Klanky

Ok he's a man of the world, I accept it but I still say his words as quoted show clearly how his concept of morality is warped in the extreme. Surely there must be a better person to whom people could outsource their critical thinking on complex moral issues.

Hi, sorry, yes I was

If the "banalization" you fight includes acknowledging a homosexual orientation (which in itself implies an urge to homosexual activity and an understanding of what that is) then you can't ever hope to "help" people experiencing this phenomenon. You are speaking in contradictions because you are shutting down the avenues to this help with your hostility and the homosexual's fear of it.

You are not defined by your orientation but words can describe your orientation. If you say you are gay you are describing your orientation, not your entire being. If others choose to interpret it as the defining characteristic of a person, that is for them to sort out, even though it is also amplifies the issues gay people experience (lack of acceptance and understanding = bigger problems than orientation). It had nothing whatsoever to do with banks and corporations. I don't wish to be rude but that post is nonsense.

I read that Zoroastrians were very fond of dogs and when Islam was becoming dominant in Iran the Muslims used to goad an torment the remaining Zoroastrians by being cruel to dogs and demeaning them and that's how the flat-out hostility to dogs became the norm. I dunno if it's true or not but it sounds plausible.

Are they naturally the ugliest things in the world or are they the result of over breeding? I'm sure they are as affectionate and fun as any other dog.

Those are gremlins

Animals in general (ourselves included) are carriers of various nasties. At least dogs don't sit around smearing themselves in saliva like cats do. Also, I think that is evidence that growing up around dogs and other pets is good for the immune system. Also, they're adorable.

By confident I meant that they are quite fixed in their beliefs and hard wired, including here on Shia chat. It's probably a human thing. I am quite confident that you are all wrong about all sorts of things.

In my experience almost all religious people are quite confident in their opinions

For the occasion I will be having a nice Easter dinner with my family and eating chocolate even though I'm no longer Christian but its traditional and nice. I don't like the look of that pink chocolate blockquote widget

Are celebrity homosexuals destroying families? That's news to me

He's talking about people who "present" as homosexual. Whatever that means I'm not sure but it's quite a common thing for straight people to complain about gays pushing homosexuality in their face while forgetting altogether that sexuality is not really a private thing anyway - couple has a wedding ceremony, has a baby, live openly together, share harmless comments about opposite gender, ask strangers if they're married etc. The sexuality behind all this is so open that nobody even thinks about it. Virtually nobody has sex in public, the problem is in all the lies, repression, and pretence that goes into spending your life pretending you're not attracted to the same gender. It's better and healthier to just "present" it and be done with it.

I think I read about a building in Spain that is both church and mosque. Suggesting such a compromise wouldn't project the kind of image that Erdogan likes for himself, probably.

I think he's saying homosexuals need to remain strictly closeted