What is the most contentious issue in American politics?

US Conservative said:

Im in the heart of liberal darkness, I can't spit without hitting a liberal. I understand exactly what the threat is, and I see it on display more here than elsewhere.

However, I still love my country and fight for it.

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Wow you really do hate people just because they have views that you see as incorrect.

catch22 said:

Wow you really do hate people just because they have views that you see as incorrect.

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I dont hate lefties. I think they are mostly misguided and have false assumptions. Much of it is based on mythology. I know more about their own history than they do.

cpwill said:

:shrug: Christianity immediately called for the ceasing of any abuses inside of dou'lo - demanding that masters treat their servants as their equals, and serve them as they were served by Christ. That Christians continued to sin is, well, pretty much in keeping with one of Christianity's most basic teachings: Original Sin.

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Servants. What an endearing term for ones slave. The bible, both old and new testaments (as so established by the early Catholic Church during canonisation, but basically meaningless) endorses slavery, and distinguishes rules for both slave and master. One good example of the fallacy of scripture.

Montecresto said:

Servants. What an endearing term for ones slave. The bible, both old and new testaments (as so established by the early Catholic Church during canonisation, but basically meaningless) endorses slavery, and distinguishes rules for both slave and master. One good example of the fallacy of scripture.

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There are many scriptures in the New Testament that endorse slavery.

See link for more of the New Testament scriptures that endorse slavery.

The Christian Scriptures and Slavery

Neither Jesus nor St. Paul, nor any other Biblical figure is recorded as saying anything in opposition to the institution of slavery. Slavery was very much a part of life in Judea, Galilee, and in the rest of the Roman Empire during New Testament times. The practice continued in England, Canada and the rest of the English Empire until the early 19th century; it continued in the U.S. until later in the 19th century.

Quoting Rabbi M.J. Raphall, circa 1861:

"Receiving slavery as one of the conditions of society, the New Testament nowhere interferes with or contradicts the slave code of Moses; it even preserves a letter [to Philemon] written by one of the most eminent Christian teachers [Paul] to a slave owner on sending back to him his runaway slave." 1

Paul's violation of the Mosaic Code on slavery:

While in prison, Paul met a runaway slave, Onesimus, the property of a Christian -- presumably Pheliemon. He sent the slave back to his owner. This action is forbidden in Deuteronomy 23:15-16:

"Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee."

"He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him."

Rather than give the slave sanctuary, Paul returned him to his owner. Paul seems to hint that he would like Pheliemon to give Onesimus his freedom, but does not actually request it. See the Letter to Philemon in the Christian Scriptures.

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What the New Testament says about slavery

Montecresto said:

Servants. What an endearing term for ones slave

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:shrug: there is a wide variety of positions covered under dou'lo, and Christians are told to treat all of them as their equals.

The bible, both old and new testaments (as so established by the early Catholic Church during canonisation, but basically meaningless) endorses slavery, and distinguishes rules for both slave and master. One good example of the fallacy of scripture.

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Yes, specifically it says that if you are the master of a house, then you must treat the people who serve in it as your equals, and seek to serve them. Where they are "owned", rather than being a bondservant etc/ type, the New Testament advice (though not the demand) is to set them free, but the requirement is that you treat them as an equal and seek to serve them as Christ served you, and as you are called to serve Him. If you are a dou'lo, and you can seek freedom, you should do so, but that is less important than serving others around you as Christ served you, and as you are called to serve Him.

Christianity demands that the abuses be stripped from the master/servant relationship, regardless of the specifics. Within that demand, it became a debate whether or not you could keep the institution of slavery at all, a debate that the abolitionists eventually won.

many other options in the poll depend on whether people understand what teh seperation of church and state means or not.except that I see taxation sets you apart

molten_dragon said:

I'm curious what people think about this. What issue do you believe is the most contentious or divisive, one that the two sides are least likely to come to any sort of agreement or compromise about.

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Foreign policy

cpwill said:

:shrug: there is a wide variety of positions covered under dou'lo, and Christians are told to treat all of them as their equals.



Yes, specifically it says that if you are the master of a house, then you must treat the people who serve in it as your equals, and seek to serve them. Where they are "owned", rather than being a bondservant etc/ type, the New Testament advice (though not the demand) is to set them free, but the requirement is that you treat them as an equal and seek to serve them as Christ served you, and as you are called to serve Him. If you are a dou'lo, and you can seek freedom, you should do so, but that is less important than serving others around you as Christ served you, and as you are called to serve Him.

Christianity demands that the abuses be stripped from the master/servant relationship, regardless of the specifics. Within that demand, it became a debate whether or not you could keep the institution of slavery at all, a debate that the abolitionists eventually won.

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"The people who "serve" in your house", lol. Diminish the horrors of slavery all you wish. And continue to give all the credit to Christianity for its end that it doesn't deserve.

Slave owners had many justifications for why holding people in bondage was acceptable. From the idea that African Americans were a lesser race who needed taking care of by white patriarchs to the economic justification, slave owners were always trying to find new ways to dispute those who disagreed with their choice to hold others in captivity. Charleston slave holders were no exception in attempting to find justifications to mask their guilt. Often, religion came into play, on both the slavery and anti-slavery sides of the debate. In 1835, at the end of two long articles about religion and slavery in the Charleston Mercury, it was said that both the Old and New Testament give permission to hold others as slaves. In the Old Testament, God and the Patriarchs approve. As for the New Testament, Jesus and the Apostles show that slavery is permissible. Therefore, slavery, to those who wrote the article, was not an anti-Christian institution. It was just the opposite. Furthermore, they added, it is impious to say slavery is anti-Christian because such a conclusion contradicted God.


We're talking about slavery and slaves, not servants!!

molten_dragon said:

I'm curious what people think about this. What issue do you believe is the most contentious or divisive, one that the two sides are least likely to come to any sort of agreement or compromise about.

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Taking back America. Not one of us tribalism.