Hi david f,

You mentioned many things, I don't know where to start.
I have many thoughts and questions.

"The Christian Bible is 80% non-Christian. It absorbed the Jewish Bible and then treated the Jews as heretics because they wouldn’t accept the distortion of their religion. The Jewish Bible incorporated a hatred of the pagan cults. Many of the pagan cults were more tolerant toward non-binary forms of sexuality. The prohibition of non-binary sex in the Bible could stem from a rejection of those practices by the pagan cults."

I understand that Jesus was the beginning of the New Testament, which made the Old Testament obsolete.
I know that something happened after Jesus was crucified which resulted in the Sanhedrin losing autonomy;
There must've been significant resentment after Jesus upended the table in the temple, standing against their practice of rorting the masses via the temple shekel exchange rate;
- and things spiralled out of control for the Jews the way that it did, the loss of the religious authority they enjoyed.
Jesus was crucified in 33AD and Titus sacked Jerusalem in 70AD resulting in the destruction of the second temple.
I don't know a lot more than that.

"Our society has partially thrown off that biblical prejudice against non-binary sexuality by legalizing same sex marriage. That prejudice still exists in the Abrahamic religions which treat those forms of sexuality as sin."

My personal opinion is based on ethics and the harm principle.
Everybody has the right to live however they choose so long as it does not have a negative or detrimental impact on others.
I have no interest in telling gays what they can or can't do in their bedrooms, but I won't prescribe to the idea that being gay or trans etc is categorically normal, or that they should ethically push this normality agenda onto others.

"One of the features of sexual development among some teenagers is a search for gender identity. To label such search as sin can cause extreme damage to a teenager who is struggling with many other issues at that time of life."

[Cont.]
I don't label it a sin because I'm agnostic;
But I wouldn't promote the ideology because I think you're already assigned a gender prior to birth.
I understand as an example that some kids are girls living in boys bodies, and it's hard to argue they're not born that way.
- But basing larger policies around 'not offending the individual' when the bigger risk is a downward spiral for society as a whole, I won't support, especially when some wish to use these issues to destroy our country for a globalism agenda.

I'll consider the smaller issues, but always in the context of the bigger picture and the greater good.

I just looked up the Deborah story, it says Yael killed Sisera with a tent peg.
Woman fight different to men, this is something that should be acknowledged in approaches to domestic violence, but I won't go into that here.

"The suppression of woman in the New Testament is greater than in the Jewish Bible. The Virgin Mary is venerated as a womb. She is not quoted."

Yes it seems that way.
Whether it was opposed to a female Matriach or Paganism I'm not sure.
Maybe they saw these 2 things as one in the same.

The destruction of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world seems like something ISIS would do, but I suppose they did the same to the Second Temple too, they built them, and sometimes they destroyed them.

Dear Armchair Critic,

I would like to comment on your remarks. From my point of view religion is merely superstition hallowed by time. I believe in neither miracles nor God and do not connect the two beliefs. However, I try to be as accurate as I can be. I have read and studied a lot about religion. It fascinates me.

“I understand that Jesus was the beginning of the New Testament, which made the Old Testament obsolete.”

The phrase, Old Testament, is Christian usage. It is mostly the same as what Jews call the Bible. The ‘Old Testament’ is not obsolete being part of most Christian Bibles and still the Jewish Bible.

“There must've been significant resentment after Jesus upended the table in the temple, standing against their practice of rorting the masses via the temple shekel exchange rate;”

The money changers served a useful function. Jews from outside Judea came to worship at the Temple. They needed local coinage to get a meal or a place to stay. The Jews who lived in the area didn’t need the services of the money changers as they had local coinage. The money changers were like the money changers at the Brisbane airport.

However there were not only money changers, but people selling live stock. Jesus drove them all out.

“When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.” – John 2:13-15 NIV

“I know that something happened after Jesus was crucified which resulted in the Sanhedrin losing autonomy.”

