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	<title>Comments on: Should we be culture warriors? Thoughts on church and state</title>
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	<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/</link>
	<description>A College Psychology Professor&#039;s Observations About Public Policy, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, and Religious Issues</description>
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		<title>By: Sing a little louder &#8212; Warren Throckmorton</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-277066</link>
		<dc:creator>Sing a little louder &#8212; Warren Throckmorton</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 10:35:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-277066</guid>
		<description>[...] is just as good, if not better, at identifying these trends as anyone at Right Wing Watch.  As I have noted before, there are excellent religious reasons for supporting Jefferson&#8217;s &#8221;wall of [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] is just as good, if not better, at identifying these trends as anyone at Right Wing Watch.  As I have noted before, there are excellent religious reasons for supporting Jefferson&#8217;s &#8221;wall of [...]</p>
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		<title>By: Christianity, homosexuality and the law &#8212; Warren Throckmorton</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-173151</link>
		<dc:creator>Christianity, homosexuality and the law &#8212; Warren Throckmorton</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:25:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-173151</guid>
		<description>[...] am repeating in full a post from August, 2008 regarding religious arguments for the separation of church and state. I do this in response to the [...]</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>[...] am repeating in full a post from August, 2008 regarding religious arguments for the separation of church and state. I do this in response to the [...]</p>
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		<title>By: Lynn David</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119863</link>
		<dc:creator>Lynn David</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:48:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119863</guid>
		<description>Oh Warren.... I&#039;ve been sick since then, gimme a break!   I cannot remember specifics.  But I do know it started off when for some reason I ran across the blog of some complete homophobe and you were one of three persons he had links on his frontpage.  So I pointed out your amelioration in thought and he removed your link!   That gave me a chuckle... but then I thought that I should have let the guy live with his delusions concerning your outlook.

I think the others I remember were the Constitution Party and some of the likes (not saying these specifically) of PornoPete, the AFA and others.   Some of whom may have reordered pages and removed links to many of your pages but left some that they felt supported their positions, such as &quot;I do exist.&quot;   I just remembered seeing you more prominently displayed on their pages than you have been in the last year (that being the year before my unfortunate incarcerations in the medical instittions of SW Indiana these last 10 months.).

And as to:
&lt;blockquote&gt;I was hoping to get some of the folks who take Mrs. Kern’s view to comment and get some discussion going but it is not happening so far.&lt;/blockquote&gt;
How can you expect that when all those sites which espouse views like Ms Kern have removed links to your blog!?   ;~)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Oh Warren&#8230;. I&#8217;ve been sick since then, gimme a break!   I cannot remember specifics.  But I do know it started off when for some reason I ran across the blog of some complete homophobe and you were one of three persons he had links on his frontpage.  So I pointed out your amelioration in thought and he removed your link!   That gave me a chuckle&#8230; but then I thought that I should have let the guy live with his delusions concerning your outlook.</p>
<p>I think the others I remember were the Constitution Party and some of the likes (not saying these specifically) of PornoPete, the AFA and others.   Some of whom may have reordered pages and removed links to many of your pages but left some that they felt supported their positions, such as &#8220;I do exist.&#8221;   I just remembered seeing you more prominently displayed on their pages than you have been in the last year (that being the year before my unfortunate incarcerations in the medical instittions of SW Indiana these last 10 months.).</p>
<p>And as to:</p>
<blockquote><p>I was hoping to get some of the folks who take Mrs. Kern’s view to comment and get some discussion going but it is not happening so far.</p></blockquote>
<p>How can you expect that when all those sites which espouse views like Ms Kern have removed links to your blog!?   ;~)</p>
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		<title>By: Warren</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119858</link>
		<dc:creator>Warren</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:23:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119858</guid>
		<description>Hey Lynn, that is an interesting observation about links to my website. Perhaps you could name some names...

I was hoping to get some of the folks who take Mrs. Kern&#039;s view to comment and get some discussion going but it is not happening so far.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hey Lynn, that is an interesting observation about links to my website. Perhaps you could name some names&#8230;</p>
<p>I was hoping to get some of the folks who take Mrs. Kern&#8217;s view to comment and get some discussion going but it is not happening so far.</p>
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		<title>By: Mary</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119780</link>
		<dc:creator>Mary</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:37:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119780</guid>
		<description>Lynn David,

Yeah - I agree.   The polarization over this issue has made a mess of things.    There are so many varying opinions on what gay means that we are trying to legislate it&#039;s definition.   

