I find it strange that you would say this. Why? Because those states that have legalized same-sex marriage is taking away freedom of religion just as was pointed out in the video.
Diana the only thing that will change people’s minds about this is getting to know people who happen to be gay or lesbian or bisexual, and what you discover is that they’re people just like us. To overcome our fears, I think it is basically fear, means getting to know people and to see that they are not a threat. There may be people with those sexual differences whom we like or whom we don’t like, but they’re all made in the image of God. To stereotype them negatively, it seems to me, is a complete misunderstanding of Christian faith.
I know those texts are in the Bible, but the Bible is a dynamic tradition that’s always on the move to new truth. If you track that out, probably the ultimate statement about that is made by Paul in Galatians 3, that in Christ there is neither male nor female, Greek nor Barbarian, slave or free. We are all one in Christ. And what we know in the gospel is that God’s love reaches toward all of God’s creatures. To sort them out in terms of who are the deserving and the qualified and who are not is imposing a judgment on human reality that simply cannot be done.
I do know people who are gay or lesbian. In fact, one of my co-workers is lesbian. I do not speak out against the people. I speak out against the ACT or the BEHAVIOR. We are taught to love the criminal, but not the crime. We are told to love the sinner, but not the sin. In the same way, I have no problems with gays and lesbians, but the ACT of homosexuality is what I have always been speaking against. I speak out against same-sex marriage, not against people who are gay or lesbians.
There is a reason why we restrict the marriage of same sex couples. Have you taken a look at the data? There is a very high rate of sexually transmitted diseases among gay and bisexual men than heterosexual men simply because of the type of sexual activity they engage in. The function of the anus was to take out waste from the body. It was never design for sex. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention:
"Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) have been increasing among gay and bisexual men, with recent increases in syphilis being documented across the country. In 2012, men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for 75% of primary and secondary syphilis cases in the United States. MSM often are diagnosed with other STDs, including chlamydia and gonorrhea infections.
HPV (Human Papillomavirus), the most common STD in the United States, is also a concern for MSM. Some types of HPV can cause genital and anal warts and some can lead to the development of anal and oral cancer. Men who have sex with men are 17 times more likely to develop anal cancer than heterosexual men. Men who are HIV-positive are even more likely than those who are uninfected to develop anal cancer."
http://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/STD.htm
An endorsement of the ACT of homosexuality among gay men is only an endorsement to their early deaths.
Alcohlics, smokers, drug addicts, etc. Endorse early deaths. How many in the NCW are drinkers, smokers, take a toke or two of drugs? Do not say that homosexuality stands alone as an endorsement of an early death. I have seen NCW young adults smoke in bars and blast the night away. So please, clean your community homes before you pass judgement on homosexuals.
I am speaking the truth about the ACT of homosexuality. As I said before, this has nothing to do with equal rights. Like everything else, marriage comes with certain restrictions. One cannot marry their siblings or immediate family. One cannot marry more than one person. One cannot marry a non-human. One cannot marry a child, and one cannot marry a person of the same sex. There are reasons why these restrictions exist. I do not support excessive drinking, excessive smoking, or drug addiction because as you say these things lead to an early death. I also do not support same sex marriage because it is ALSO an endorsement to early death.
and that's why we walk.....no angels in the NCW....just people who first acknowledge THEIR sins and struggle to live a life in communion with Christ.
Nothing against homosexuals.....we see Gods love for them.....they are not bad people, they just have bad habits. Who doesn't. Love the sinner; hate the sin
How about you anonymous April 25 at 1:29.......is homosexuality a SIN....YES or NO?
Well Diana, this is what we do is to pick and choose things out of the Bible that conform to our fears. It’s not a matter of obeying the Bible — it’s about obeying the gospel. The gospel is about God’s saving love that wants to restore all of humanity to full communion. To reach back to an ancient text that has now been corrected by the revelation of God in Jesus Christ is simply a bad maneuver and poor methodology and theologically irresponsible. Those texts are not the determinative texts.
The texts that are determinative are those that talk about the love of God that has been shown to us in Jesus. We can’t compromise that.
