GOP: Koering showed ‘poor judgment’ in dinner with porn star

This is further proof of the MN Republican Party’s hypocrisy since they don’t comment on heterosexual dates and affairs. Senator Koering, it’s time for you to wake up and realize that the Republicans barely tolerate your existence despite your being a good boy toeing the party line on all those legislative votes (with the exception of MAMA) …

Dear Lane, There is no hypocrisy . . . heterosexual affairs are not tolerated by true Conservatives either. We don’t claim to be lily white, & we never have. We just don’t believe any sin should be celebrated, including our own.

We (I)do believe that we should learn from our mistakes, (yes, we make them too). And, if one believes the Bible to be inherently Truth, as I do, that is what our standard for accountability should be. Not other Conservatives, nor the ever changing worldly cultures, but the Bible itself.

It is so very sad to see liberals so hatefully accusing Conservatives for standing by their principals; at the same time being exceedingly intolerant of us & our belief systems…yet accusing us of hate? We have the freedom to believe there is right & wrong; Jesus Himself was always intolerant of sin.

Some of us actually do hate the sin & not the sinner, including our own sins. I’m no better than anyone, I just know a Lord & Savior I can go to & learn from on how I should live & know I can ask forgiveness when I do sin, which unfortunately is every day. But, what sets most conservatives (or at best, most Christians), is that even though we realize there’s forgiveness, we don’t celebrate sin that flies in the face of God & His plan.

Yes, Jesus did say, “He without sin, cast the first stone.” But, what many liberal thinking “tolerant” people forget is that He followed that immediately by telling the sinning woman, “Go, & sin no more.”

Senator Koering has done much good. He also has displayed a lack of integrity & moral character. When one is in public office, one is held to a much higher standard, that too is in the Bible.

God bless Minnesota, Paul Koering as well as the rest of us.

Hey Becky –

Generally it’s not considered an “affair” when neither person is married.

The guy has dinner with someone who lives, at least part-time, in his district at an establishment in his district. Is that even really news?

I think the issue is more with the homophobes who object anytime there are 2 men together, regardless of where it is.

God is dead!

So he can’t have a personal life? Do other GOP members file for permission when they go out to eat with someone? I think we know what this is about.

Terrell,

Thank you for addressing me respectfully, at least beginnig w/ a “Hey Becky” instead of a verbal accosting. And you’re right, an affair is generally when at least one person is married–I just meant it as a realtionship.

Yes, it is news. News in the sense that we in his district will be voting for him (or not). It truly is malarky to say that a person’s private life doesn’t have anything to do w/ their public service. That is an inherrant untruth. I don’t care who Paul K. or any other legal, consenting adult sleeps with….I take that back, I do care. But, I realize his bedroom is not my business.

What is at stake here is public policy; due to his choosing the homosexual lifestyle, that has, (& I believe will) had an effect on how he votes or what votes he abstains from. I’m raising my children here, I will cast my vote for the individual who I believe will lay the best groundwork for my country & my kids’ future. No candidate, gay or not is perfect.

Because I don’t think the gay lifestyle is ok (because the Bible clearly says it is not), does not make me a “phobe”. I’m not afraid of, nor do I hate practicing homosexuals. It is the sin they are committing I stand against. It’s what is wrong I stand against. Not them as a person.

I believe divorce is wrong too…just as wrong as homosexuality. Not because I’m a divorcephobe, but because I was raised in a single-parent home & missed out on a father. I too made a very poor choice in marrying the father of my (now grown) daughter, who I divorced 2 yrs. later. I have had lasting conseqences for my sins. I also have received the cleansing forgiveness offered by my Lord & Savior. My husband & I are now raising two beautiful sons, hopefully to make better & wiser choices.

And “Me”, whoever you are, you will be bathed in prayers as my heart hurts for anyone who, for whatever reason (usually pain & anger from a past or an over-abundance of self-inflicted “wisdom”) thinks or believes God is dead. He is, was, & always will be. He just doesn’t always answer like we wish. It’s His plan & purpose, not ours that He seeks to accomplish. That is often hard & painful to swallow. He sent Jesus to die for your sins just like He died for mine. He loves you even though you deny Him.

Prove it

God cannot be dead. It never existed. It’s purpose was to provide comfort of the unknown, such as the big glowing yellow thing in the sky. And like the invention of “hell” it uses fear for control. Please bring reason to the debate not invisible friends. There is no reason to judge people based on a black book written and then changed and re-written countless times. With all due respect of course.

//He loves you even though you deny Him.//

So God’s a masochist? Sweetness!

Jesus warned His followers, “they will hate you because they hate me.”

I cannot “prove” anything, nor do I want to.

I also cannot “make” someone else believe…the essence of ‘belief’ is something unseen.

