN created god through the bible....
Yes, you do preach hate and practice hypocrisy of the highest order.
Look at that picture and remember that about one in every ten to fifteen people is gay. Odds are one of those kids is gay and knows it already, and is thinking what a monster 'god' must be to treat him this way. Nice work, Christians! I can just feel the love.
There is every possibility that the boy singing the song could turn out gay. I'm not saying I wish it on him. It's just a card life deals you.
... and chances are that if that child stays in the little town of BF-nowhere, he will live a life in the closet. He may even never admit to himself that he's ga.y because it is so "wrong". To battle his internal confliction, he'll lash out at evil ga.ys. It's almost funny (or a little sad) how many of the really nasty ga.y-haters are probably biologically ga.y themselves.
Wide stance in the rest area stall....??
"To battle his internal confliction, he'll lash out at evil ga.ys." and then eventually find himself in a hotel room with a bag of meth and a masseuse named "Ricky"...
Oh, no, they won't think god is the monster. They'll think THEY are the monster. Very healthy.
I wouldn't find it funny or feel a sick sense of satisfaction should the singing boy turn out gay. I hope he would have the strength and courage to deal with it and accept himself. I hope his family would have compassion and see the error of their ways.
@ tb63
You realize that is fairly unlikely, right? Any church that condones this behavior isn't very likely to have a compassionate and understanding congregation.
I do and that's why I'd feel sorry for the kid. Could be another bridge jumper.
Christianity preaches hate. What else is new?
Yes Christianity preach hate....to the sin, but we love the sinners
You love the sinner, yet take great delight in the idea that he will go to hell for all eternity.
Sergio Roa
Yes Christianity preach hate....to the sin
-------
To what sin?
Mark 12:31-"The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." These are the direct words of Jesus. Where is the hate?
Follower: Are you not capable of forming a thought of your own?
What a crock of youknowhat! Doesn't matter how much more there is to the video, that child was there singing that song, there is nothing on earth that can justify those words. If that isn't teaching hate then what is it? This is like the KKK showing up on a talk show years ago in their usual cowardly garb and had their kids in the same garb. They are teaching their children this garbage!! Love the person but not the sin? Ok, but what about accepting a person as they are? What business is it of anyone else's if a person is gay or not? If something doesn't apply to you personally, then shut up and move on! This is why I stopped going to church, all the judgement going on. I am not gay but so what? People are still people regardless. I was judged because I was in flight school and sitting too close to the flight instructor during flight? Anyone seen how much room there IS NOT in a Cessna 152? We were actually sitting farther apart then in a regular commercial jet. My ex husband basically told this woman to back off because he knew what I would do had I heard if from her. I really would've been all in her face and given her something to talk about. Those who condone this type of behavior from anyone,( the judging) will have to face a higher power for it. I may have stopped going to church but I haven't stopped believing. If God forgives sin, who do these people think they are to not forgive? Are they not putting themselves above God?
.....My GOD is LOVE.........................I am not very sure who these people worship....................
".....My GOD is LOVE.........................I am not very sure who these people worship...................."
Your god was created by men
Thank you DC. I am sorry to hear about your troubles with the church. But many of us have seen the Light and no longer look back at the posers who claim superiority because they know all their lines in the god puppet show.
The anguish you feel will be replaced with a real sense of calm if you allow your Logic and Rationality to surface. L and R are the finest attributes of our human nature, separating us from the animal kingdom. To disgrace these virtues by ignoring their development is to take a hard whack at the "face" of whatever created us in the first place. It is OK to say, "We don't know" when considering our origin. It is pathetic to pretend (excuse me "believe") that you do know. The collection plate is part of every $ervice. Keep that in mind.
We arrive in rusty 1964 motorhomes.
We bring our bibles and loaded assault weapons.
We wear ridiculous clothing and have teabags dangling from our earlobes.
We carry misspelled racist signs as we stomp all over the White House lawn.
We love the baby jesus but we love to boink our cousins even more.
We believe that nascar is a real sport and that Dale Earnhardt was a great American athlete.
We believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old and that man walked with the dinosaurs.
We are Sarah Palin's 'real' Americans.
We are the birthers. We are the baggers. We are evangelicals.
We are morons and we are proud.
Evangelicals have got to be the dumbest superst i t ious people around.
.....Well, they wouldn't show "The Flintstones" on TV if it wasn't real...............
How bout some flapjacks with extra butter and syrup?
mmmhmmm...
Is there a difference between a flap jack and a pancake?
Yeah, we need an answer to this, what's the difference? No I'm not googling it.
I ended up googling it. And NO! Skrew flapjacks! Pancakes are the shiznit.
Sticking with pancakes.