I do my best to keep my rabidly fanatical Unitarian bunch in line.

Just a hypothetical question.

I was at one time. I did not donate to it, however. In fact, the only forum I have ever donated to is DU. And right now, I can't afford to do that, but I will be able to shortly.

Can you answer my question? You seem to insist that people answer your hypothetical questions. But you seem unwilling to do so. Tit for tat, I guess. I think my hypothetical question has value. I imagine others will answer it.

My answer to this one is easy. I would not support such a religious organization.

I warn you though, the question needs more precision if it is not to be flamebait.

Said he was once a member but didn't donate to support it.. Your turn.

Unanswered.

But thank you for your interest.

You posed a question in this thread and he answered it. It would make sense that you would at least answer the question posed in this thread before asking one of your own.

You're welcome.

was that I could not answer, since I did not have sufficient information and because I do not live in that state. Obviously, I cannot vote for that candidate for Governor of Utah. Would I? If I lived there, I would study the candidate's positions on many things, and then decide. I do not live there. I will leave that election to the people in that state. It is not a question that can necessarily be answered in a binary way. Neither is my question.

I do it enough without meaning to.

Is the pope who helped cover these crimes still in charge? Even the horrors of abused children doesn't stop their support. Disgusting.

changing their positions on GLBT rights, women's rights and other issues that are important to me.

Do you think they are more likely or less likely to do that if the members who are advocating for the change leave?

Caveat: I'm speaking as the person I was. I'm no longer a fundamentalist Baptist.

But I would have backed my church against "backsliders" and the apostate. If I'm not mistaken this mindset is shared by the majority of evangelical Christians. Remember: It's always god first, everything else second, including the Constitution.

Churches are no exception.

These organizations should be dismantled.

I think it was in the 60's that American nazis marched through Skokie, Illinois. There were a large number of people that tried to prevent that march. Suppose I was Jewish and I attended a synagogue that was fighting to prevent that march. Would I stop donating or otherwise supporting the synagogue over that? I really doubt it.

then it's not surprising that you'd continue support. That was a particularly troublesome incident for many people, myself included.

I was living in south Georgia at the time where the doctor's office still had a white only entrance, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

The church council denied permission that would allow a Brownie Troop (African-American little girls only) to use its basement for meetings...although they did allow the Caucasion troop use it.

So I quit titheing and explained why in nice but firm letter. They didn't care, but I did.

That particular church helped crystallize my current stand against organized religion.

Years ago My wife and I decided that we could not be part of any congregation that was not open and affirming--re:GLBT issues.

It boggles the mind.

I haven't been to a fundy church for decades. When I was in Michigan a very conservative area I attended a somewhat liberal church, a non-fundy church anyway. Oddly enough when I moved to the Twin Cities, MN I couldn't find a non-fundy Baptist Church, so I gave up on going to church for a long time and when I finally figured out I don't really believe anything in the bible it was a bit too late to resume my search for a church. So any way short story long, I wouldn't contribute to any church that had a hate message.

If, after discussion, the church wasn't willing to change it's positions, I'd probably go find a new church, one that shared my beliefs in social justice.

That said, it's pretty unlikely that I'd be a member of such a church in the first place. I'm a Luciferian Satanist (yes, I worship the devil but no, it's nothing like what's said about us) and there usually aren't enough of us in one place to support a church. And even if there were, we tend to be very big on justice since it forms one of the major tenets of our belief system.