One cannot bring the reasoning of God to a simple table of human minds; like asking a 3 yr old to understand the periodic table of the elements.

JeffMinneapolis, contrary to your statement that “it” was created to bring comfort . . . did you ever read the passages telling of the persecution of Christs’ followers? Or the Scriptures that clearly tell us that choosing to follow Christ is to choose the narrow road that will NOT be easy or comfortable?

My life would be much easier & more comfortable if I were to deny Christ & live according to what I felt like was right at the time. I could indulge guiltlessly, be free of conscience, basically set my moral compass to whichever direction I felt was ok at that time. Belief in God, as the Creator of the universe, Giver of life, & Originator of love & forgiveness is really not “comfortable”. It takes a committment that is beyond any other a human can make.

Paul worked diligently against Christ–working night & day to convince & punish (even by death) those who had given their lives to serve the One true God. Until God got ahold of Paul’s heart–then he worked just as feverishly FOR the cause of Christ as he once had against it. And, just in case you haven’t read at all about Paul’s life, it became extremely UNcomfortable w/ terrible suffering . . . but he counted it, “Pure joy . . . to face troubles” because they created perseverance & character.

I’m not judging anyone based on “a black book”. The author of that Black Book who inspired & used human hands to write it is the Judge. Whether we like it or not, we all will face Him one day & answer for our actions in this life.

I’m sorry I can’t offer the kind of “philisophical, human reasoning” kind of comments you think are necessary. Faith is believing in what I cannot see, you’re right, that is not “rational”. I also have no concept of how a jet engine works, but I know someone didn’t just throw all the parts in a room w/ a big fan & they all blew around & landed just in the right spot. Ridiculous? Yup, so is thinking that this world just “came” into existence & there is no Creator.

Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. (Mark 10:11-12)

And yet Becky has the nerve to comment on Senator Koering’s “homosexual lifestyle” and in the same breath mutter “He without sin, cast the first stone.”

And if she has any “integrity and moral character,” she should take to heart what Jesus said to “the sinning woman, ‘Go, & sin no more.’”

Yes, these are hateful words to throw into your face, Becky, but hey, your syrupy, condescending words are hateful to me and to many others in the LGBT community regardless of political or religious persuasion.

I can’t prove the existence of a flying spaghetti monster but it doesn’t mean I believe one exists.

Lane,
You must have missed the part where I wrote, “I have suffered consequences for my sin” & where I admitted divorce is just as wrong as homosexuality.

I continue to live with the consequences of my past choices & have no other solace than to know that from here on I can only try to do better . . . i.e., not divorce my husband & admit that my past actions were wrong.

My soul was lost & hurting when I divorced at a young age. But my actions still have consequences. To have to admit to my sons that I want them to grow to be men of integrity & wait for the woman God has set aside for them, & to not have lived what I believe is very humbling indeed.

My family can visit a Mennonite church, but cannot become members–for the exact reason of the Bible verse you quoted. That hurts & yes, is an example of lasting consequences of a long-ago divorce.

At least those who chose to leave the homosexual lifestyle don’t have that lasting consequence.

Each day I try to “sin no more”, at least not to repeat the same sins. Which, in the case of being divorced I haven’t. I do sin, just like you, you must have missed where I admitted that.

All I (or any of us) can do, as a result of the love my Savior has for me & me for Him is confess my sins & believe He is faithful & just & will renew my heart & mind daily.

In my defense, the Bible also says that adultery is a valid reason for divorce, which is why I chose to leave the man I’d married. But, if I’d have been living for God at the time, wisdom would have dictated I try the forgiveness route.

Guess I didn’t consider my words “syrupy”….hmm.

I’m not casting stones at Sen. Koering. I’m only standing on the belief that God says that life-style choice is an abomination. And yes, so is divorce, which is partly why I volunteer much of my time to serve kids from homes where their parents have divorced. I know first-hand the pain that choice brings to a child.

Me–Jet engines do exist. The earth & life do exist. You’re right, “flying spaghetti monsters” don’t.

Isn’t the abomination wording right around the call for no shrimp and lobster also?
The Republican hypocrisy is that Vetters and Ensign are still leaders in the party and not condemned in the least. They are actually married and running pro familey campaigns.
This kind of story is something Perez Hilton writes about, not much there.

Becky, you know as well as I that sexual orientation is NOT a “lifestyle choice.” Sexual orientation is morally neutral; it is neither good nor bad.

Interesting that you justified your divorce in terms of the Bible saying that divorce is justified due to your adulterous first husband. If that is the case, then why doesn’t the Mennonite Church welcome you into its fold unless they chose to ignore this and go by Mark 10:11-12 instead. That doesn’t make sense.

