Archbishop of San Francisco warns of coming war on marriage

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I’ve seen this used many times on this forum as if Catholics seem to think it’s some sort of gotcha argument. It isn’t. It’s no more amazing or any different than faithful Catholics too believing you have found a church in which you believe and accept and have faith in that it matches God’s beliefs in fullness.
Our Church however has the distinct and unique status as being the one founded by Jesus, not a fallen human being. There is a very interesting chart with the history of various Denominations of Christianity. Many are less than 100 years old.
 
You are the one trying to drag acts of sodomy into the discussion.
Are you saying they don’t belong there at all? But then what other criteria separates this group from the rest of us? You really believe that a choice of sex partner distinguishes humans as a unique group from others in the same way that skin color does? This sexual characterization is in complete contradiction to that human being’s biological structure; no offspring can be produced without deviating from this characterization. In biological terms, self-annihilating.

No offense intended: how is this different, for example, from sexual attraction to the practice of pornography or sex with a doll or another species? Are these valid separate groups also, on a par with a separate race? On what grounds do we stop at two humans of the same sex? Why not three, if they love each other and want children? Is that ok too? If not, why not?
 
I read this and I see a lot of talk about 1 thing: Sex between men and women. **But surely there are so many other fruits of what constitutes a faithful sound marriage. **
Marriage is about making babies, not love.
Fruits of love, joy, fidelity, kindness, gentleness, self-control etc. Components that 2 people who are so deeply committed to one another whose hearts and souls are so bound together to each other, are more than capable of working together in union as 1 to produce. Regardless of their plumbing so to speak.
The ancients called that friendship.
And we ignore Biblical civilizations all the time. Surely you’ve read all the goings on in the OT. The human race is composed of male and female. But it is also composed of gay and straight, And of persons with all sorts of differences. All among God’s Creation nonetheless.
Irrelevant.
 
Our Church however has the distinct and unique status as being the one founded by Jesus, not a fallen human being. There is a very interesting chart with the history of various Denominations of Christianity. Many are less than 100 years old.
Most professional historians of early Christianity do not believe that the Catholic Church is the one church founded by Jesus Christ. The historical evidence seems to indicate that there were many different competing versions of Christianity with different understandings of who Jesus was and what he taught. Your statement is a statement of faith, not something which most professional historians using modern methods of historical inquiry would find convincing.
 
Most professional historians of early Christianity do not believe that the Catholic Church is the one church founded by Jesus Christ. The historical evidence seems to indicate that there were many different competing versions of Christianity with different understandings of who Jesus was and what he taught. Your statement is a statement of faith, not something which most professional historians using modern methods of historical inquiry would find convincing.
This would certainly make a great topic for another thread. I for one would be interested in your claim that “most professional historians…”. It would be great to see your citations or information on that claim.
 
Those who experience SSA were not born that way
Since no one yet knows what causes sexual orientation, it cannot be said with absolute certainty that people with SSA were not born that way. Nor, of course, can it be said with absolute certainty that they were born that way. Also, the biological or psychological causes of SSA (about which the Catholic Church has nothing to say) are separate from questions of morality.
 
Most professional historians of early Christianity do not believe that the Catholic Church is the one church founded by Jesus Christ. The historical evidence seems to indicate that there were many different competing versions of Christianity with different understandings of who Jesus was and what he taught. Your statement is a statement of faith, not something which most professional historians using modern methods of historical inquiry would find convincing.
You would be surprised at how close traditional, historical Christian doctrine and the traditions and teachings of the Catholic Church align themselves, especially in terms of the topics being discussed on this thread. It would also be important I think to point out the roots of Judaism in early Christianity, specifically with reference to what Jesus believed and taught.

Having gone through a fair amount of classical Protestant theology and history myself, I would say, along with most, if not all responsible mainstream “professional historians,” that the Catholic Church, in spite of the schisms and conflicts, basically protected and developed orthodoxy. I personally think there is room to question much of the actions of the Church throughout history, but I don’t see where basic orthodoxy has ever been undermined. To sum up, the teachings of Christianity on issues like sin, fornication, marriage, sexuality in general, have always remained the same; again, much of this is straight from Judaism.
 
Because you like the other poster have completely confused providing employee benefits to employees of Church related organizations with a completely different issue, whether a divorced and remarried Catholic can receive Communion.

Do you not understand the difference between a civil contract and a Church teaching?
What I understand with all my heart and within the deepest depths of my conscience and soul is if I were a faithful Catholic, I surely wouldn’t need civil law to validate my faith. Nor would I have the need to make myself more secure in my faith by going around proclaiming I’m right on everything. That I absolutely certainly hold the fullness of truth and everyone else is wrong. And then talk about the pride of others.
 
