Why even pacifists should practice self defense

[Pat K]

Ouch!

Et tu, Pat K?

Yeah but deep down you know I don't hate you that much.

[KBCraig]

Does anyone here know whether drinking coffee is a sin?

Depends on which flavor of Christian.

If you count LDS as a flavor of Christianity, they "strongly recommend against" caffeine in any form. Not sure about SDA; they are concerned mostly with vegetarian diets (and coffee is a plant, right?)

Other than that, I've never attended a mainstream protestant church that didn't have coffee pots bubbling at all times.

It's certainly not mentioned in the Bible.

Kevin

[Michael Fisher]

Does anyone here know whether drinking coffee is a sin? I could never get a straight answer to that question and finally had to leave the Christian religion over it. The ten commandments are just not specific enough.

LOL!!! 

[Dreepa]

If you count LDS as a flavor of Christianity, they "strongly recommend against" caffeine in any form.

Are we going to go through this again?  They beleive in Christ so they are Christians.

They say no coffee, tea or alcohol.  And caffiene is a personal choice.

Found this LofA:

Once in Europe this new beverage fell under harsh criticism from the Catholic church. Many felt the pope should ban coffee, calling it the drink of the devil. To their surprise, the pope, already a coffee drinker, blessed coffee declaring it a truly Christian beverage.

source:
http://coffeeuniverse.com/university_hist.html

[MaineShark]

God gave Adam and Eve one single commandment, but they could not keep it.

So now you're saying that more than just the Ten Commandments define sin?

Joe

[Caleb]

the tendency to make rules is human. Unfortunately, Christianity has not been immune from this tendency.  It is, however, not the spirit of Christ.

[Caleb]

Not resisting evil is important, but it is humans that try to turn the important things into a rule.  The only rule Christ gave us is that we love each other.

As humans incorporate the law of love, they naturally begin to do the right thing.  So Christianity is not about Law.  It's about changing who we are on the inside.  This distinguishes it from Judaism, which simply asked man to follow a set of laws. Christianity says God is more concerned with your inner heart than with your obedience to a set of laws.

Now, the corallary to that is that good people do not tend to do evil things, so as Jesus says you can recognize men by their fruits.  But Jesus didn't give a new set of laws.

[MaineShark]

The only rule Christ gave us is that we love each other.

So if two women love each other, is it OK if they live together as a couple and enjoy sexual relations?

No, only certain kinds of love are okay

Joe

[Michael Fisher]

No, only certain kinds of love are okay

Sounds like a rule to me! Christian rules don't bother me when they are based on some consistent principles, but they rarely are.

Nobody just "made up" this rule 2,000 years later: Homosexuality is specifically denounced in the Bible, along with gambling.

That said, as long as homosexuals do not literally force themselves on me, I really do not care what they do.

[Michael Fisher]

You're confusing the clear distinction between sin and other things generally frowned upon as not morally righteous.

Sin is defined by the 10 (+2 of Jesus) commandments. Nothing else is sin.

[Pat K]

There is only one sin= hurting other people for no reason.

[Michael Fisher]

So homosexuality and gambling (and perhaps coffee and cigarettes?) are not really sins because they are not mentioned in the twelve commandments? But it might be wise to avoid them because they are frowned upon?

The 10+2 commandments define where your heart should be. All the Lord wants is your heart, and if you give it to him, you will know because you'll follow the commandments.

I guess if your heart is with the Lord, you probably don't gamble or smoke. I have no idea what homosexuality does to the heart, but according to the Bible, it's probably not good.

I don't think coffee does anything to the heart, except perhaps the physical heart, but it does not physically hurt people in moderation.

[Pat K]

There is only one sin= hurting other people for no reason.

That sounds rather like the Wiccan Rede, which can be summarized as "Do as you will but harm none". Of course, many flavors of Christians would say that simply being a Wiccan is a sin.

Well every tribe has its customs and prejudce that it trys to enforce as moral law.

[Dreepa]

No, only certain kinds of love are okay

Sounds like a rule to me! Christian rules don't bother me when they are based on some consistent principles, but they rarely are.

Nobody just "made up" this rule 2,000 years later: Homosexuality is specifically denounced in the Bible, along with gambling.

But they aren't the the 10+2 rule so they are ok right?

[Caleb]

The Christian response would be that all things are clean to clean people, but to those whose hearts are defiled, nothing is clean.  The proper place for the sexual response is a subject  of debate in Christianity.  I am not the judge, nor is anyone else on this forum, so there's little point to discussing the issue further.  I have no intention of using violence against anyone who practices any lifestyle (judging in the sense of carrying out judgment), so you don't have to worry about that angle of it.

I fail to see why this issue is so important to so many of you, and I also fail to see what it has to do with pacifism and the Christian tradition, which is the topic of this thread.