It also doesn’t make sense that you should feel “the lasting consequences” of having to divorce your first husband. I rather doubt he feels those same “lasting consequences.”

I sense you still hurt from all that happened, but isn’t it time to forgive yourself, let go and move on. You’d probably be doing yourself, your current husband and your kids a huge favor.

And find another church – one that accepts you and yours as you all are! And the god that I grew up under (I am now an atheist …) would want that for you and those you love.

Well said, Lane.

Becky, I’ve never, NEVER understood the premise behind punishing the kids for the sins of their parents. Why would you want to belong to a church that does this to your own children that you love so much? UFF DA

Lane,

You mistook my comments, we don’t attend a Mennonite church; we’ve visited one but weren’t planning on becoming, nor did I say I wanted to be, a member. There are no kids being punished because we can’t belong to a church. I was just sharing a consequence of someone who’s been divorced has.

We go part time to a Fellowship Bible Church & part-time to a 1st Baptist & are blessed at each.

And I’m sorry but you’re wrong on me “knowing as well as you do that sexual orientation is not a choice”. I believe fully that it is purely choice. And, nowhere in the journals of medicine or psychology or the Bible does it say otherwise.

Do we all have desires? Yes, & sometimes those desires are not in line with God’s plan, in fact often they’re not. Just look at Adam & Eve & where their desires / disobedience got them & the rest of us.

Sexual orientation (aka choice) is just that, a choice. Sexuality is a God-given gift, but like any other gift, He set boundaries for it (marriage between a man & a woman, for life).

The Bible very clearly tells us, more than once to “take up the armor of God…”sword of Truth, belt of Rightousness,…” to fight the enemy (satan) & temptation (sexual urges, desires, etc.) God distinctly calls us to “take our thoughts captive”–for temptation paves way to sin which paves the way to death (spiritual death, being seperated from God forever…aka hell). Too often we get mad at God because we don’t understand Him. Our purpose is purely to glorify Him–in how we live, forgive, love, speak, act….Speaking the truth in love isn’t always comfortable to hear, God never said the truth wouldn’t sometimes hurt.

I didn’t say I justified divorce, I shared what the Bible says about adultery.

Whether my ex-husband feels any “lasting consequences” is beyond my control. As far as forgiveness, I have, for his role & mine. The hate I had for him is long past…but, forgiveness does not equate complete lack of consequences.

An example of what I mean is: If one of my young sons ran out into the street w/o looking, against my instructions to look both ways & walk, he may very well get hit by a car. He may have life-long consequences from that (paralyzed….) but, that doesn’t mean that I don’t forgive him or still love him. That doesn’t meant that at certain times in his life he may not still long for the ability to walk or run. Even if he one day forgave himself for his disobedience, that doesn’t mean he’ll never feel moments of sadness or remorse for his actions that caused his consequences. That’s part of the cycle of human emotions. It’s what prompts us to help others not make the mistakes we have. If consequences just disappeared, we’d never make any positive changes in our life.

I’m not a sad bitter woman because I once sinned & divorced a husband. On the contrary I’m a child of a forgiving God who loves me in spite of who I am but loves me too much to leave me the way that I am. He is not only a loving God, but a just God.

I too sense hurt from you . . . one doesn’t usually just become an athiest. It’s not my business of why you have chosen that, but I would think there was some abandonment or abuse or hurt or confusion at some point in your life & your denial of God is the result. Forgive me if I’m implying something that isn’t there . . . I don’t even know you let alone your past or your emotions that may have been trampled on or distorted by someone. And, I don’t need to.

You & I share the planet that I believe God created. And, I believe He loves you & is calling you to Him. Whether you answer or not is between you & God, not me.

Thank you for taking the time & candidly sharing some of your thoughts.

If there’s one thing a republican can’t stand more than an openly gay person, its an openly gay republican! Even when Koering says he’ll vote gainst same-sex marriage! “Get out of our big tent, we don’t want none of them queer cooties be spreadin’ around in here.”

Stirring up this faux-scandal is just the republican leadership’s way of doing anything to make sure he’s not re-elected.

Becky,

//I believe fully that it is purely choice. And, nowhere in the journals of medicine or psychology or the Bible does it say otherwise.//

Flucking Bull Manure no journal of medicine or psychology say otherwise. Either you’re lying, or you’re stupid and haven’t done your research.

The American Medical Association states, in part, that the AMA “opposes, the use of ‘reparative’ or ‘conversion’ therapy that is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that the patient should change his/her homosexual orientation.” (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/member-groups-sections/glbt-advisory-committee/ama-policy-regarding-sexual-orientation.shtml)

The American Psychological Association has stated, “No, human beings cannot choose to be either gay or straight. For most people, sexual orientation emerges in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience. Although we can choose whether to act on our feelings, psychologists do not consider sexual orientation to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed.” (http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx)

And every other major medical or psychiatric institution has agreed with these positions, not because they are liberal but because the studies prove sexual orientation is not a choice.