Israel was under Roman occupation during and after the time of Jesus. The autonomy that the Sanhedrin had was the autonomy the Romans chose to give it. King Herod was a puppet king under Roman control.

continued

continued

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/palestine-under-roman-rule/

"Judea was ruled by a Roman procurator who managed its political, military, and fiscal affairs. Its governmental structure was reorganized by Gabinius, the Roman governor of Syria from 57 to 55 B.C.E., who divided the country into five synhedroi, or administrative dis¬tricts. This arrangement was clearly intended to eliminate the age old system of toparchies (administrative districts made up of central towns and the rural areas surrounding them), dating from the reign of Solomon, and taken over in turn by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, and then by the Ptole¬mies and Seleucids."

Jesus was crucified in 33AD and Titus sacked Jerusalem in 70AD resulting in the destruction of the second temple. After the crucifixion there were followers of Jesus among both Jews and gentiles. However, the failed Jewish Revolt of 66-70 resulted not only in the destruction of the Temple but also the slavery or death of most of the Jewish followers of Jesus. This was an important element in the emergence of Christianity as a separate religion rather than merely a Jewish sect.

“I have no interest in telling gays what they can or can't do in their bedrooms, but I won't prescribe to the idea that being gay or trans etc is categorically normal, or that they should ethically push this normality agenda onto others.”

Being gay is normal for the person who is gay. That does not mean it is normal for others. I don’t think they are pushing any normality agenda on others.

“I don't label it a sin because I'm agnostic;

But I wouldn't promote the ideology because I think you're already assigned a gender prior to birth.

I understand as an example that some kids are girls living in boys bodies, and it's hard to argue they're not born that way.
- But basing larger policies around 'not offending the individual' when the bigger risk is a downward spiral for society as a whole, I won't support, especially when some wish to use these issues to destroy our country for a globalism agenda.”

continued

continued

I don’t label it a sin either nor do I think being gay is an ideology. Sexuality is complex. However, I don’t connect accepting homosexuals with a globalism agenda. I don’t really know what you mean. I don’t think giving equal rights to homosexuals will destroy our society. I am a man married to a woman. I don’t see how making same sex marriage legal will affect my marriage.

“Woman fight different to men, this is something that should be acknowledged in approaches to domestic violence,”

I agree and think it may be already be acknowledged in approaches to domestic violence.

“The destruction of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world seems like something ISIS would do, but I suppose they did the same to the Second Temple too, they built them, and sometimes they destroyed them.”

The ‘they’ who built them is almost always different from the ‘they’ who destroy them.

Hey david f,

"Being gay is normal for the person who is gay. That does not mean it is normal for others. I don’t think they are pushing any normality agenda on others."

Being a serial killer is normal for the person who is a serial killer.
Though that's not to draw any sort of connection between gays and serial killers, but I don't necessarily subscribe to the idea all 71 of facebooks different recognised genders are normal.

"Sexuality is complex. However, I don’t connect accepting homosexuals with a globalism agenda. I don’t really know what you mean. I don’t think giving equal rights to homosexuals will destroy our society."

My issue is the gay normality agenda, and it is a part of globalism.
'Gender-Equality' is number 5 on the UN sustainable Development Goals.

I believe in ethics, which means that everyone has the right to live however they choose so long as it does not affect others in an adverse manner.

It's not what they do that bothers me, it's how they can influence others that does.

Gays want equality.
I don't oppose their equality in such a manner that I wish to discriminate against them or tell them what they can or can't do in their bedrooms, my concern is what happens when they say they're 'normal'.
Because at this point, you end up with drag-queen pre-school teachers (yes they will get the job because under political correctness you can't discriminate on a basis of sexuality, and you must support minorities) not just telling little Johnny its ok to be a girl; but putting peer pressure on him that he SHOULD be a girl like them.

And I've got to say I've got concerns about those types of people and their true motives for being around and influencing kids.

I opposed SSM in the referendum, but not on the basis that I care what they do in the bedrooms.
Because they push their normality agenda onto others including kids, as well as deliberately seek out others in the community to vilify (example Bakeries not supportive of celebrating LGBTI)