Liebling...almost everything u said in response to some of the posts that I was debating about are similar to what I would have said so u beat me to it!
My friend's brother wont let his 19 year old daughter date alone cuz he said that God wanted her to have an escort so he would have his wife join her on dates. No wonder as soon as she turned 18, she moved in with her boyfriend against their wishes. That is the extreme preaching that I dont agree with. I respect people who feel blessed by God and whorship the bible but to force it on others is when it becomes excessive cuz not everyone will have the same beliefs.
Like Kalista said, the Bible has too many changes in their verses depending on the author. Who knows which author my friend's brother is obeying? That is something I stay out of but it becomes personal when he tries to force his beliefs on me so everyone tends to avoid him which is sad cuz we all grew up with him and he used to be so much fun and easygoing. Now, he is so ready to jump in and criticize anyone by calling them sinners. To me that is negative thinking and I cant imagine that he is really happy inside being so paranoid and negative.
I have other friends who study the bible and feel that God is in their lives but they make it a positive experience and dont try to force it on other people or put down people who dont believe in the same thing as they do. That is called having respect.