New US church leader says homosexuality no sin

[DaKCMan AP]

New US church leader says homosexuality no sin

Mon Jun 19, 3:50 PM ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newly elected leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said on Monday she believed homosexuality was no sin and homosexuals were created by God to love people of the same gender.


Jefferts Schori, bishop of the Diocese of Nevada, was elected on Sunday as the first woman leader of the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church. the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. She will formally take office later this year.

Interviewed on CNN, Jefferts Schori was asked if it was a sin to be homosexual.

"I don't believe so. I believe that God creates us with different gifts. Each one of us comes into this world with a different collection of things that challenge us and things that give us joy and allow us to bless the world around us," she said.

"Some people come into this world with affections ordered toward other people of the same gender and some people come into this world with affections directed at people of the other gender."

Jefferts Schori's election seemed certain to exacerbate splits within a Episcopal Church that is already deeply divided over homosexuality with several dioceses and parishes threatening to break away.

It could also widen divisions with other Anglican communities, including the Church of England, which do not allow women bishops. In the worldwide Anglican church women are bishops only in Canada, the United States and New Zealand.

Three years ago when the Church last met in convention, a majority of U.S. bishops backed the consecration of Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop in more than 450 years of Anglican history.

The Robinson issue has been particularly criticized in Africa where the church has a growing membership and where homosexuality is often taboo.

Jefferts Schori, who was raised a Roman Catholic and graduated in marine biology with a doctorate specialization in squids and oysters, supported the consecration of Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop in more than 450 years of Anglican history.

The 52-year-old bishop is married to Richard Schori, a retired theoretical mathematician. They have one daughter, Katharine Johanna, 24, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and a pilot like her mother.

Asked how she reconciled her position on homosexuality with specific passages in the Bible declaring sexual relations between men an abomination, Jefferts Schori said the Bible was written in a very different historical context by people asking different questions.

"The Bible has a great deal to teach us about how to live as human beings. The Bible does not have so much to teach us about what sorts of food to eat, what sorts of clothes to wear -- there are rules in the Bible about those that we don't observe today," she said.

"The Bible tells us about how to treat other human beings, and that's certainly the great message of Jesus -- to include the unincluded."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060619/...HBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

[Logical]

Originally Posted by Dale Mercer

Logic, I was under the impression that every family with an able male HAS to have 1 male in the military....and MOST homes have a semi automatic in it, because it has a member in the militia. If that is true...which I don't feel impelled to prove or dis prove...it is the threat of violence......oh and I hear the Swiss are tough muthers....

It is a self-defense philosophy. As far as I can recall from history, Switzerland has never attacked anyone.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Dale Mercer

Dude.....it's "My pen is huge."

That only works if yer' checks are huge as well...

[luv]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Human Translation: It's what I believe, if you don't like it go suck-off a bull with anthrax...

You have such a way with words.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Logical

It is a self-defense philosophy. As far as I can recall from history, Switzerland has never attacked anyone.

Collusion = Guilt...

[Moooo]

Originally Posted by luv

You have such a way with words.

I believe the word your looking for is the antonym for eloquant, whatever that may be.

Moooo

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by luv

You have such a way with words.

I do try...

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Moooo

I believe the word your looking for is the antonym for eloquant, whatever that may be.

Moooo

I'd suspect blunt, with a dab of venom...

[luv]

Originally Posted by Moooo

I believe the word your looking for is the antonym for eloquant, whatever that may be.

Moooo

That's actually funny, because I almost put that he puts things so much more eloquantly than I could.

[Baby Lee]

The decision

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, that the 75th General Convention receive and embrace The Windsor Report's invitation to engage in a process of healing and reconcilation; and be it further

Resolved, that this Convention therefore call upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.

Apparently too hot a topic for the moment.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by Logical

That is very easy, Switzerland meets your criteria without the use of violence.

So now Switzerland is a global economic superpower, OK. We all know Germany would have taken that country in 2 seconds had a use of force not been used to stop them in advance. I am not sure what your deal is lately. I know you don't believe 90% of the horseshit you post these days which leads me to wonder why you post it.

[bogie]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

The potential for violence insured your safety. I would have just shot you're lucky he didn't have a gun and unload his clip at teh direction your voice was coming from.

