Holy Father, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Published February 23, 2005
This "new ideology of evil" where supporters of gay marriage attempt "to pit human rights against the family and against man" is an outrage. All too often in the last 50 years, religious and political leaders have used the issue of "gay rights" as a smokescreen to circumvent even more pressing problems facing societies around the globe. Marriage is a sacrament according to the official doctrine of most Christian sects. The union between a man and a woman in God's name is not equal to a union between a man and a woman civilly according to Canon Law in many Churches. We can't have it both ways. If a Church refuses to recognize a marriage which takes place outside its community, why should government sanction a marriage within the Church? There has to be a balance that is acceptable to all sides. "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's," are very powerful words attributed to Christ. Not all gay people are intrinsically evil. No one group, creed or nationality should be branded in such a way. Intolerance breeds hate. Religious zealotry in the name of a Higher Being creates hate. Most religions share one premise, "do unto others as you would have them do to you." That should be the basis of all Canon and Civil Law. Do that which is right to your fellow man is not such an unreasonable thing to expect from each other. Spirituality is more than a book or a ceremony inside a place of worship. Spirituality is something that is lived every day. It lives in the way a mother cares for her children. It lives in the nurse who works at hospice caring for the dying. It lives in Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush as they travel in tsunami ravaged Southeast Asia. An Act of Contrition in the confines of a confessional may alleviate guilt but nothing is more spiritually uplifting than giving of one's self completely without boasts or complaints to another human being in some way. That is who I believe my God wants me to be.
- Holy Father, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
- Published: February 23, 2005
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- Section: Politics
- Filed Under: Politics: Law and Rights, Books: Spirituality
- Writer: Silas Kain
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I may have fallen out of step with the Roman Church. But a larger question looms for me. When did the Church fall out of step with Christ?
It is one of those oddities of the world that a man who theoretically has never made a woman pregnant or had sex with a man should be telling a large minority of the world how to think about these two issues.
If procreation is such a big thing in the Catholic church, how did it get twisted around so that the head of the church denies God's will by being unfruitful and not multiplying?
Religions can be so strange sometimes... I like some of the spiritual aspects of religion (I do believe in right and wrong), but Christianity, like most religions, just seemed like such a far-fetched story to believe...
Thank you for this.
As more and more persons tend to their own soul urgings and inner knowing they will release the need to be told what to believe and what rule to follow. The grip that traditional religion now holds will wane and allow for more creative, less judgemental solutions for us to all live together in peace and shared dignity.
>>I may have fallen out of step with the Roman Church. But a larger question looms for me. When did the Church fall out of step with Christ?<<
Christ did not have specific positions on abortion or homosexuality, but the rest of the Bible sure does - kill the homosexuals and kill the abortionists. And all christian churches tend to default to the Old Testament when Jesus didn't address an issue specifically. So I'm not sure the Roman Church is all that out of step. Take up your complaints with the Bible, it's the real problem.
Dave
Not all gay people are intrinsically evil.
Well, that's a relief.
Now, tell me, how can I distinguish intrinsically evil gays from other gays, who may or may not be evil?
The Church has condemned homosexuality for hundreds of years. Because many people seek God, including gay people, many gay people over the generations gravitated to the Church for help (became priests, etc.)
The Church's counseling is based on a book written by people long ago, who did not have the understanding of all the dynamics of a human that we have today. Basically, it sounds like counseling consisted of prayer.
Since this didn't cure anything, the priests reached out to others because celibacy isn't as easy as one might think. The only others available were other priests and altar boys.
These dysfunctional relationships, besides being destructive to the youths, stem from a sexual confusion (most always a conflict of faith and sexuality), improper and downright laughable counseling, and a completely unrealistic expectation that a human should have to give up physical contact with another human being for life.
This extremely poor handling of sexuality is now costing the Church hundreds of millions of dollars, if not 10's of billions by now.
If you want to give weight to the Church's advice on how to handle sexuality, I'd consider looking at their track record.
how can I distinguish intrinsically evil gays from other gays, who may or may not be evil?
It seems that inevitably, the intrinsically evil ones show up on Survivor.
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/25884)
This isn't exactly a radical change in Catholic philosophy. The Pope's been saying things like this for years. It's not that he's forsaken you, but that you're out of step with the march the Church has been on for years.
Dave