Essay on Homosexuality and the American Baptist Church

Homosexuality in the Baptist Church: Homosexuality is one of the most debated issues among Christians today, regardless of the denomination of their church. Some churches view homosexuality as a sin and have no tolerance for it, while other denominations are more accepting and consider it a non-sin. Even though some denominations have taken a stand on homosexuality, there seems to much discord within the governing bodies of the churches regarding this issue. It has moved from a topic rarely discussed and considered very personal and private, to a mainstream topic of conversation. Although there has been a growing acceptance among certain Christian denominations regarding homosexuals, the American Baptist Church has remained firm in its†¦show more content†¦They also established a Commission on Human Sexuality Resources to provide clarification and guidance for a Christian understanding of God’s gift of sexuality. By June of 1992 the General Board of the American Baptist Church was being pressured by some of their member churches to accept the practice of homosexuality within their denomination. A resolution called â€Å"Homosexuality and the Church†, which identified Gods plan for the fulfillment of sexual union to be one man and one woman in heterosexual, monogamous, and lifelong marriage, was narrowly defeated. The resolution further stated that â€Å"the redeeming love of Christ† is available to practicing homosexuals as it is to all who turn to him in faith and repentance. Then a few months later, in October 1992, the General Board was again approached and was forced to vote regarding the issues of homosexuality in their church. They finally agreed to issue a one sentence standing that was called â€Å"American Baptist Resolution on Homosexuality†. The sentence briefly stated â€Å"We affirm that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.† This started the ball rolling and in June of 1993 the General Board next came up with another resolution that was called â€Å"American Baptist Resolution Calling for Dialogue on Human Sexuality†. That resolution states â€Å"that there exists a variety of understandings throughout our denomination on issues of human sexualityShow MoreRelatedThe Most Hated Family in America Essay examples1720 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica The topic of homosexuality has been a very hot topic over the past several decades. The term homosexuality can be defined as the â€Å"sexual desire or behavior towards a person or persons of one’s own sex† (â€Å"Homosexuality†). There are many people who either agree or disagree with the aspect of homosexuality, and there are others who are indifferent. 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Book Report Bye Mom - 811 Words

â€Å"Bye mom,† I said as I started out the front door on my way to school. â€Å"Bye honey, have a nice day,† she said with her happy voice. â€Å"Hopefully it is,† I said walking away. Before I entered the school, I took a deep breath. I said to myself, â€Å"Kelly, today is going to be a good day.† I entered. There he was, the boy named Max. He was the meanest person in the whole school. Everybody was scared of him. He was tall, brown-haired, and a very good football player. He was massive. He even had his own crew. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. His eyes told it all. â€Å"Today is going to be a bad day for you.† Max could sense my fear as he said that with spite. After school, I went outside. I was just talking to my friend when I heard the†¦show more content†¦I thought about calling mom and then remembered that I didn’t have my phone with me. It was in my backpack. Ugh! Could this day get any worse? I thought to myself. When I didn’t show up at home, mom came to the school looking for me. She found my backpack and entered the school. I could hear her screaming my name in the distance, â€Å"Kelly. Kelly,† as if she knew I might be in trouble. I could hear her, but because of how faint her voice was, I was still afraid to come out. I didn’t want to risk facing Max and the crew. She kept calling my name and I could tell she was getting closer. I risked it. I opened the door and immediately yelled, â€Å"I’m right here, mom,† as loud as I could. She found me and I ran into her comforting arms. â€Å"I’m sorry, mom. There was a boy here named Max and his crew. They said that they’d get me if I came out.† Max and the crew were nowhere in sight. As I walked away, I was thinking, â€Å"Did they stick around? If I had come out of the bathroom, what would ve happened to me?† That night, when I finally fell asleep, I found myself dreaming. I was at school and Max came up to me and said, â€Å"You escaped this time. Next time, your mom will not be there to save you.† Max began laughing as he walked away. I woke up scared and screaming, â€Å"Stop. Stop. Stop.† Even though I knew this was only a dream, and I had beaten this time, I had the feeling that Max and his crew would never stop. I went back to sleep. I woke, my heart beating

