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Nashville Statement Aftermath?


Binbin98

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Hello all fellow Nashvillians,

As you can tell I am new here to the forum, so I apologize for any mistakes I may make. I currently do not live in Nashville, I actually am studying abroad through my university in London, however I lived and grew up in Nashville from 2000 to 2016 (moved to Nashville from New York when I was two years old lol), so It is very exciting for me to follow and catch up on urban development and economic growth in my previous hometown. 

Introduction aside recently a group of evangelical christians decided to use (in my opinion defame) Nashville's name in an anti-lgbt statement, and many people across America (including Mayor  Megan Barry) have taken time to publicly denounce the statement and its values. Without getting too much into politics, I ask the question whether this statement, even with its lack of direct association to the city of Nashville, will have a negative effects on the city's image and reputation. I understand Nashville itself doesnt support it and has no association, but unfortunately in this day and age not many people read into details and may erroneously interpret this statement as being from Nashville leaders themselves. In fact a close friend of mine on facebook thought the exact same thing as I just said and posted negative things about Nashville itself.  tldr: Do you guys this nashville statement have a negative effect on our city's image or not? 

 

For those who don't know here is the Statement itself: https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement/

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To anyone who's not an evangelical and/or supportive of the statement itself, I'd say it definitely has a negative effect on our city's image.  The question is how large that effect will be.  Given the decreasing number of people who share the beliefs contained in the statement (especially among people moving to/visiting cities) and given that the 24 hour news cycle  has been replaced by the breaking news extravaganza we've seen over the last year, it's my hope that the "Nashville Statement" disappears into the oblivion never to be spoken of again.  

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Nashville is already understood to be well within the Bible Belt so I don't think that this statement coming from Nashville will have any negative effect, as far as perception of the region. The uproar is much ado about nothing, in my opinion. The statement basically affirmed traditional Christian teachings about marriage and sexuality, so I think a lot of the reactions to it are just current partisanship and pearl-clutching. It'll be forgotten outside of the churches it's written for the next time anything newsworthy comes around. 

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I think many Nashvillians did exactly what we should have done and that is promptly forget that statement even came to fruition, thus taking the power of the statement away.  And that's a good thing, because the lower the blip on a radar it was, the less likely any SEO tools could be used to raise it's status. Hopefully anyone who does look at it recognizes that it's not representative of Nashville, much like the Westboro Baptist Church isn't representative of Christianity.

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I hope it goes away with the news cycle as well considering the US has had/about to have two major hurricanes among other impeding things. Those things in my opinion are much more important. I just hope that LGBT tourists arent scared away by this or anything, it could have a bad effect if so, however this is just me worrying again :P Also our mayor is saving our butts right now with her support for the DACA and condemning this Nashville Statement

 

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I would worry much more about the skyrocketing murder rates she's presiding over than her tweeting on her phone about whatever socially liberal hot-topic is currently trending. Getting shot, like that tourist from LA earlier this year near the country music hall of fame, is a much bigger deterrent than groups of theologians issueing doctrinal statements. 

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This attempt to paint the character and beliefs of Nashville with a broad brush is a desperate attempt to salvage their declining share of the population.  Evangelicals no longer have the strong hold on public policy they did even 20 years ago and IMO continue to shoot themselves in the foot doubling down on their hard-line viewpoints.

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24 minutes ago, claya91 said:

This attempt to paint the character and beliefs of Nashville with a broad brush is a desperate attempt to salvage their declining share of the population.  Evangelicals no longer have the strong hold on public policy they did even 20 years ago and IMO continue to shoot themselves in the foot doubling down on their hard-line viewpoints.

The statement doesn't make any claims about speaking for Nashville. Theological statements and councils typically carry the name of the city where they were written and proclaimed. I.E. Nicene Creed, Westminster Confession, Heidelberg Catechism. 

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37 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

The statement doesn't make any claims about speaking for Nashville. Theological statements and councils typically carry the name of the city where they were written and proclaimed. I.E. Nicene Creed, Westminster Confession, Heidelberg Catechism. 

Many don't know that, though. Which is why it's best to let this story die it's deserved death.

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8 hours ago, Binbin98 said:

 

Hello all fellow Nashvillians,

As you can tell I am new here to the forum, so I apologize for any mistakes I may make. I currently do not live in Nashville, I actually am studying abroad through my university in Shanghai China, however I lived and grew up in Nashville from 2000 to 2016 (moved to Nashville from New York when I was two years old lol), so It is very exciting for me to follow and catch up on urban development and economic growth in my previous hometown. 

