NationStates Jolt Archive

I’ve got a question, when Atheists talk about religion, they usually refer to Christianity. Out of curiosity, why do you focus just on Christianity? Are you going to judge spirituality because of one experience with religion? Have you searched or studied other religions besides Judo-Christian?

A more interesting question is this: WHo do atheists call out to during sex?

Well for me anyway, I do that because that is the most common religion and the only one I really know anything about. But I do refer to Christianity when I do that. I assume other people have similar reasons.

Being in the western world, it's the one I've developped the most negative attitude towards. Actually, cut that. I have the most negative attititude of anything related to, or coming from judaism.

I’ve got a question, when Atheists talk about religion, they usually refer to Christianity. Out of curiosity, why do you focus just on Christianity? Are you going to judge spirituality because of one experience with religion? Have you searched or studied other religions besides Judo-Christian?

Imagine you work in an office.

There are about 30 people in your office, some more on some days, some less on others.

You get along okay with most of the guys and girls, most of the time...

There are a couple who you don't get along with, but they are in a different cluster of the office, so, aside from the occassional pen bouncing off your head, or rude comments, you can ignore them.

There is also one large, muscular fellow who has rich parents, and pretty much can't get fired because of his connections. And every single day he attacks something you do, or messes with your space, or screws with your stuff, or stops you getting somewhere, or causes you some other form of trouble... just because he doesn't like 'your sort', and doesn't think he should have to share an office with you.

When you get out of work, and meet up with friends, and they ask you how your day was... what do you tell them about?

its becasue they don't like us actually I think its 'casue christianity is almost the only religon other than atheism yes its a religon look it up :p

Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Zoroastrians and Sikhs dont try to pervert the american government with their religion and turn our country into a theocracy.

That is my personal reason for fixating mostly on the ills of christianity.

No doubt if I lived in a muslim country islam would be my target.

its becasue they don't like us actually I think its 'casue christianity is almost the only religon other than atheism yes its a religon look it up :p


Religion: (Merriam Webster) "the service and worship of God or the supernatural "

(American Heritage) "Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship."

Learn english you dunce.

Imagine you work in an office.

*SNIP!*

When you get out of work, and meet up with friends, and they ask you how your day was... what do you tell them about?

About the jerkoff, of course.

But does that mean you'll assume all people who are muscular or/and rich, have the same personality as the jerk off?

Yes, Christianity is a major religion, but it is not the ONLY religion. If you are Atheist, you have to reject all forms of religion. If you don’t study these other religions how can you know for a fact they’re wrong? Rejecting Christianity because it gives you a headache is fine. Rejecting faith and spirituality is another thing all together.

A more interesting question is this: WHo do atheists call out to during sex?

Well, it's actually just a certain personailty that does that. Athesits just happen to have that personality.

Yes, Christianity is a major religion, but it is not the ONLY religion. If you are Atheist, you have to reject all forms of religion. If you don’t study these other religions how can you know for a fact they’re wrong? Rejecting Christianity because it gives you a headache is fine. Rejecting faith and spirituality is another thing all together.


Learning about lots of different religions and such is why I am a buddhist.

About the jerkoff, of course.

But does that mean you'll assume all people who are muscular or/and rich, have the same personality as the jerk off?

Yes, Christianity is a major religion, but it is not the ONLY religion. If you are Atheist, you have to reject all forms of religion. If you don’t study these other religions how can you know for a fact they’re wrong? Rejecting Christianity because it gives you a headache is fine. Rejecting faith and spirituality is another thing all together.

I am a keen student of all religions... as material for study. And I oppose elements of most... although there is little point, for example, at getting TOO worked up over Aztec sacrifices, or the possible slave-holding of the Sumerians.

The reason I largely argue against christianity is because it is the loudest voice where I am (and on the forum), the one that is trying to exert the most control over me directly.

e.g. Buddhists aren't trying to stop homosexuals get married, or promoting wars in the middle-east, or trying to have homosexuals and pregnant-single-women banned from teaching at schools in South Carolina.