Ethical Considerations on the Muslim World Free Essays

In the post-9/11 climate, the American people are bombarded with emotive images and language in the media to the point of reaching simply untrue conclusions about members of the Muslim world creating questions of an ethical bias in the United States media mainstream. This ethical assault on the emotions of the American people and the ensuing indoctrination of hatred toward people in the Middle East and Muslims living in the United States is an achievement that benefits politicians by instilling the emotions of fear and hate. The images that are depicted selectively, although in no way thoroughly, as they relate to the so-called War on Terror show events that create fear that a trend may be occurring, when in fact, the images depict isolated incidents that cannot be tied into one specific trend. We will write a custom essay sample on Ethical Considerations on the Muslim World or any similar topic only for you Order Now As well, the wording that is used in various media outlets, namely the word â€Å"terror† and â€Å"terrorist† instills fear and brings about emotions to American viewers that are vulnerable to what they see and hear. As well, much of what is missing from the media in terms of the lives of average Muslim people only serves to further the bias that all Muslims must be terrorists, because when Muslims are depicted in the news, it is for violent acts. This, of course, is an emotive fallacy. This type of emotional appeal to fear has been studied by numerous academics and point to a propaganda model of what is presented to the people. â€Å"Propaganda does try to sway a mass audience to accept a conclusion based on premises that are popularly and widely accepted, and it does typically work by exciting the emotions and enthusiasms of the crowd† (Walton, 102). Certainly then, when emotions and enthusiasms are utilized by the media in portraying countries and peoples in a negative light and as enemies of the United States, this enthusiasm of an America united against a common enemy seems to serve just as well as demonizing these declared enemies. However, when the term â€Å"War on Terror† is used this is so unspecific that it also hinders reasoning by connecting people that belong to the Muslim religion in one group, instead of accurately portraying the members of the Muslim community as mostly peaceful with only a fringe element in question. The intended effect of this by unscrupulous politicians is to instill so much fear and hate as to replace compassion for the majority of Muslims in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Another part of the propaganda model is to make sure that a country or a group of people are depicted as immoral and for this idea to be widely accepted. â€Å"Constant reference to a ‘war on terror’ did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear. Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public† (Glassner, xii). So it seems that the reaction of the majority of people on America was to be initially immobilized by fear after 9/11 and they then were easily manipulated into mobilizing for politicians with an agenda. It becomes apparent that real and present dangers and social problems are deemed not interesting enough to make it to mainstream media, so instead the heroic stories of soldiers along with the horrific and largely isolated attacks by Muslim extremists are shown. It has also been argued that the presence of political analysts and other experts in a field are used to inform the people of the real dangers in the world, when in fact, it appears that these experts are chosen selectively and politically in order to boost television ratings. It also appears that television is a much more dangerous mode for the American citizen due to the very few sources of ownership in the media. This media monopoly, therefore, virtually suppresses the balanced voices of Americans who realize that the media serves as a weapon of propaganda. Again television news is the most troublesome. â€Å"Studies conducted†¦ have shown that people who are heavy television viewers, including viewers of television news shows, believe their communities are much more dangerous than do light television viewers† (Postman Powers, 23). Certainly then, the media does instill fear as research has shown and it is the most dangerous of people that are portrayed, because this is more entertaining than showing Muslims living in peace or wanting peace. The news then, does not educate people by using logical means, what is used is an appeal to emotion. This appeal to emotion equals viewers resulting to the emotive fallacy of coming to the conclusion that Muslims and countries with the majority of it’s peoples as Muslims are inherently dangerous. Of course, there is nothing ethical about this presentation not on the part of media conglomerates or the politicians, who use propaganda as a tool to serve themselves politically. The fear now is that this â€Å"War on Terror† will never cease due to the media spin on the dangers of terrorism and the ensuing jump to the illogical conclusions that this group and these peoples are dangerous. In conclusion, the emotive fallacy of coming to a popularly held belief that is held by the American people that Muslims and Muslim countries are dangerous is perpetuated by the media. Research has indicated that this is nothing less than propaganda and an unethical disinformation campaign. As well, other research has pointed out that television viewers are more likely to fall into this illogical thinking. Then if it is not fear that creates tensions and hatred toward this group it is the mobilization of citizens under a common goal, to defeat a declared enemy in a most-confusing war. References Glassner, Barry. (1999). The Culture of Fear: Why Americans are Scared of the Wrong Things. New York, NY: Basic Books. Postman, Neil Powers, Steve. (1992). How to Watch TV News. New York, NY: Penguin Books Walton, Douglas. (2007). Media Argumentation: Dialectic, Persuasion, and Rhetoric. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University P How to cite Ethical Considerations on the Muslim World, Papers