Introduction aside recently a group of evangelical christians decided to use (in my opinion defame) Nashville's name in an anti-lgbt statement, and many people across America (including Mayor  Megan Barry) have taken time to publicly denounce the statement and its values. Without getting too much into politics, I ask the question whether this statement, even with its lack of direct association to the city of Nashville, will have a negative effects on the city's image and reputation. I understand Nashville itself doesnt support it and has no association, but unfortunately in this day and age not many people read into details and may erroneously interpret this statement as being from Nashville leaders themselves. In fact a close friend of mine on facebook thought the exact same thing as I just said and posted negative things about Nashville itself.  tldr: Do you guys this nashville statement have a negative effect on our city's image or not? 

 

For those who don't know here is the Statement itself: https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement/

I'm proud to support the Nashville Statement. This Mayor does not represent me.

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1 minute ago, fieldmarshaldj said:

I'm proud to support the Nashville Statement. This Mayor does not represent me.

That is fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and i respect that, however my goal was to make this conversation less about political opinions and more about the effects this statement could possibly have on Nashville as a whole.

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1 minute ago, Binbin98 said:

That is fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and i respect that, however my goal was to make this conversation less about political opinions and more about the effects this statement could possibly have on Nashville as a whole.

Frankly, your posting this thread in the first place was about making a political statement, and generally we try to steer away from politics, since they only tend to breed flame wars in short order. There are other websites around to openly discuss such issues.

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8 minutes ago, fieldmarshaldj said:

Frankly, your posting this thread in the first place was about making a political statement, and generally we try to steer away from politics, since they only tend to breed flame wars in short order. There are other websites around to openly discuss such issues.

I mean, really? New user does what we've asked you and others on the forum to do right out of the gate and this is what you come up with? It's in the coffeehouse where it's supposed to be, and here we are. And since I don't jump to conclusions, I'm not going to say whether or not it was meant to be a political post since it was framed as a question about possible ill-effects of something that could be political or could be religious depending on your pov.

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I support the Nashville Statement as well, but I agree with Dmills that if a political thread is going to start (and this WAS a political, or at least a culture-war topic), this is the place to do it. I understand the OP's point of asking the question. I'm fine with political discussion as long as it's related to Nashville and stays civil (I.E. no name calling or personal attacks). 

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5 minutes ago, dmillsphoto said:

I mean, really? New user does what we've asked you and others on the forum to do right out of the gate and this is what you come up with? It's in the coffeehouse where it's supposed to be, and here we are. And since I don't jump to conclusions, I'm not going to say whether or not it was meant to be a political post since it was framed as a question about possible ill-effects of something that could be political or could be religious depending on your pov.

So you're fine with a political/religious discussion so long as it's made in the coffee house forum ? That's not what I've been told in the past. Funny thing is that I was the one who urged this subforum's creation in the first place to discuss non-built environment issues for general chitchat that our Charlotte hosts wouldn't criticize at the time (so long as we steered clear of intense political/religious stuff). I saw this thread and replied, I thought it was bound to head in an ugly direction because of its combo of religion/politics, and you've stated how you feel about such discussions and don't hesitate to lock them up or delete posts.

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We lock everything in the main forum that has nothing to do with the topics in which the posts reside. And honestly, this question was still related to Nashville specifically. I'm not, nor is Neo going to, allow for a general thread on why a political party is better than another as it relates to nothing this forum is about. Even less so for religious stuff. Save that for the local watering hole after you've had a few (that's a joke). But this thread is fine because it's a thing that happened in Nashville that could cause perception issues about how welcoming this southern town really is.

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37 minutes ago, dmillsphoto said:

We lock everything in the main forum that has nothing to do with the topics in which the posts reside. And honestly, this question was still related to Nashville specifically. I'm not, nor is Neo going to, allow for a general thread on why a political party is better than another as it relates to nothing this forum is about. Even less so for religious stuff. Save that for the local watering hole after you've had a few (that's a joke). But this thread is fine because it's a thing that happened in Nashville that could cause perception issues about how welcoming this southern town really is.

I could argue that it was set up as a POV question, since it did offer a distinct political comment which you guys tend to frown upon, or rather if it comes from the opposite persuasion. I imagine if I brought up the same question, but phrased it along the lines of, "Did Mayor Barry's bigoted, ignorant, anti-Christian comments make it plain to folks outside the city that we don't welcome Christians and others that don't share a radical view of non-Godly marriage and traditional relationships and how will it harm the city as a result ?" that my thread would've been locked and/or deleted. Just sayin'...

