Messages

106

Not at the Dinner Table / Re: Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage

« on: October 18, 2012, 05:29:23 PM »

That is not true.

Suppose my son were a serial arsonist. He has burned down many buildings. He is by all counts a wicked individual. He deserves to be in prison. Still, as his father, I might love in in virtue of his being my son. I still might love him as my son, despite my hatred of his egregious deeds.

This is not to draw an equivocation between homosexual acts and arson, but it is to demonstrate that one's acts, while related to his personhood, are not the determinate factor of it. Thus, I might still love somebody despite his actions.

For an example a little closer to home, it is certainly possible that you still love very much somebody who hurt you in a very profound and specific way. In a way that you can name. This action has not stopped you from being able to love that person.

Thus, actions are related to persons, but actions are not persons.

107

Not at the Dinner Table / Re: Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage

« on: October 18, 2012, 05:18:04 PM »

I just noticed that the question in the poll is flawed. Asking whether you "accept" a homosexual (whatever that means) is a essentially different question than whether it is permissible for them to wed. In responding to the poll, one must draw a distinction between an understanding, appreciation, and genuine love for homosexual persons as opposed to permission for them to wed.

I have in mind that it might be possible to say that "I accept them..." and to say that allowing them to wed is "flat out wrong."

Just saying that the categories available to us in this topic are not quite fair.

108

Not at the Dinner Table / Re: Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage

« on: October 18, 2012, 03:35:24 PM »

Markio's post is the exact reason why I posted what I did. I am a religious man, yes. My personal opposition to same-sex marriages or even same-sex unions is not because of (but, incidentally in keeping with) my Catholic faith.

109

Not at the Dinner Table / Re: Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage

« on: October 18, 2012, 12:08:49 PM »

Sapph, good post.

Here's a question for you, though. What if we removed religion from the equation. It is not as if the question is only one of religious freedom (although that is certainly a component). What if somebody were able to defend heterosexual marriage in a completely separate way, divorced from any one particular religious view. A defense of heterogeneous can be made on secular argumentative grounds. And so, while I agree that the question of religious freedom is intertwined with this issue, I'm not sure that it is the lens through which we should understand the whole issue.  I think the argument needs to be moved onto terms that all people can accept.

110

Forum Games / Re: Why the person above you should be banned.

« on: October 18, 2012, 08:34:56 AM »

For not recognizing that Hello:) has the best custom title since AbercrombieBaseball's Fitch Pitch.

111

General Chat / Re: New/Returning Members Post Here!

« on: October 18, 2012, 08:02:07 AM »

I should have used the <sarcasm> tags...

112

General Chat / Re: New/Returning Members Post Here!

« on: October 18, 2012, 06:49:20 AM »

She went back and counted all of them, duh.

113

Not at the Dinner Table / Re: Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage

« on: October 18, 2012, 04:49:36 AM »

Returning to the topic at hand, I at least agree with the notion that consent is more important than the gender with whom one is becoming romantically involved.  That's why I never understood the argument that same-sex marriage will lead to marriage between a human and an animal: how would animals give legal consent?

First of all, Markio, good to see you again!

Second, this argument is found precisely in the idea latent within the nature of same-sex mariage: namely, that attraction is sufficient grounds to establish a legal mariage contract. The principle argument is "I was born this way," or "It is not fair that I can't get married to the person whom I love." The argument is never that a two consenting adults cannot enter into this contract (for the government limits all sorts of private contracts on many grounds). The problem is not so much about consent arguments; it spills back upon the idea of attraction, and thus the slippery slope argument about what else would have to be legalized. In a word, the argument of consent is subordinated to its "why," which is the question of attraction.

Of course, this is not the best argument against same-sex unions, but that is how the claim can be made that same-sex unions could devolve into a justification for all sorts of strange "marriages."

114

Not at the Dinner Table / Re: Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage

« on: October 17, 2012, 04:33:55 PM »

I wonder if the same winner will also receive the B& award.

EDIT: While we are in the midst of this time warp, do we think it's posible that jon has been reincarnated?

115

Not at the Dinner Table / Re: i side with...

« on: October 14, 2012, 02:23:34 PM »

EDIT: http://www.isidewith.com/results/155674135

I suppose I am in the great minority here...

116

General Chat / Re: Free Universal Construction Kit*

« on: October 12, 2012, 08:52:03 PM »

Boy do I wish I would have had this as a kid... would have saved me a lot of Duct Tape.

117

General Chat / Re: New/Returning Members Post Here!

« on: October 10, 2012, 10:19:31 AM »

Come to think of it, it's more of a class reunion from what I see. Unless my new sets of skills are in need, I, for one, will probably be disappearing again before too long. There are still Internet frontiers out there for me to conquer explore-- but this is a story for a different thread.

There are plenty of internet frontiers, but TMK is an internet home.

118

General Chat / Re: New/Returning Members Post Here!

« on: October 10, 2012, 04:37:35 AM »

So.. is #tmk experiencing the time warp, too?

119

Mario Chat / Re: Ohio State Marching Band

« on: October 09, 2012, 05:48:46 PM »

I was trying to use my best memories of thread starting. It's good to know people are still attacked for making unnecessary threads.

120

General Chat / Re: New/Returning Members Post Here!

« on: October 09, 2012, 05:47:28 PM »

If Ymiynlzctezmzc is weird, Koopaslaya is as normal as Mike.