Becky, you never chose to be heterosexual. You simply were. I never chose to be homosexual. I simply am.

~~~~~

//He set boundaries for it (marriage between a man & a woman, for life).//

Right, which is why Abraham had sex with his slave and God didn’t punish him for it.

Or why King David had so many wives.
Or King Solomon.

And may it further be noted that the Bible never said God was pissed off at them for having multiple wives. Not a single verse.

~~~~~

Either way, arguing about the acceptability of homosexuality in the eyes of God is a rather moot point when God doesn’t even exist.

Becky, it is very hard for me to respect where you are coming from for at least two reasons. One is that again, sexual orientation is NOT “a lifestyle choice.” The other is that you do not respect my being atheistic which means that I am not persuaded that there is such a thing as “God.” Unlike you, I do not push my conclusions on others. As for what pain I experienced, it is due to religion-based homophobia and intolerance from people like you. Honestly.

I should clarify that my being gay had nothing to do with how I arrived at the conclusion that there is no such thing as god, that organized religion is inherently manipulative and anti-human among other things.

Lane–As a Christian I am called to be salt & light, just like any other follower of Christ. And, as followers we are called to spread the Gospel (that being the Jesus is God in human flesh, coming to earth to ultimately prove His love for us by paying our bill…death. To commit our life to Him means that we are forgiven & can live with Him eternally). Those aren’t “my conclusions”, they are that of a Risen Savior…if my telling you that He died for you as well as me comes across as me being intolerant of atheism or “pushing my conclusions”, so be it. Honestly, I do it with Love, not an agenda.

Unfortunately, organized churches have often been the cause of some turning away from God…& that is so sad. I too was once wounded by a church that talked the talk but didn’t walk the Walk. I would encourage you not to take out on God the mistakes or sins of those who say they love Him, but either inadvertently or even intentionally have caused you hurt. Yes, we are called to be “iron sharpening iron”, to correct each other when our actions are not glorifying to God. But, that should be done with hope, grace, firmness, & love.

My beliefs aren’t based on a “religion”, but on my relationship with Jesus Christ. Intolerance comes with the territory . . . nowhere in Scripture does God command us to tolerate sin, ours or others’. On the contrary, you sound awfully intolerant & phobic of me & my faith & the God my faith is in.

I leave you with some Scriptures if ever you’re so inclined to read them. There’s many many more also that will attest to your inferrance that God didn’t punish Abraham, David, & Solomon. Just because God didn’t take them over his knee & spank them, doesn’t mean they did not suffer consequences of their own sin.

In the beginning God created Adam & Eve & man was to leave his father & mother & cleave to his wife. Only as cultures developed & people began to turn away from God did the practice of concubines, multiple wives, etc. take place. And yes, oh yes all of those Bible men you listed had very serious consequences for their sins. Proverbs chapters 5 & 26; Ephesians chapter 5; Romans chapter 1; John chapters 14-17; Revelation 21:8. Their kids rebelled, some were killled, even Solomon admitted he’d made mistakes by following customs that were not honoring to God.

It’s obvious that neither of us will convince the other of errors in their beliefs. But, again I thank you for taking your time to share & be candid.

There is freedom in Christ, for any and all sins. Lasting consequences sometimes, but always forgiveness. Denying God doesn’t make Him go away, it doesn’t remove the truth of His sacrifice. Not understanding everything about God is ok, that means He’s bigger & greater than us.

Every day you wake up, that cross will still be there for you to lay your sins at the foot of. Honestly.

Whatever.

Just for fun, read the chapter “The Amniotic Universe” in Carl Sagan’s book “Broca’s Brain” where he shares a possible explanation for the universality of “religious yearnings” … As Mr. Spock would say, “Fascinating!”

All of our lifestles are choice. God gave us free will. The American Medical Association also labeled alcoholism as a disease so insurance companies had to pay for treatment. Alcohol is a choice, just as any other mood altering drug.

There are consequences to our choices. God is our devine creator and wants what is best for us. He also wants us to love and obey him.

Also, he is God. Who can argue with him and win? Didn’t work for me-lol!

Personally, I would not vote for a gay leader. A leader ‘leads people!’ They are held to a higher standard for this reason. Some things are just wrong and always will be.

Sexual orientation and one’s susceptibility to chemical addiction are two totally different things; neither is dependent on the other.

Like parenting, leadership is a skill. Both are not dependent on whether the person is gay or lesbian or straight.

Laurie, did you know that the prime minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, is lesbian?

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