In my office, the bully is christianity. Sure, I object to large aspects of Islam, too... but they are way over there, flicking pens.

The reason I largely argue against christianity is because it is the loudest voice where I am (and on the forum), the one that is trying to exert the most control over me directly.

that's exactly what i was going to say.

The reason I largely argue against christianity is because it is the loudest voice where I am (and on the forum), the one that is trying to exert the most control over me directly.


I hate everything being closed on sundays except churches and they don't sell anything and expect me to give them money for nothing. Kinda sounds like... socialism! :eek:

Well, I just signed up not to long ago, and I'd like to toss in my two cents.
I can certainly see the arguments about Christians being the more dominate force and thus being targeted more often then the others.

but one thing I do hate about these kind of discussions when I see them,
and this isn't the first or 2nd or even thrid I've been through.
is that they seem to like to clump all the Christians together when some Christian groups have very different opinions on things then other Christian groups.

"e.g. Buddhists aren't trying to stop homosexuals get married, or promoting wars in the middle-east, or trying to have homosexuals and pregnant-single-women banned from teaching at schools in South Carolina."

I've been in denominations that have been neutral or even against the war, and in the area I'm in I know they wouldn’t be banning such teacher just on that basis. not just because it wouldn't get anywhere legally but because they believe those women have just as much right to teach as any other person does.

so just because one "Christian" group says "that's evil and we got to stop it" doesn't always mean every Christian will agree with that Idea. (just like thinking all muscular mean are rich snobs)

and expanding on the stopping the homosexual marriage thing, if you take a moment to think objectively about what could happen you'd notice a loop hole here.. And that is any two people living together regardless of their actual sexual orientation could go to court claim to be gay pay the marriage fee and get all the benefits of being married. Now they could be completely straight, but notice the company has good benefits for married couples so they'd be better off financially if they where married. And thus they would be but only on paper. In real life they'd just be friends and not ever "do" anything of that sort with each other.
I do think there is a point where you got to say "sorry but that can be abused way too easily, so we can't got there" as its human nature to try to screw up everything we can get our hands on. And while it might not me you or me messing it up, there will always be someone out there with a big head who thinks it's their right and duty to do so.

About the jerkoff, of course.

But does that mean you'll assume all people who are muscular or/and rich, have the same personality as the jerk off?

Yes, Christianity is a major religion, but it is not the ONLY religion. If you are Atheist, you have to reject all forms of religion. If you don’t study these other religions how can you know for a fact they’re wrong? Rejecting Christianity because it gives you a headache is fine. Rejecting faith and spirituality is another thing all together.

You seem to have not precisely followed the analogy. It seems to me that s/he is refering to each seperate person in the office as representing a broad group of religion or otherwise of spiritual/antispiriitualistic belief systems.

But looking at it this way: suppose the jerk has brothers and sisters. One, his older brother, used to be Daddy's fair-haired boy and was even more of a jerk than the one you know, but you have heard that he has mellowed out and even apologized to some of his most bullied victims. The rest are younger, and none are as strong as he is, nor as connected nor as favoured by Daddy, and you've heard, and maybe have met some of them, that some of them are fairly cool sometimes in some ways at least, but all are fucked-up to some extent by sheer family chemistry.

That family is named the Jesuses, and the jerk you work with is George Jesus. One of the assholes that work in the other side of the office is Osama Mohammed, whose family also has some reasonable cool members as well as assholes like him. But his path and yours rarely cross since he hates George too much to bother you. Ari Moses is a stuck-up snob sometimes, but he isn't hostile unless you cross him. Bob Krisna (I ran out of appropriate first names ;) ) and you are not close, but he's OK if you are, although you heard he has a brother that's occassionally a major jerk. Judy Buddha and Aggie Nostic probably have the most in common with you, so you three get along well, and you get along with their kin as well.