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5 minutes ago, fieldmarshaldj said:

I could argue that it was set up as a POV question, since it did offer a distinct political comment which you guys tend to frown upon, or rather if it comes from the opposite persuasion. I imagine if I brought up the same question, but phrased it along the lines of, "Did Mayor Barry's bigoted, ignorant, anti-Christian comments make it plain to folks outside the city that we don't welcome Christians and others that don't share a radical view of non-Godly marriage and traditional relationships and how will it harm the city as a result ?" that my thread would've been locked and/or deleted. Just sayin'...

The @CBMWorg's so-called "Nashville Statement" is poorly named and does not represent the inclusive values of the city & people of Nashville--Megan Barry

What about about Berry's statement is bigoted or ignorant?  All she says is that Nashville is inclusive and makes clear that the statement is not made on behalf of our city.   If some group had come to town  and released their own "Nashville Statement" advocating to outlaw interracial marriage, I expect that Berry's response would've been similar.  Would that be bigotry and ignorance too? 

And as for anti-Christian, how is that even possible given that the majority of Christians support gay marriage?  I just looked it up--as of this June 2 out of 3 Catholics  and 68% of Protestants support gay marriage.  Even 35% of Evangelicals support gay marriage. To my knowledge, Jesus never addressed the issue, so I guess people even within the Christian community are free to believe whatever they want to believe about it.  In any case, it's not some radical fringe, and in fact quite the contrary. 

 

 

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I honestly meant for this thread to just be about what kind of effects this statement could have in/on Nashville itself, not about whether it was right or wrong or anything regarding religion, politics or race as a whole. I hope this message is clear enough

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5 minutes ago, ruraljuror said:

The @CBMWorg's so-called "Nashville Statement" is poorly named and does not represent the inclusive values of the city & people of Nashville--Megan Barry

What about about Berry's statement is bigoted or ignorant?  All she says is that Nashville is inclusive and makes clear that the statement is not made on behalf of our city.   If some group had come to town  and released their own "Nashville Statement" advocating to outlaw interracial marriage, I expect that Berry's response would've been similar.  Would that be bigotry and ignorance too? 

And as for anti-Christian, how is that even possible given that the majority of Christians support gay marriage?  I just looked it up--as of this June 2 out of 3 Catholics  and 68% of Protestants support gay marriage.  Even 35% of Evangelicals support gay marriage. To my knowledge, Jesus never addressed the issue, so I guess people even within the Christian community are free to believe whatever they want to believe about it.  In any case, it's not some radical fringe, and in fact quite the contrary. 

I think Mayor Barry would be better served pondering (privately) how her values system helped contribute to the untimely death of her son instead of publicly attacking people of faith.

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24 minutes ago, ruraljuror said:

The @CBMWorg's so-called "Nashville Statement" is poorly named and does not represent the inclusive values of the city & people of Nashville--Megan Barry

What about about Berry's statement is bigoted or ignorant?  All she says is that Nashville is inclusive and makes clear that the statement is not made on behalf of our city.   If some group had come to town  and released their own "Nashville Statement" advocating to outlaw interracial marriage, I expect that Berry's response would've been similar.  Would that be bigotry and ignorance too? 

And as for anti-Christian, how is that even possible given that the majority of Christians support gay marriage?  I just looked it up--as of this June 2 out of 3 Catholics  and 68% of Protestants support gay marriage.  Even 35% of Evangelicals support gay marriage. To my knowledge, Jesus never addressed the issue, so I guess people even within the Christian community are free to believe whatever they want to believe about it.  In any case, it's not some radical fringe, and in fact quite the contrary. 

 

 

Christ might not have addressed the issue of gay marriage (which wasn't an issue in this time - yes homosexuality existed but the idea of it being a basis for a family structure is a very new idea), but he did affirm that a man should marry one woman (see Mark 10). And the apostolic tradition and writings of Paul and Peter are very clear on the issue of homosexuality, along with issues like divorce, polygamy, adultury, and unmarried sex. 

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3 minutes ago, Pdt2f said:

Christ might not have addressed the issue of gay marriage (which wasn't an issue in this time - yes homosexuality existed but the idea of it being a basis for a family structure is a very new idea), but he did affirm that a man should marry one woman (see Mark 10). And the apostolic tradition and writings of Paul and Peter are very clear on the issue of homosexuality, along with issues like divorce, polygamy, adultury, and unmarried sex. 

I appreciate the information, but even if I agreed with your interpretation it wouldn't change the fact that the majority of Christians support gay marriage.  Some may do so in spite of biblical teachings and some may simply have a different interpretation of those teachings than you do.  That's why there's different sects with different belief structures and different interpretations of scripture.  You may think they're wrong--even so wrong that they're not really Christians--but you at least agree about who gets to be the final arbiter.

