Besides, the Bible as it exists today was not compiled as a single canon until by vote of Byzantine political committees centuries after the time of Jesus, under the then-non-Christian Emperor Constantine the Great. Before that time, many variations of individual scriptural works existed. Not all of them were accepted by everybody. And many of these works were mutually contradictory (as they can be in more subtle ways now).

Some people decide to be Christians but decide not to believe as late antiquity Byzantines while they’re at it. They may keep copies of some or all of a scriptural canon, but they may hold some of them to be apocryphal, fragmentary or flawed. For these people, scripture is not the last word, but a matter of study – they do their own soul-searching with their own thoughts and their own prayers until they come to the conclusions that they believe are right and just.

If you care to try to convince anyone with whom you disagree that you are right and they are wrong, you should definitely not do it entirely on your own theological terms (without regard to their own complex philosophy and spirituality). Because, if you are seen as cynical or disrespectful, your efforts are not likely to achieve a great deal of success. On the contrary, those efforts would only serve to inspire people regard you with irritation or even disdain.

I don’t think the Holy Spirit, who oversees such elections, is much involved in “gay politics.”

If there’s a Laodicean in the mix, it’s the Arch-Weasel of Canterbury, who is fouling his knickers over the inclusion of GLBT people in God’s Church, but is curiously silent when bishops of that same Church advocate genocide AGAINST GLBT people.

What is oppressive to me as a Christian is the support and promotion by so-called “Christians” in countries like Uganda and Nigeria to laws that criminalize LGBT people and even speaking out in support of LGBT equality.

What is oppressive to me as a Christian are those so-called “Christian leaders” who support imprisoning and executing LGBT people.

What is oppressive to me as a Christian are those so-called “Christian Churches” who refuse to welcome and affirm God’s LGBT children.

What is oppressive to me as a Christian are those so-called “church stalwarts who protest anti-Christian oppression in Islamic countries, but what the same kind of oppression against LGBT people, Muslims, atheists and non-religious people here at home.

What is oppressive to me as a Christian are those who abuse the word of God to justify ignorance and denying modern scientific and psychological knowledge that supports the fact that LGBT people are not evil or sick.

What is oppressive to me as a Christian are those in church schools (public or private) who block or prevent the passage of school and school district policies in any school to stop homophobic bullying and harassment on the ground that such policies “encourage homosexuality.

What is oppressive to me as a Christian are those in the religious right who demand protection of their religious freedom, but then deny that same religious freedom to those who do not agree with their narrow opinions and biases.

Revelations 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.churches.
.