A more detailed anology, in the hopes of clarifying the other poster's meaning, at least to the best of my understanding. :)

...or maybe I have misunderstood your own post. If so, nebbermind. :)

to me, all religion is equally silly. however, no Buddhist has ever given me crap for being agnostic. no Hindu has self-righteously told me he will "pray for me." no Jew has ever told me that my legal rights should be dictated by his God. my Norse friend sometimes expects me to engange in axe-throwing tributes to one or another of his gods, but i'll take pretty much any excuse to throw an axe around and therefore don't mind in the least.

point is, in my entire life i have never been harassed about my religious beliefs (or lack thereof) by a non-Christian. atheists often try to explain to me how i am actually a "weak atheist," which is both patronizing and wrong, but they don't seem particularly interested in forcing me to convert. i've had heated conversations over the nature or rationality of faith with a wide variety of people, representing pretty much every current religious denomination you can think of, and it is consistently the Christians who have the worst arguments and the rudest debate skills.

if the well-behaved Christians in the world don't like the awful stereotypes about their faith then perhaps they shouldn't be wasting time chewing out atheists for simply reacting based on personal experiences. perhaps Christians ought to deal with the loud and annoying members of their own flock who give the rest of them such a bad name.

I don't just deny Christianity. In my opinion, all Gods are myths, not just the Christian one ;).
One of the things that makes that easier (for me anyway), it that the Christian, Islamic and Jewish Gods are all one and the same. All three religions worship the God of Abraham, and when you look closly at them, Christianity and Islam (in their earliest forms) are in reality, major sects of Judaism (in its earliest form), which predates both of them.
Yes, I have read an English translation of the Koran, and have studied aspects of other religion, just for information, and to assist me to understand these faiths. Just because I don't believe in the Gods, or follow the faith, I do believe information kills intolerance, and this studying has helped me to understand these religions, and respect the people who follow them.
The only religion that worships someone who actually lived is Buddism, but I don't believe or follow that faith either.

Well, I just signed up not to long ago, and I'd like to toss in my two cents.
I can certainly see the arguments about Christians being the more dominate force and thus being targeted more often then the others.

but one thing I do hate about these kind of discussions when I see them,
and this isn't the first or 2nd or even thrid I've been through.
is that they seem to like to clump all the Christians together when some Christian groups have very different opinions on things then other Christian groups.

"e.g. Buddhists aren't trying to stop homosexuals get married, or promoting wars in the middle-east, or trying to have homosexuals and pregnant-single-women banned from teaching at schools in South Carolina."

I've been in denominations that have been neutral or even against the war, and in the area I'm in I know they wouldn’t be banning such teacher just on that basis. not just because it wouldn't get anywhere legally but because they believe those women have just as much right to teach as any other person does.

so just because one "Christian" group says "that's evil and we got to stop it" doesn't always mean every Christian will agree with that Idea. (just like thinking all muscular mean are rich snobs)

and expanding on the stopping the homosexual marriage thing, if you take a moment to think objectively about what could happen you'd notice a loop hole here.. And that is any two people living together regardless of their actual sexual orientation could go to court claim to be gay pay the marriage fee and get all the benefits of being married. Now they could be completely straight, but notice the company has good benefits for married couples so they'd be better off financially if they where married. And thus they would be but only on paper. In real life they'd just be friends and not ever "do" anything of that sort with each other.
I do think there is a point where you got to say "sorry but that can be abused way too easily, so we can't got there" as its human nature to try to screw up everything we can get our hands on. And while it might not me you or me messing it up, there will always be someone out there with a big head who thinks it's their right and duty to do so.