I really don&#039;t know what is the answer.  I do know that I had better protect the rights of others if I am going to maintain mine.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Lynn David,</p>
<p>Yeah &#8211; I agree.   The polarization over this issue has made a mess of things.    There are so many varying opinions on what gay means that we are trying to legislate it&#8217;s definition.   </p>
<p>I really don&#8217;t know what is the answer.  I do know that I had better protect the rights of others if I am going to maintain mine.</p>
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		<title>By: jayhuck</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119728</link>
		<dc:creator>jayhuck</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:21:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119728</guid>
		<description>I agree with you Lynn :)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I agree with you Lynn <img src='http://wthrockmorton.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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		<title>By: Lynn David</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119698</link>
		<dc:creator>Lynn David</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:53:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119698</guid>
		<description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;jayhuck.... &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;  That remark of mine was meant to be rather naive.   We get along because we live in a country/countries with a system of laws that have come to be called democracies.  In the USA we have the good fortune of having a constitution by which to judge our laws and determine our freedoms - aka rights.   We don&#039;t have to &quot;&lt;em&gt;live in perfect harmony&lt;/em&gt;&quot; in the USA, we just have to respect each other&#039;s &lt;strike&gt;god-given&lt;/strike&gt;... er, natural-born rights.    

Except we have this argument going about the gay.... just what is such a person and thus what are their rights - natural born or that other thing..... god-given.   As has been pointed out by many a person, discovery of homosexuality to be &quot;natural born&quot; does  not mean rights are due from a constitution which Ms Kern considers to be a derivation of a mode of civilization set forth by the Christian god and must be &quot;conserved&quot; in its pristine condition..   But that pristine condition included slavery, didn&#039;t it?   So my personal view is that the Constitution is a document which is meant not to follow any particular faith (ie. Ms Kern&#039;s brand of Christianity), but to be interpretted from the viewpiont of reason.  Reason which includes new ways of thinking brought about by the discovery of new factual evidence.    

So in part the American Constitution is a document grounded in faith but determined in reason.  And I look at our Founding Fathers and see the very same demeanor.   Even in the Declaration, Jefferson wrote in a way of compromising faith and reason when he said  that &quot;&lt;em&gt;the Laws of Nature and of Nature&#039;s God entitle them&lt;/em&gt;&quot;  They were men of faith or spirituality, not necessarily Christian, but also Deists and agnostics (still looking for that spiritual atheist like myself).   But they were also men of reason, they were of need of reason most of all because they were embarking upon an experiment in which the power of government was derived of the people and were in need of encoding that, thus our Constitution.  

I look upon that act of &quot;encoding&quot; as an act of reason.  Certainly the Founders thought of the document as flexible, a number of persons in the Constitutional Convention desired the abolition of slavery, but a comprimise was effected.   Certainly those men of reason saw a future in which slavery would be outlawed, to fit the original intent in our country&#039;s founding document, &quot;&lt;em&gt;We hold these truths to be self evident&lt;/em&gt;.&quot;   

For most all gay people, our self-evident truth just does not match up with the likes of Ms Kern.   I simply point out that reason should be operator in American governmental society and less that of the faith of Ms Kern an others like her.   Here in a Switzerland of the culture wars, I believe Dr Throckmorton to be an able arbiter among the various viewpoints.  Unfortunately, many on the side of Ms Kern seem to think Dr T a traitor, I have seen links to his websites disappear over time.   