34 minutes ago, fieldmarshaldj said:

I think Mayor Barry would be better served pondering (privately) how her values system helped contribute to the untimely death of her son instead of publicly attacking people of faith.

 

Well that's possibly the least Christ-like response I can imagine, FMDJ.  Despite this one utterly graceless misstep quoted above, I can only assume your immaculate personal values system has allowed you to lead a tragedy-free life--so congratulations I guess.

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14 minutes ago, ruraljuror said:

I appreciate the information, but even if I agreed with your interpretation it wouldn't change the fact that the majority of Christians support gay marriage.  Some may do so in spite of biblical teachings and some may simply have a different interpretation of those teachings than you do.  That's why there's different sects with different belief structures and different interpretations of scripture.  You may think they're wrong--even so wrong that they're not really Christians--but you at least agree about who gets to be the final arbiter.

 

Well that's possibly the least Christ-like response I can imagine, FMDJ.  Despite this one utterly graceless misstep quoted above, I can only assume your immaculate personal values system has allowed you to lead a tragedy-free life--so congratulations I guess.

Firstly, I don't agree with your statistics on what Christians believe in. There are, sadly, some sects that have chosen to discard God's word for man's. We've already seen where such folly leads. I also always find it singularly amusing those opposed to Christian values seem to proclaim themselves experts on Christianity, Jesus, God and the like. I especially enjoy hearing the falsehood about Christ not being judgmental. Again, with respect to Mrs. Barry and others whose values systems are in opposition to God, this belief you can continue to live your lives in such a manner and indoctrinate your children into the same and expect no consequences for doing so is so utterly baffling as to defy all reason and common sense. Her "tolerance" for poor lifestyle choices resulted in the loss of her dearest blood. Sadly, she has apparently learned nothing from it and continues to mock those in opposition to her values system. As for my life, I have far from a problem or tragedy-free lifestyle. But I fortunately discovered early on that running from sinful behavior championed by certain groups today as something to be applauded has kept me from falling into traps.

8 minutes ago, claya91 said:

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Addressed in my post above.

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1 hour ago, fieldmarshaldj said:

Firstly, I don't agree with your statistics on what Christians believe in. There are, sadly, some sects that have chosen to discard God's word for man's. We've already seen where such folly leads. I also always find it singularly amusing those opposed to Christian values seem to proclaim themselves experts on Christianity, Jesus, God and the like. I especially enjoy hearing the falsehood about Christ not being judgmental. Again, with respect to Mrs. Barry and others whose values systems are in opposition to God, this belief you can continue to live your lives in such a manner and indoctrinate your children into the same and expect no consequences for doing so is so utterly baffling as to defy all reason and common sense. Her "tolerance" for poor lifestyle choices resulted in the loss of her dearest blood. Sadly, she has apparently learned nothing from it and continues to mock those in opposition to her values system. As for my life, I have far from a problem or tragedy-free lifestyle. But I fortunately discovered early on that running from sinful behavior championed by certain groups today as something to be applauded has kept me from falling into traps.

Addressed in my post above.

I guess you're right.  If you'd prefer to judge Barry's values than show compassion for her loss, it's all the same to me.  And you're also right that it was a mistake to imply that Christ wouldn't be judgmental.  I suppose that's where Judgement Day comes from after all.  In fact, some Christians would say that Christ is the only one who is supposed to be doing the judging (who casts the first stone?) but it's possible I've misinterpreted this too.  You are also right that I'm no expert on the matter.

And I'm glad that you got to take pride in the Nashville Statement.  It may not represent the majority opinion of Nashvillian's, but I've gathered that over the years you have often felt that Nashville  (especially the city govt.) has failed to represent you fairly or accurately one way or another, so it's nice for you to get  a Nashville statement you can support for a change.  There's nothing wrong with celebrating that on your part and proudly saying you support the Nashville statement to anyone willing to listen.  And given that, I can even understand your frustration with Barry for undercutting that Nashville pride that you got to experience finally for a reason unrelated to cool new skyscrapers.

Also, you obviously have a lot of confidence in your beliefs and that must be a great feeling.  In many ways I'm jealous.  I think most people live their lives with a greater degree of uncertainty about everything than you seem to have about anything.  That honestly sounds like fun to me, and must be a really secure and purpose-filled way to live. 

That said, even if you're right and our mayor's tragedy is a direct divine retribution for her wayward values--isn't that punishment enough?  Does she really require further condemnation on a public forum? 

 

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