"And that is any two people living together regardless of their actual sexual orientation could go to court claim to be gay pay the marriage fee and get all the benefits of being married. Now they could be completely straight, but notice the company has good benefits for married couples so they'd be better off financially if they where married"

So... heterosexuals couldn't do EXACTLY the same thing? Christ, straight marriage rights are abused ALL the time (Ms Spears, anyone?). You can't say to one group "Well, if we make this legal, it'll get abused. Never mind that we've made it legal for that group over there, and that they can abuse it as much as they want... we refuse to do it for you".

And hey, notice you yourself said "regardless of their actual sexual orientation". That means that straight people could abuse gay marriage, just like gays can 'abuse' straight marriage (marrying members of the opposite sex just for financial gain).

Your point really makes no sense the way you've expressed it (though feel free to rebutt, I always like a good debate).

A more interesting question is this: WHo do atheists call out to during sex?


OMG thats lame

I’ve got a question, when Atheists talk about religion, they usually refer to Christianity. Out of curiosity, why do you focus just on Christianity? Are you going to judge spirituality because of one experience with religion? Have you searched or studied other religions besides Judo-Christian?

Have looked into other religions, but living in the west means being surrounded by predominantly christian society/culture. Personally i'm an agnostic (not 100% sure whether there is a god or not), and i have no problem if someone chooses to believe in god or not. If someone uses the bible/qu'ran/Tora/whatever to help themselves lead a better life. Fine, great. It's when they use it to impose their views, or rely on a book written centuries/millenia ago to define what is right/correct now.

I am a keen student of all religions... as material for study. And I oppose elements of most... although there is little point, for example, at getting TOO worked up over Aztec sacrifices, or the possible slave-holding of the Sumerians.

The reason I largely argue against christianity is because it is the loudest voice where I am (and on the forum), the one that is trying to exert the most control over me directly.

e.g. Buddhists aren't trying to stop homosexuals get married, or promoting wars in the middle-east, or trying to have homosexuals and pregnant-single-women banned from teaching at schools in South Carolina.

In my office, the bully is christianity. Sure, I object to large aspects of Islam, too... but they are way over there, flicking pens.

nice metaphors

There's no possible way anyone can ever get mad at a Buddhist.

It's the most mellow religion. . . Ever.

I mean, even the EXTREME FUNDAMENTALIST Buddhists would only set themselves on fire. They don't hurt anyone.

Christians tend to be the most vocal, defensive and ignorant of all religions. I also think most of the hostility originates from the evolution debate since evolution throws the whole religion into question.

and expanding on the stopping the homosexual marriage thing, if you take a moment to think objectively about what could happen you'd notice a loop hole here.. And that is any two people living together regardless of their actual sexual orientation could go to court claim to be gay pay the marriage fee and get all the benefits of being married. Now they could be completely straight, but notice the company has good benefits for married couples so they'd be better off financially if they where married. And thus they would be but only on paper. In real life they'd just be friends and not ever "do" anything of that sort with each other.

So you think a heterosexual couple couldn't do the same thing with the current format? Why is it just gay people that would take advantage of a "loophole" as you call it?

Dammit, Daroth beat me to it ;)

And while it might not me you or me messing it up, there will always be someone out there with a big head who thinks it's their right and duty to do so.

You mean like Christians?

Christians tend to be the most vocal, defensive and ignorant of all religions. I also think most of the hostility originates from the evolution debate since evolution throws the whole religion into question.
I think you underestimate the degree to which the religious types can explain away any ratonal thought. I think Aquinas described it best when he told everyone that God's beyond reason, so if anything God created doesn't make sense, it's just because your reason has its limits. Makes sense, right?

They focus on it because it's the main religion in the Western World and because it is easily defended as it has alot of historical backing and very different origins to the others (if you bother to look).

I can't answer for other people, only for myself. I've thought about this alot, although I asked it in a alightly different way.

The answer I came up with was easy. I know that there are things I consider 'wrong' with many religions, maybe even all of them. But, to tell you the truth, I have never met a "Thor's Witness". I have no problems with the Priesthood of Aphrodite sacrificing children to Afrodite because there is no priesthood of Aphrodite left today, and if there is I doubt they sacrifice children any more. I have never come across a powerfull Zen Buddist lobby group lobbying my government for laws against eating pork. Jews have never stopped my on the street and asked if they could have a moment of my time to talk about Abraham.

