“Affirming” church not doing it for us
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Anonymous
Ah...yeah. I encountered this issue in college - I'm not gay but I don't agree with the Catholic church's theology of sexuality more broadly. The problem is, tons of cradle Catholics don't either, but they're already members so they make their own peace. You can't do that as a convert. You have to affirmatively sign on to everything to become Catholic. If you actually DO agree that any kind of sexual relationship you might have as a gay person is simple, you can do that...but do you? |
Anonymous
It was so singled out because false teachers in the church are declaring homosexuality to be normal and not a sin, even saying God made people gay when he did no such thing, any more than God created adulterers, liars, thieves, and drunkards: it is acquired behavior. |
Anonymous
Many Christians point out that this passage from Corinthians is from Paul's letters to them. And Paul is not Jesus, in case that needs to be spelled out. We don't have any record of what Jesus said about homosexuality (or about abortion either). |
Anonymous
Oh goody, the bigots have entered the chat, to talk about themselves and try to change the subject to how everyone should abandon faith. OP, you probably already know what pp doesn't know: Paul's letters to the Corinthians aren't gospel, that is, they're not the same as if Jesus said it. Jesus isn't recorded as having talked about homosexuality. Yes, some churches take Paul's letters literally, but many don't (Episcopal, for one). My understanding is that some Catholic priests don't take Paul literally either, regardless of what's being sent down by Rome, although Catholics here would be able to speak to that better than me. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| Sounds like you want Episcopalian OP, perhaps you haven't tried the right church yet. |
Anonymous
The Catholic Church does not teach that the Bible should be read literally. |
Anonymous
To this person — I am not going to get into what each person responded said. I do wish that you would hear the true Christian Gospel without any of the extra commentary. Here’s my attempt: The reality is — no matter how “good” each of us tries to act — we constantly fall short. Loving your neighbor as yourself is great in theory — except try doing it for a day or even a morning. When your spouse annoys you or your boss ticks you off or your kids are nasty to you or something else goes wrong — the theory immediately goes out the window. You don’t love other people as yourself. And that’s when you’re not at fault. There are plenty of times when our own selfish hearts and behaviors do in fact hurt other people. We are angry or mean or greedy or arrogant or rude to other people and say afterwards “Why did I do that?!” People who can’t admit this about themselves are not being honest about their own flaws. Thankfully, we aren’t expected to be perfect. Rather, Jesus lived the perfect life for us and we get his perfect record before God simply through faith in him. Nothing else. Life isn’t this rat race of working really hard to do “good” — though after you understand and appreciate the magnitude of what Jesus did for you, it inevitably changes the way you live your life. My life changed dramatically after I found Jesus — not because I was doing things to “avoid hell” or to be a “good person” but because I proactively wanted to reflect love back to Jesus. The changes are gradual and usually don’t happen instantly. I am very much a work in progress. It is a life long journey as you walk in a new identity and a new self. This is the heart and essence of Christianity. The end result is that if you truly understand Christianity, it makes you humble and affirmed at the same time. Humble because you are not better than anyone else. Affirmed because the only two eyes in the universe that matter see you to the bottom and love you to the moon. Who cares what anyone else thinks? I’m sorry that so many people responding to this thread have misrepresented it or taken you down side roads that are not the Gospel. It’s also sad how so many purported Christians do not grasp what the faith actually says. |
Anonymous
DP. This is beautiful, pp. Thank you. |
Anonymous
What secular community organizations do you have in mind? Somehow I don't think the smell of bowling alley oil is what OP is looking for. |
Anonymous
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Since you said you enjoyed a recent Catholic mass, would consider Holy Trinity in Georgetown, which is Jesuit. As someone who attended both non-Jesuit Catholic schools and a Jesuit school and who has a DS who attends a Jesuit high school, I think Jesuit Catholic churches generally are more progressive and welcoming. They tend to be more focused on community service, caring about others, being a good person etc.
We also are friends with a gay married couple who attends Holy Trinity. Both grew up Catholic but eventually left the church. When they adopted a child, they wanted her to be raised with some religion. They asked if she could be baptized at HT and they were willing to do it. They’ve been parishioners since and said they feel welcome there. |
Anonymous
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Just an FYI, the Catholic Church in Colorado is currently fighting for the “right” to take taxpayer dollars meant for universal pre-K to discriminate against the children of gay parents. They are doing this after their brethren in Philadelphia successfully lobbied the Supreme Court to allow Catholic Charities to take taxpayer dollars to discriminate against gay families in adoption and foster cases.
A sane person would say that anyone LGBQT who signs up for that kind of abuse might have psychological problems. It’s one thing to discriminate- quite another to demand the taxpayers to subsidize it. |
Anonymous
OP’s whole point is that she doesn’t necessarily agree with churches saying “God made gays” or whatever. She seems to be comfortable with a questioning or gray area or allowance for discernment rather than adopting the progressive viewpoints exactly as some denominations have done. Men buggering teen boys in bible times is just not the same thing as two adult women sharing a bed. It just isn’t. You seem pretty set in your ways and don’t seem curious. Very black and white. Does your family talk to you? |
Anonymous
Yes, this is what it comes down to and why it won’t work. |
Anonymous
I don’t know. I’m gay and not bothered by adoption/fostering being to male-female couples. Kids need a mom and a dad. Adults are not entitled to a child. If Catholic Charities is actually causing some kids not to be adopted who otherwise would be, then that could be a problem, but not sure there is evidence of that. |