Yea I was thinking about that. It would definately depend on the circumstances. If I thought I could scare him away rather than kill him, I'd probably try that 1st. However, if I think immediate action is warrented, I'd probably shoot 1st and ask questions later.

[bogie]

Originally Posted by bogie

Yea I was thinking about that. It would definately depend on the circumstances. If I thought I could scare him away rather than kill him, I'd probably try that 1st. However, if I think immediate action is warrented, I'd probably shoot 1st and ask questions later.

Or, I might just pee down my pants.

[BIG_DADDY]

Originally Posted by bogie

Yea I was thinking about that. It would definately depend on the circumstances. If I thought I could scare him away rather than kill him, I'd probably try that 1st. However, if I think immediate action is warrented, I'd probably shoot 1st and ask questions later.

When I was like 10 years old mom and pop went on a vacation and I would stay at my friends house across the street at night. I would go home for periods of time during the day and to take a shower and change clothes and eat. One day I got out of the shower and was drying off when I heard someone else in the house. I immediately went in the P's bedroom and grabbed pops rifle, loaded it and headed to the hallway where I layed down and pointed it to the end of the house. He had to come down that hallway to get to me. The intuder was in the kitchen when glanced down at me and jumped back before jumping forward through the opening and out the sliding glass door he came jimmied to gain access to the house. I layed there for about 5 minutes before slowly advancing to the glass door shutting it. If that guy had given me much of a shot I would have taken it. Without the gun I could have easily been a story on Court TV. Then again if we had a real dog back then it probably never would have been an issue. I was taught at a very young age to shoot guns and there were always plenty around the house. I think that fear of guns comes from not being around them and shooting them much. If you have it is very empowering. I know there are those who would love to take the guns and dogs to make themselves feel saaaaaaaaaaaaaaafe and think I should have attempted to just call the cops. To me the bottom line is you are responsible for your own safety. Big Brother can't protect you from everything no matter how much the pantie waist posse would like to believe that is the case.

[BIG_DADDY]

Here are some of your requested stats Hamas. Unfortunately the first link I posted here that quoted the governmet resources for these stats has now been dedicated to our failing education system. I am sure you will find that an interesting read.

When anti-gun activists list the number of deaths per year from firearms, they neglect to mention that 60% of the 30,000 figure they so often use are suicides. They also fail to mention that at least three quarters of the 12,000 homicides are criminals killing other criminals in disputes over illicit drugs, or police shooting criminals engaged in felonies. Subtracting those, we are left with no more than 3,000 deaths in the entire country that I think most would consider valid. Give me a freaking break you Geraldo groupies. Get a life and leave are freedoms alone.

http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2001/mar01/psrmar01.shtml

Crime prevention Statistics
The Bureau of Justice Statistics says gun-related deaths and injuries fell 33 percent from 1993 to 1997. At the same time, the number of firearms in this country was up by nearly 10 percent.
The Daily Oklahoman, 12-17-2000

In 1979, out of more than 32,000 attempted rapes, 32% were actually committed. But when a woman was armed with a gun or knife, only 3% of the attempted rapes were actually successful.
U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Rape Victimization in 26 American Cities, 1979, p. 31.
In 1982, Kennesaw, Atlanta passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate subsequently dropped 89%.
Gary Kleck, 'Crime Control Through the Private Use of Armed Force,' Social Problems 35 (February 1988):15.
3/5 of felons polled agreed that 'a criminal is not going to mess around with a victim he knows is armed with a gun.'
U.S., Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 'The Armed Criminal in America: A Survey of Incarcerated Felons,' Research Report, (July 1985): 27.

74% of felons polled agreed that 'one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.'
U.S., Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 'The Armed Criminal in America: A Survey of Incarcerated Felons,' Research Report, (July 1985): 27.