The only two religions I come into daily in-your-face contact with is Christianity and Islam. And quite frankly, I have a problem with both. Not in themselves but in what certain representatives of their faith do. Preaching against homosexuality. Knutby. Suicide bombers. Terrorist attacks. Yapping on about the so-called "nuclear family". Trying to establish their system of morals as a legal system, where the tiniest deviation is cause for a stoning. Preaching against preventives. Preaching against divorce. 'Honour-based' murders.

Sometimes I think the Romans had the right idea. Ban the 'Chrestians', and have it over with.

Then I remember I support freedom of religion. Oh well.

I think you underestimate the degree to which the religious types can explain away any ratonal thought. I think Aquinas described it best when he told everyone that God's beyond reason, so if anything God created doesn't make sense, it's just because your reason has its limits. Makes sense, right?

Actually, there's a major difference though. Non-christian faiths tend to be more open-minded (in my experience). They may have explanations that do not make sense and conflict with scientific viewpoints, but they're also more willing to listen about the world around them without just casting aside facts laid right in front of them. I hope that clears it up a little more. I know all religious types can explain away most rational thinkings, it's just christians tend to be the worst of the bunch.

Some of you are confusing religion with belief. There is a difference.

Also - The idealologies of Christiandom have always been about fear & control.

Religion was written down by the hands of men said to be presenting the words of an omnipotent. If I were to waltz outside and declare this same action, the average person would either laugh or cry heresy.

I look at the ideas from religion with this modern day examination. You want me to believe someone heard God and put his words into print, but I believe in that as much as either of us would believe it were done so today.

"Freedom From Relgion"

Christians tend to be the most vocal, defensive and ignorant of all religions. I also think most of the hostility originates from the evolution debate since evolution throws the whole religion into question.

Bullshit. It only effects those who are trapped in the view that the Bible is both literal and infallible.

Also - The idealologies of Christiandom have always been about fear & control.

Moron.

Bullshit. It only effects those who are trapped in the view that the Bible is both literal and infallible.

The literal view is a small minority, yes, but the infallibility part is much larger. Since the Bible is supposed to be God's Word spoken to mankind, showing it as being infallible throws into doubt the idea that God is perfect. If parts of the Bible are shown to be untrue, who's to say the whole thing isn't true? That can throw a large majority of christians into a tizzy.

I don't participate in debates or discussions here very often, because most of the time its idiotic. But this particular discussion was rather lopsided, so I thought I'd throw my thoughts in.

There's a certain logical fallacy called "generalization". Or part to a whole, or whatever you want to call it. Because some Christians hold up signs that say "God hates fags" then they must all do it, or at least think it. The Catholic church was brutal in part of its history, so it must be based on fear and superstition now.

The fact is, not all Christians are blindly dogmatic and offensive and terrible debaters. I'd like to think I'm a decent one, and I know I'm not offensive (at least in this sense :P) I happen to believe that the Bible is divinely inspired and infallible, and I'd be willing to debate that point with anyone, but I don't hit people with Bibles or preach on street corners about how people are going to hell. Nor do zero of the people I know.

The literal view is a small minority, yes, but the infallibility part is much larger. Since the Bible is supposed to be God's Word spoken to mankind, showing it as being infallible throws into doubt the idea that God is perfect. If parts of the Bible are shown to be untrue, who's to say the whole thing isn't true? That can throw a large majority of christians into a tizzy.

Yes, but your previous post strongly implied that creationism is a fundemental lynchpin of Christianity. Yet you now call biblical literalists a minority, and biblical literalism is a lynchpin of creationism.