To love your neighbor does not mean to love their sins. Jesus love the sinners and gave His life for them, but nothing in the New Testament says that He loves their sins. Christ did His part to redeem mankind so that they can have eternal life. The rest is up to us. We must do our part in following His will rather than our own will.
the ancient text has been corrected by the revelation? where did you learn that? "I have come to fulfill the law, Not one iota of the law will be abolished" says Jesus (my transliteration) LAW=TORAH=PENTATEUCH the OT (Old Testament) is not understood, but the NT (New Testament) could not exist without the OT. "bad maneuver, poor methodology, theologically irresponsible" : yours is shoddy scholarship or straightforward ignorance.
I would take it even further and make 2 points: 1. the idea that the OT has been superseded is the idea that leads to antisemitism because it argues that the covenant of Mt. Sinai has expired. Instead if you have read V2 (vatican 2) docs, you will see that on the contrary the chosen people are chosen for eternity. (which is why so many people who reject V2 are anti-Semites and holocaust deniers, including Rohr and co.)
2. The law introduced in the NT is even more stringent and impossible to follow than the OT. OT allows divorce, NT does not. OT says "do not murder", NT says "calling your brother stupid is murder", OT allows eye for eye, NT says love your enemy. If in the OT homosexual sex is a sin, it follows logic that it is still more a sin in the NT.
Like hetero sex outside of marriage is a sin, homo sex is sin also because it takes place outside of marriage and since the time of creation marriage can only be between a man and a woman. In addition marriage for a Catholic (not protestants which is why they can accept homosexual sex) is a sacrament and thus personally instituted by Jesus during his time on earth. no Catholic can tamper with it.
So what? Each to his/her own belief.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 12:57 am,
DeleteI find it strange that you would say this. Why? Because those states that have legalized same-sex marriage is taking away freedom of religion just as was pointed out in the video.
Amazing the kind of attitudes that comment on this blog.
DeleteOne second they share individual rights; next second jumping in divinity.
dust in the wind
Diana the only thing that will change people’s minds about this is getting to know people who happen to be gay or lesbian or bisexual, and what you discover is that they’re people just like us. To overcome our fears, I think it is basically fear, means getting to know people and to see that they are not a threat. There may be people with those sexual differences whom we like or whom we don’t like, but they’re all made in the image of God. To stereotype them negatively, it seems to me, is a complete misunderstanding of Christian faith.
ReplyDeleteI know those texts are in the Bible, but the Bible is a dynamic tradition that’s always on the move to new truth. If you track that out, probably the ultimate statement about that is made by Paul in Galatians 3, that in Christ there is neither male nor female, Greek nor Barbarian, slave or free. We are all one in Christ. And what we know in the gospel is that God’s love reaches toward all of God’s creatures. To sort them out in terms of who are the deserving and the qualified and who are not is imposing a judgment on human reality that simply cannot be done.
Dear Anonymous at 10:17 am,
DeleteI do know people who are gay or lesbian. In fact, one of my co-workers is lesbian. I do not speak out against the people. I speak out against the ACT or the BEHAVIOR. We are taught to love the criminal, but not the crime. We are told to love the sinner, but not the sin. In the same way, I have no problems with gays and lesbians, but the ACT of homosexuality is what I have always been speaking against. I speak out against same-sex marriage, not against people who are gay or lesbians.
There is a reason why we restrict the marriage of same sex couples. Have you taken a look at the data? There is a very high rate of sexually transmitted diseases among gay and bisexual men than heterosexual men simply because of the type of sexual activity they engage in. The function of the anus was to take out waste from the body. It was never design for sex. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention:
"Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) have been increasing among gay and bisexual men, with recent increases in syphilis being documented across the country. In 2012, men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for 75% of primary and secondary syphilis cases in the United States. MSM often are diagnosed with other STDs, including chlamydia and gonorrhea infections.
HPV (Human Papillomavirus), the most common STD in the United States, is also a concern for MSM. Some types of HPV can cause genital and anal warts and some can lead to the development of anal and oral cancer. Men who have sex with men are 17 times more likely to develop anal cancer than heterosexual men. Men who are HIV-positive are even more likely than those who are uninfected to develop anal cancer."
http://www.cdc.gov/msmhealth/STD.htm
An endorsement of the ACT of homosexuality among gay men is only an endorsement to their early deaths.