57% of felons polled agreed that 'criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.'
U.S., Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 'The Armed Criminal in America: A Survey of Incarcerated Felons,' Research Report, (July 1985): 27.
The Department of Justice found that in 1989, there were 168,881 crimes of violence which were not responded to by police within 1 hour.
Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics -- 1990, (1991):257
"Since police started keeping statistics, we now know that assault weapons are/were used in an under whelming 0.026 of 1% of crimes in New Jersey. This means that my officers are more likely to confront an escaped tiger from the local zoo than to confront an assault rifle in the hands of a drug-crazed killer on the streets."
Joseph Constance (deputy chief of Trenton NJ police dept) in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Aug 1993
The data from the 1990 Harvard Medical Practice Study suggest that 150,000 Americans die every year from doctors' negligence -- compared with 38,000 gun deaths annually. Why are doctors not declared a public health menace? Because they save more lives than they take. And so it is with guns. Every year, good Americans use guns about 2.5 million times to protect themselves and their families, which means 65 lives are protected by guns for every life lost to a gun.
Dr. Edgar Suter, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/12/94, Opinion (p. A17)
34% of felons said they personally had been "scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim."
69% said that they knew at least one other criminal who had also.
34% said that when thinking about committing a crime they either "often" or "regularly" worried that they might get shot at by the victim."
James D. Wright & Peter H. Rossi, Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of Felons and Their Firearms (1986).



Self Defense Statistics
Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year -- or about 6,850 times a day.
Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, Armed Resistance to Crime
Of the 2.5 million times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, the overwhelming majority merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8% of the time, a citizen will kill or wound his/her attacker.
Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, Armed Resistance to Crime
As many as 200,000 of the 2.5 million are by women defending themselves against sexual abuse.
Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz, Armed Resistance to Crime
In 1993 'only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The 'error rate' for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high.
Newsweek, November 15, 1993
In 89.6% of violent crimes directed against women, the offender does not have a gun; and only 10% of rapists carry a firearm. Thus, armed women will usually have a decided advantage against their attackers.
Don B. Kates, Jr., Guns, Murders, and the Constitution: A Realistic Assessment of Gun Control, (1990), at 29, citing U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606).
Kleck, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, (1991):111-116, 148.
In 1966-67, the media highly publicized a safety course which taught Orlando women how to use guns. The result: Orlando's rape rate dropped 88% in 1967, whereas the rape rate remained constant in the rest of Florida and the nation.
Kleck, 'Crime Control,' at 13.
85% of Americans believe people should have the right to use firearms to defend themselves in their homes, 64% favor allowing law-abiding citizens to carry firearms for personal protection outside their homes, and 72% favor stiffer sentences for criminals who use a gun in crime rather then more gun laws.
Survey of voters, Lawrence Research, 1998.

[bogie]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

When I was like 10 years old mom and pop went on a vacation and I would stay at my friends house across the street at night. I would go home for periods of time during the day and to take a shower and change clothes and eat. One day I got out of the shower and was drying off when I heard someone else in the house. I immediately went in the P's bedroom and grabbed pops rifle, loaded it and headed to the hallway where I layed down and pointed it to the end of the house. He had to come down that hallway to get to me. The intuder was in the kitchen when glanced down at me and jumped back before jumping forward through the opening and out the sliding glass door he came jimmied to gain access to the house. I layed there for about 5 minutes before slowly advancing to the glass door shutting it. If that guy had given me much of a shot I would have taken it. Without the gun I could have easily been a story on Court TV. Then again if we had a real dog back then it probably never would have been an issue. I was taught at a very young age to shoot guns and there were always plenty around the house. I think that fear of guns comes from not being around them and shooting them much. If you have it is very empowering. I know there are those who would love to take the guns and dogs to make themselves feel saaaaaaaaaaaaaaafe and think I should have attempted to just call the cops. To me the bottom line is you are responsible for your own safety. Big Brother can't protect you from everything no matter how much the pantie waist posse would like to believe that is the case.

Had you gotten a good shot, would you have taken it? When I was 18 years old I spent a summer in Mt. Home, AR. My buddy and I rented a room at a small resort. It was one room with twin beds. I kept a single shot 20 guage loaded and broke down under my bed. Late one night our door opened and someone started walking in our room. As soon as the door started opening I fell to the floor grabbed my shotgun, snapped it closed and pointed it at the guy who was probably no more than 10 feet away, I screamed, "hey". There was definately an instant where I had to decide do I shoot or do I see if he'll run. When he saw a gun was pointed at his chest, he screamed at the top of his lungs "wrong room" and ran. Luckily the door was open or he would have run through it. I'm pretty sure this guy was just a drunk that happened to open the wrong door. I'm glad I didn't shoot first and ask questions later.