Well, I just signed up not to long ago, and I'd like to toss in my two cents.
I can certainly see the arguments about Christians being the more dominate force and thus being targeted more often then the others.

but one thing I do hate about these kind of discussions when I see them,
and this isn't the first or 2nd or even thrid I've been through.
is that they seem to like to clump all the Christians together when some Christian groups have very different opinions on things then other Christian groups.

"e.g. Buddhists aren't trying to stop homosexuals get married, or promoting wars in the middle-east, or trying to have homosexuals and pregnant-single-women banned from teaching at schools in South Carolina."

I've been in denominations that have been neutral or even against the war, and in the area I'm in I know they wouldn’t be banning such teacher just on that basis. not just because it wouldn't get anywhere legally but because they believe those women have just as much right to teach as any other person does.

so just because one "Christian" group says "that's evil and we got to stop it" doesn't always mean every Christian will agree with that Idea. (just like thinking all muscular mean are rich snobs)

and expanding on the stopping the homosexual marriage thing, if you take a moment to think objectively about what could happen you'd notice a loop hole here.. And that is any two people living together regardless of their actual sexual orientation could go to court claim to be gay pay the marriage fee and get all the benefits of being married. Now they could be completely straight, but notice the company has good benefits for married couples so they'd be better off financially if they where married. And thus they would be but only on paper. In real life they'd just be friends and not ever "do" anything of that sort with each other.
I do think there is a point where you got to say "sorry but that can be abused way too easily, so we can't got there" as its human nature to try to screw up everything we can get our hands on. And while it might not me you or me messing it up, there will always be someone out there with a big head who thinks it's their right and duty to do so.

I'm not trying to lump all christians together. I DO know christians who actually oppose the ban on gay marriage. I do know christians that don't mind the idea of a single, pregnant female as a teacher.

Those obviously aren't what I rail against, though. And, unfortunately, it isn't the moderates that have the power, it's the fundamentalists. And I oppose fundamentalists of ALL religions.

I am quite happy for someone to follow their personal faith, and to leave others alone... and then I leave them alone. That's the crux of the matter, for me.

By the way - the thing about banning gays from the teaching profession, or banning single, pregnant women from the teaching profession IS THE ACTUAL PLATFORM of a politician in South Carolina at the moment (Jim Dement?)... and that is CERTAINLY someone allowing their religious bias to affect the lives of others.... and that I abhor.

Finally... your point about gay marriage is irrelevent, as the same thing can happen in same sex marriages... any two people of OPPOSITE gender can marry now, for any reason - and the law is kind of forced to see the marriage as genuine. Why should this be different just because the couple are gay?

You seem to have not precisely followed the analogy. It seems to me that s/he is refering to each seperate person in the office as representing a broad group of religion or otherwise of spiritual/antispiriitualistic belief systems.

But looking at it this way: suppose the jerk has brothers and sisters. One, his older brother, used to be Daddy's fair-haired boy and was even more of a jerk than the one you know, but you have heard that he has mellowed out and even apologized to some of his most bullied victims. The rest are younger, and none are as strong as he is, nor as connected nor as favoured by Daddy, and you've heard, and maybe have met some of them, that some of them are fairly cool sometimes in some ways at least, but all are fucked-up to some extent by sheer family chemistry.

That family is named the Jesuses, and the jerk you work with is George Jesus. One of the assholes that work in the other side of the office is Osama Mohammed, whose family also has some reasonable cool members as well as assholes like him. But his path and yours rarely cross since he hates George too much to bother you. Ari Moses is a stuck-up snob sometimes, but he isn't hostile unless you cross him. Bob Krisna (I ran out of appropriate first names ;) ) and you are not close, but he's OK if you are, although you heard he has a brother that's occassionally a major jerk. Judy Buddha and Aggie Nostic probably have the most in common with you, so you three get along well, and you get along with their kin as well.

A more detailed anology, in the hopes of clarifying the other poster's meaning, at least to the best of my understanding. :)

This would make a great soap-opera.