Anonymous April 25, 2015 at 10:17 AM
DeleteYou bring up the issue of Christ not being female or male....but this is not the root question.
Is it a sin? Yes or No. Can we please acknowledge the question at hand....is homosexuality a sin?
YES or NO
Alcohlics, smokers, drug addicts, etc. Endorse early deaths. How many in the NCW are drinkers, smokers, take a toke or two of drugs? Do not say that homosexuality stands alone as an endorsement of an early death. I have seen NCW young adults smoke in bars and blast the night away. So please, clean your community homes before you pass judgement on homosexuals.
DeleteDear Anonymous at 1:29 pm,
DeleteI am speaking the truth about the ACT of homosexuality. As I said before, this has nothing to do with equal rights. Like everything else, marriage comes with certain restrictions. One cannot marry their siblings or immediate family. One cannot marry more than one person. One cannot marry a non-human. One cannot marry a child, and one cannot marry a person of the same sex. There are reasons why these restrictions exist. I do not support excessive drinking, excessive smoking, or drug addiction because as you say these things lead to an early death. I also do not support same sex marriage because it is ALSO an endorsement to early death.
Anonymous April 25, 2015 at 1:29 PM
DeleteAlcohlics, smokers, drug addicts, etc...
and that's why we walk.....no angels in the NCW....just people who first acknowledge THEIR sins and struggle to live a life in communion with Christ.
Nothing against homosexuals.....we see Gods love for them.....they are not bad people, they just have bad habits. Who doesn't. Love the sinner; hate the sin
How about you anonymous April 25 at 1:29.......is homosexuality a SIN....YES or NO?
Well Diana, this is what we do is to pick and choose things out of the Bible that conform to our fears. It’s not a matter of obeying the Bible — it’s about obeying the gospel. The gospel is about God’s saving love that wants to restore all of humanity to full communion. To reach back to an ancient text that has now been corrected by the revelation of God in Jesus Christ is simply a bad maneuver and poor methodology and theologically irresponsible. Those texts are not the determinative texts.
ReplyDeleteThe texts that are determinative are those that talk about the love of God that has been shown to us in Jesus. We can’t compromise that.
Dear Anonymous at 11:31 am,
DeleteTo love your neighbor does not mean to love their sins. Jesus love the sinners and gave His life for them, but nothing in the New Testament says that He loves their sins. Christ did His part to redeem mankind so that they can have eternal life. The rest is up to us. We must do our part in following His will rather than our own will.
the ancient text has been corrected by the revelation? where did you learn that? "I have come to fulfill the law, Not one iota of the law will be abolished" says Jesus (my transliteration) LAW=TORAH=PENTATEUCH the OT (Old Testament) is not understood, but the NT (New Testament) could not exist without the OT. "bad maneuver, poor methodology, theologically irresponsible" : yours is shoddy scholarship or straightforward ignorance.
DeleteI would take it even further and make 2 points:
1. the idea that the OT has been superseded is the idea that leads to antisemitism because it argues that the covenant of Mt. Sinai has expired. Instead if you have read V2 (vatican 2) docs, you will see that on the contrary the chosen people are chosen for eternity. (which is why so many people who reject V2 are anti-Semites and holocaust deniers, including Rohr and co.)
2. The law introduced in the NT is even more stringent and impossible to follow than the OT. OT allows divorce, NT does not. OT says "do not murder", NT says "calling your brother stupid is murder", OT allows eye for eye, NT says love your enemy. If in the OT homosexual sex is a sin, it follows logic that it is still more a sin in the NT.
Like hetero sex outside of marriage is a sin, homo sex is sin also because it takes place outside of marriage and since the time of creation marriage can only be between a man and a woman. In addition marriage for a Catholic (not protestants which is why they can accept homosexual sex) is a sacrament and thus personally instituted by Jesus during his time on earth. no Catholic can tamper with it.