Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Anti-Pride Bus Driver Fired

Buff · 09-11-2015, 10:01 PM

I guess this is as good a thread as any to "come out"

I am white, male, and I am a Christian.

I applaud the guys intentions to stick up for his religions rights. Unfortunately I completely disagree with his approach. He did it wrong. If I am to believe all the comments in this thread, he was told that he wouldn't be forced to drive the bus, and that he also didn't complain to his employer before he went to the media. What he did was wrong and gives Christianity a bad name. He is just an attention grabber. We have people like that in my church too. I wish they would learn to be reasonable.

I still believe homosexuality is a sin. I do not hate any homosexuals because they aren't straight. I believe they are sinners. They are not sinners just because of their sexual orientation. I am a sinner. I lie. I am selfish. I put myself before others. EVERYBODY does that. Everybody is a sinner. In the eyes of God all sin is equal. Murder, stealing, homosexuality, all of it is equal. All I can do is to strive to be like Jesus and pray and ask for forgiveness.

Speaking about being like Jesus. He taught us to love everybody. Love the sinner, hate the sin. That is what I strive for. I go to church with a gay guy, I work with homesexuals, I play hockey with them. They are everywhere. I don't care about their sexual orientation. I don't care if you are gay anymore than I care about what your favorite color is or what your favorite hockey team is... actually I have a harder time accepting that I have friends who like the Oilers than I have friends who are gay.

I am not going to go out of my way to march in a gay pride parade. I would probably feel uncomfortable driving a bus promoting homosexuality. I would probably also feel uncomfortable driving a bus promoting equality, but at the root, I would feel uncomfortable of how fellow Christians that I know and value would say or do to me. That is not fair. It is fair for them to question my actions and how they pertain to my faith, it is not fair for them to attack me for trying to be supportive of everybody like Jesus was.

I am for people having equality. I should not have more rights than anybody because of their sexual orientation, or the color of their skin. We should all have equal rights and opportunities.

Can't I say to a friend "I like you, I disagree with your lifestyle, but I am not going to get in your way of living it." without being called a bigot?

Christians are taught to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. It has been a hard task to do for many Christians, but not all Christians. We are to love people in spite of their actions. This bus driver and the lady in the USA who refused to grant a marriage license are probably over stepping their boundaries and definitely going about things the wrong way.

We don't go to church every Sunday and curse the gay people or curse those who aren't Christian. We go to hear God's word. We praise God, we learn about Jesus' teachings. While we learn what is a sin and how to act, we are certainly not taught to hate people and to spread hate. We are taught to love and be fair. We are not perfect. We are taught to judge not lest ye be judged. We are not to judge a person by their actions or beliefs because we are not perfect. Jesus was perfect and we strive to be like him, but for many people, and the bus driver is a prime example, we lose sight of how we are to be represented and how we are to preach the word. We are to preach in love, not in hate. He is preaching in hate.

It is funny because we are to treat everybody like equals, and historically that has not been the case, but we feel like our backs get put up against the wall when put to task by fellow Christians, or even non Christians. Most people we go on the defense and panic, to an extent, if they were taken to task for many things. Go to the Fire and & Ice Forum and start to tell people that the Oilers are actually a good team, and should be cheered for just as equally as the Flames are. What kind of a response will you get? Would you expect that the Flames fans would immediately agree and change their ways? For some people they need time to think about how they personally believe, and see how change around them is perceived by others, by society as a whole until they finally start to come around. It won't happen overnight. Change takes time to be accepted. Why must my fellow Christians adapt instantly?

I'm not sure what else I can say. Perhaps I am not helping. Perhaps I am just setting myself up for ridicule on CP. I don't know. Thoughts on what I just said?

09-11-2015, 10:01 PM	#102
Buff Franchise Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: I don't belong here Exp:	I guess this is as good a thread as any to "come out" I am white, male, and I am a Christian. I applaud the guys intentions to stick up for his religions rights. Unfortunately I completely disagree with his approach. He did it wrong. If I am to believe all the comments in this thread, he was told that he wouldn't be forced to drive the bus, and that he also didn't complain to his employer before he went to the media. What he did was wrong and gives Christianity a bad name. He is just an attention grabber. We have people like that in my church too. I wish they would learn to be reasonable. I still believe homosexuality is a sin. I do not hate any homosexuals because they aren't straight. I believe they are sinners. They are not sinners just because of their sexual orientation. I am a sinner. I lie. I am selfish. I put myself before others. EVERYBODY does that. Everybody is a sinner. In the eyes of God all sin is equal. Murder, stealing, homosexuality, all of it is equal. All I can do is to strive to be like Jesus and pray and ask for forgiveness. Speaking about being like Jesus. He taught us to love everybody. Love the sinner, hate the sin. That is what I strive for. I go to church with a gay guy, I work with homesexuals, I play hockey with them. They are everywhere. I don't care about their sexual orientation. I don't care if you are gay anymore than I care about what your favorite color is or what your favorite hockey team is... actually I have a harder time accepting that I have friends who like the Oilers than I have friends who are gay. I am not going to go out of my way to march in a gay pride parade. I would probably feel uncomfortable driving a bus promoting homosexuality. I would probably also feel uncomfortable driving a bus promoting equality, but at the root, I would feel uncomfortable of how fellow Christians that I know and value would say or do to me. That is not fair. It is fair for them to question my actions and how they pertain to my faith, it is not fair for them to attack me for trying to be supportive of everybody like Jesus was. I am for people having equality. I should not have more rights than anybody because of their sexual orientation, or the color of their skin. We should all have equal rights and opportunities. Can't I say to a friend "I like you, I disagree with your lifestyle, but I am not going to get in your way of living it." without being called a bigot? Christians are taught to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. It has been a hard task to do for many Christians, but not all Christians. We are to love people in spite of their actions. This bus driver and the lady in the USA who refused to grant a marriage license are probably over stepping their boundaries and definitely going about things the wrong way. We don't go to church every Sunday and curse the gay people or curse those who aren't Christian. We go to hear God's word. We praise God, we learn about Jesus' teachings. While we learn what is a sin and how to act, we are certainly not taught to hate people and to spread hate. We are taught to love and be fair. We are not perfect. We are taught to judge not lest ye be judged. We are not to judge a person by their actions or beliefs because we are not perfect. Jesus was perfect and we strive to be like him, but for many people, and the bus driver is a prime example, we lose sight of how we are to be represented and how we are to preach the word. We are to preach in love, not in hate. He is preaching in hate. It is funny because we are to treat everybody like equals, and historically that has not been the case, but we feel like our backs get put up against the wall when put to task by fellow Christians, or even non Christians. Most people we go on the defense and panic, to an extent, if they were taken to task for many things. Go to the Fire and & Ice Forum and start to tell people that the Oilers are actually a good team, and should be cheered for just as equally as the Flames are. What kind of a response will you get? Would you expect that the Flames fans would immediately agree and change their ways? For some people they need time to think about how they personally believe, and see how change around them is perceived by others, by society as a whole until they finally start to come around. It won't happen overnight. Change takes time to be accepted. Why must my fellow Christians adapt instantly? I'm not sure what else I can say. Perhaps I am not helping. Perhaps I am just setting myself up for ridicule on CP. I don't know. Thoughts on what I just said?