You seem to have not precisely followed the analogy. It seems to me that s/he is refering to each seperate person in the office as representing a broad group of religion or otherwise of spiritual/antispiriitualistic belief systems.

But looking at it this way: suppose the jerk has brothers and sisters. One, his older brother, used to be Daddy's fair-haired boy and was even more of a jerk than the one you know, but you have heard that he has mellowed out and even apologized to some of his most bullied victims. The rest are younger, and none are as strong as he is, nor as connected nor as favoured by Daddy, and you've heard, and maybe have met some of them, that some of them are fairly cool sometimes in some ways at least, but all are fucked-up to some extent by sheer family chemistry.

That family is named the Jesuses, and the jerk you work with is George Jesus. One of the assholes that work in the other side of the office is Osama Mohammed, whose family also has some reasonable cool members as well as assholes like him. But his path and yours rarely cross since he hates George too much to bother you. Ari Moses is a stuck-up snob sometimes, but he isn't hostile unless you cross him. Bob Krisna (I ran out of appropriate first names ;) ) and you are not close, but he's OK if you are, although you heard he has a brother that's occassionally a major jerk. Judy Buddha and Aggie Nostic probably have the most in common with you, so you three get along well, and you get along with their kin as well.

A more detailed anology, in the hopes of clarifying the other poster's meaning, at least to the best of my understanding. :)

Exactly. Thankyou.

I’ve got a question, when Atheists talk about religion, they usually refer to Christianity. Out of curiosity, why do you focus just on Christianity? Are you going to judge spirituality because of one experience with religion? Have you searched or studied other religions besides Judo-Christian?

Because most english-speaking atheists live in nations where the main religion is christianity, so we more about it than other religions.

nice metaphors

Why, thankyou! :)

Yes, but your previous post strongly implied that creationism is a fundemental lynchpin of Christianity. Yet you now call biblical literalists a minority, and biblical literalism is a lynchpin of creationism.

Sorry for the misunderstanding then, it happens :)

Well, I just signed up not to long ago, and I'd like to toss in my two cents.
I can certainly see the arguments about Christians being the more dominate force and thus being targeted more often then the others.

but one thing I do hate about these kind of discussions when I see them,
and this isn't the first or 2nd or even thrid I've been through.
is that they seem to like to clump all the Christians together when some Christian groups have very different opinions on things then other Christian groups.

"e.g. Buddhists aren't trying to stop homosexuals get married, or promoting wars in the middle-east, or trying to have homosexuals and pregnant-single-women banned from teaching at schools in South Carolina."

I've been in denominations that have been neutral or even against the war, and in the area I'm in I know they wouldn’t be banning such teacher just on that basis. not just because it wouldn't get anywhere legally but because they believe those women have just as much right to teach as any other person does.

so just because one "Christian" group says "that's evil and we got to stop it" doesn't always mean every Christian will agree with that Idea. (just like thinking all muscular mean are rich snobs)

and expanding on the stopping the homosexual marriage thing, if you take a moment to think objectively about what could happen you'd notice a loop hole here.. And that is any two people living together regardless of their actual sexual orientation could go to court claim to be gay pay the marriage fee and get all the benefits of being married. Now they could be completely straight, but notice the company has good benefits for married couples so they'd be better off financially if they where married. And thus they would be but only on paper. In real life they'd just be friends and not ever "do" anything of that sort with each other.
I do think there is a point where you got to say "sorry but that can be abused way too easily, so we can't got there" as its human nature to try to screw up everything we can get our hands on. And while it might not me you or me messing it up, there will always be someone out there with a big head who thinks it's their right and duty to do so.

Hey! I've seen a sitcom that had that exactly same storyline (friends marry soo a guy can get a promotion), but guess what.
IT WAS A MAN AND A WOMAN.
HOLY SHIT! THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A FAIL!
LET'S BAN MARRIAGE!