So were does that get us when faith is so steadfast in the face of reason?   5-4 decisions in the Supreme Court, I guess.   And that too is what motivates us....</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>jayhuck&#8230;. </em></strong>  That remark of mine was meant to be rather naive.   We get along because we live in a country/countries with a system of laws that have come to be called democracies.  In the USA we have the good fortune of having a constitution by which to judge our laws and determine our freedoms &#8211; aka rights.   We don&#8217;t have to &#8220;<em>live in perfect harmony</em>&#8221; in the USA, we just have to respect each other&#8217;s <strike>god-given</strike>&#8230; er, natural-born rights.    </p>
<p>Except we have this argument going about the gay&#8230;. just what is such a person and thus what are their rights &#8211; natural born or that other thing&#8230;.. god-given.   As has been pointed out by many a person, discovery of homosexuality to be &#8220;natural born&#8221; does  not mean rights are due from a constitution which Ms Kern considers to be a derivation of a mode of civilization set forth by the Christian god and must be &#8220;conserved&#8221; in its pristine condition..   But that pristine condition included slavery, didn&#8217;t it?   So my personal view is that the Constitution is a document which is meant not to follow any particular faith (ie. Ms Kern&#8217;s brand of Christianity), but to be interpretted from the viewpiont of reason.  Reason which includes new ways of thinking brought about by the discovery of new factual evidence.    </p>
<p>So in part the American Constitution is a document grounded in faith but determined in reason.  And I look at our Founding Fathers and see the very same demeanor.   Even in the Declaration, Jefferson wrote in a way of compromising faith and reason when he said  that &#8220;<em>the Laws of Nature and of Nature&#8217;s God entitle them</em>&#8221;  They were men of faith or spirituality, not necessarily Christian, but also Deists and agnostics (still looking for that spiritual atheist like myself).   But they were also men of reason, they were of need of reason most of all because they were embarking upon an experiment in which the power of government was derived of the people and were in need of encoding that, thus our Constitution.  </p>
<p>I look upon that act of &#8220;encoding&#8221; as an act of reason.  Certainly the Founders thought of the document as flexible, a number of persons in the Constitutional Convention desired the abolition of slavery, but a comprimise was effected.   Certainly those men of reason saw a future in which slavery would be outlawed, to fit the original intent in our country&#8217;s founding document, &#8220;<em>We hold these truths to be self evident</em>.&#8221;   </p>
<p>For most all gay people, our self-evident truth just does not match up with the likes of Ms Kern.   I simply point out that reason should be operator in American governmental society and less that of the faith of Ms Kern an others like her.   Here in a Switzerland of the culture wars, I believe Dr Throckmorton to be an able arbiter among the various viewpoints.  Unfortunately, many on the side of Ms Kern seem to think Dr T a traitor, I have seen links to his websites disappear over time.   </p>
<p>So were does that get us when faith is so steadfast in the face of reason?   5-4 decisions in the Supreme Court, I guess.   And that too is what motivates us&#8230;.</p>
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		<title>By: jayhuck</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119661</link>
		<dc:creator>jayhuck</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:20:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119661</guid>
		<description>I personally think the question(s) we should be asking is something that Lynn touched on already - how DO we all get along?  How can we ensure gay people, straight people, gay AND straight Christians - ALL (law-abiding) groups have the same rights and privileges as other groups without having those rights and privileges infringe on those of others.  How do we remain believers yet not attempt to legislate our own beliefs onto those of others?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I personally think the question(s) we should be asking is something that Lynn touched on already &#8211; how DO we all get along?  How can we ensure gay people, straight people, gay AND straight Christians &#8211; ALL (law-abiding) groups have the same rights and privileges as other groups without having those rights and privileges infringe on those of others.  How do we remain believers yet not attempt to legislate our own beliefs onto those of others?</p>
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		<title>By: Mary</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119564</link>
		<dc:creator>Mary</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:07:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119564</guid>
		<description>LOL!!!  Lynn David.  I heard one  (a conservative christian) say about gays that they were smarter than us.  I corrected her and said &quot;No, they are more motivated.&quot;    That is totally understandable.   When I was gay, I was a heck of a lot more motivated to get my rights than let others tell me what I should do.  And I&#039;m still motivated that gays get the respect and rights that others have.   Ahhh- sometimes it&#039;s hard to bite my tongue.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>LOL!!!  Lynn David.  I heard one  (a conservative christian) say about gays that they were smarter than us.  I corrected her and said &#8220;No, they are more motivated.&#8221;    That is totally understandable.   When I was gay, I was a heck of a lot more motivated to get my rights than let others tell me what I should do.  And I&#8217;m still motivated that gays get the respect and rights that others have.   Ahhh- sometimes it&#8217;s hard to bite my tongue.</p>
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		<title>By: Lynn David</title>
		<link>http://wthrockmorton.com/2008/08/06/should-we-be-culture-warriors-thoughts-on-church-and-state/comment-page-1/#comment-119561</link>
		<dc:creator>Lynn David</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:01:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=979#comment-119561</guid>
		<description>And dangit I forgot to check that little box at the bottom again, the &quot;&lt;em&gt;Notify me of followup comments via e-mail&lt;/em&gt; box.&quot;    

&lt;strong&gt;Dr T / Warren &lt;/strong&gt; .... could you move that box up in the &quot;DISCUSSION&quot; form?   Say just above the &quot;&lt;strong&gt;Submit Comment&lt;/strong&gt;&quot; button?   If I keep missing that button and have to post again just to get notifications, I&#039;m going to be threatening the leaderboard again!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>And dangit I forgot to check that little box at the bottom again, the &#8220;<em>Notify me of followup comments via e-mail</em> box.&#8221;    </p>
<p><strong>Dr T / Warren </strong> &#8230;. could you move that box up in the &#8220;DISCUSSION&#8221; form?   Say just above the &#8220;<strong>Submit Comment</strong>&#8221; button?   If I keep missing that button and have to post again just to get notifications, I&#8217;m going to be threatening the leaderboard again!</p>
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