Question about New Testament (with OT)

[joywitch_m_curmudgeon]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Beth" <jillily3g at y...> wrote:
> So what if a friend thinks you are wrong in something? Aren't there
> people in your life that you feel are wrong or terribly misguided in
> some issue and yet you are willing to overlook this because you
> sincerely like them as people? Do you have to approve of everything
> someone does to be their friend? I cannot say that I have ever 
enjoyed
> sushi with you, and I'm really not even a regular lurker, so I can't
> say that I know you, but from what I do know about you from your
> posts, I can't believe that to be true.

No, I can be friends with people I have disagreements with, sometimes 
over very fundamental issues.  Amanda and I are friends, for example, 
even though she is a staunch Dubya supporter and I can't stand the 
guy.  We like each even though I know beyond the shadow of a doubt 
that she is wrong and she misguidedly believes I am wrong.  ;-D  
<kisses, Amanda!>  And I have lots of other friends with misguided, 
deluded, wacky, bizarre beliefs about religious, political, moral, 
and all sort of other ideas.  Why, I even have a close friend who 
hates Hagrid, which IMO is about as misguided, deluded, wacky, and 
bizarre as you can get. <ducks as something heavy coming from the 
direction of NYC flies past her head>

But when you're talking about something as fundamental as who I 
choose to marry, that's another story.  Let's say, for example, that 
I am in love with another woman right now.  If the two of us decide 
to get married (we'd have to go to Canada or Vermont or something) 
and spend the rest of our lives together raising children and dogs 
and cats, I would expect my friends to be happy for me.  All of my 
friends.  If I had a friend who was willing to "overlook" my lesbian 
relationship, and be friends with me anyway despite the fact that she 
thought it was misguided, wrong and she didn't approve of it, I would 
probably not continue to spend much time with that person.  I would 
not feel comfortable being friends with that person, anymore than I 
would be comfortable with someone who might disapprove if I married a 
man of a different race or religion.  (Which is not to say that I 
think there is anything wrong with deciding for *yourself* that you 
want to marry only someone of the same race and/or religion as your 
own.)

Differences of opinion are one thing.  I can be friends with someone 
who thinks differently about abortion, gun control, the death 
penalty, affirmative action, the war in Iraq, the color pink, eating 
meat, or whether Snape is a vampire.  But I cannot be friends with 
bigots.  And I don't care what it says in your particular holy book --
my principles dictate that prejudice against someone because of their 
sexual orientation, race or religion is equally wrong.

--Joywitch