Most professional historians of early Christianity do not believe that the Catholic Church is the one church founded by Jesus Christ. The historical evidence seems to indicate that there were many different competing versions of Christianity with different understandings of who Jesus was and what he taught. Your statement is a statement of faith, not something which most professional historians using modern methods of historical inquiry would find convincing.
Perhaps but you miss the point if the CC claims it, it is. And if someone makes a chart well then it must be most definitely is. If you ask Episcopalians, they trace themselves back through apostolic succession and I imagine others claim their faiths are of Christ as well. But those claims are dismissed if the CC doesn’t agree.
 
Since no one yet knows what causes sexual orientation, it cannot be said with absolute certainty that people with SSA were not born that way. Nor, of course, can it be said with absolute certainty that they were born that way. Also, the biological or psychological causes of SSA (about which the Catholic Church has nothing to say) are separate from questions of morality.
Given that children are born without mature sex organs and hormonal influences, it would be difficult to prove anyone is born with an attraction to the same sex. Given that we are born with certain chromosomes and physical features, people are born to be heterosexual, to express their sexuality in a normal way that is appropriate for the way they are made.

But that isn’t the test for protection of rights…that being something out of the person’s control such as gender and race. I don’t control being female, I have been female since conception. My co workder doesn’t control being female or black.

You however can control your sexual passions and lusts and desires. You do not have to act upon them. They are not unchanging, immutable and outside of your control. Therefore your choice of what you do with your genitals should not be protected as if it were race or gender.
 
What I understand with all my heart and within the deepest depths of my conscience and soul is if I were a faithful Catholic, I surely wouldn’t need civil law to validate my faith. Nor would I have the need to make myself more secure in my faith by going around proclaiming I’m right on everything. That I absolutely certainly hold the fullness of truth and everyone else is wrong. And then talk about the pride of others.
You are worshiping your brain waves and making a god of your feelings. And I have no idea why you bring in civil law at all. Completely irrelevant.
 
What I understand with all my heart and within the deepest depths of my conscience and soul is if I were a faithful Catholic, I surely wouldn’t need civil law to validate my faith. Nor would I have the need to make myself more secure in my faith by going around proclaiming I’m right on everything. That I absolutely certainly hold the fullness of truth and everyone else is wrong. And then talk about the pride of others.
👍 👍
 
I’ve seen this used many times on this forum as if Catholics seem to think it’s some sort of gotcha argument. It isn’t. It’s no more amazing or any different than faithful Catholics too believing you have found a church in which you believe and accept and have faith in that it matches God’s beliefs in fullness.
Depends on whether one believes in God and whether ones believes in absolute truths. If one believes I both then it would seem quite strange that God would wait 2,000 years to “reveal” to our generation that we’ve had it wrong about homosexuality since Christ founded our church.
 
Depends on whether one believes in God and whether ones believes in absolute truths. If one believes I both then it would seem quite strange that God would wait 2,000 years to “reveal” to our generation that we’ve had it wrong about homosexuality since Christ founded our church.
Again I think those who prefer relativism hate the idea there might actually be a TRUTH that doesn’t comport with their “deep feelings” as if feelings were ever a reason to come to a conclusion. There are few things more subject to outside forces, to change and to complete relativism than feelings. Those who dismiss the Church haven’t spent the time to read and understand Church teaching. Instead depending on “feelings” to draw conclusions…how’s that working out :eek:
 
Yes, if we are going to worship ourselves and our “morality,” that is fine; we are free to make that choice. Just don’t call it God. Or Christianity.
 
What I understand with all my heart and within the deepest depths of my conscience and soul is if I were a faithful Catholic, I surely wouldn’t need civil law to validate my faith. Nor would I have the need to make myself more secure in my faith by going around proclaiming I’m right on everything. That I absolutely certainly hold the fullness of truth and everyone else is wrong. And then talk about the pride of others.
What I understand with all my heart and within the deepest depths of my conscience is that there are absolute truths and God didn’t just dump us on the earth and leave us to figure them out for ourselves.
 
Given that children are born without mature sex organs and hormonal influences, it would be difficult to prove anyone is born with an attraction to the same sex. Given that we are born with certain chromosomes and physical features, people are born to be heterosexual, to express their sexuality in a normal way that is appropriate for the way they are made.
Not everything we are born with as part of our biological or genetic makeup manifests itself in childhood. The statement that we are “born to be heterosexual” is a statement of religious belief not of science and the natural world is far more complex than what we are now able to completely understand or explain.
You however can control your sexual passions and lusts and desires. You do not have to act upon them. They are not unchanging, immutable and outside of your control. Therefore your choice of what you do with your genitals should not be protected as if it were race or gender.
This same kind of argument could also be used to justify why a black person has no right to marry a white person and vice versa. It might be argued, for example, that just because a black person is in love with and is sexually attracted to a certain white person, they can both control their passions and desires and do not have to act on them and have a choice of what they do with their genitals. Therefore, they have no right to get married and laws banning interracial marriage should not have been struck down by the Supreme Court because every white person has the right to marry another white person and every black person has the right to marry another black person. The right for someone to marry someone regardless of race should therefore not be protected. BTW, racial segregation was long supported by some people with the Bible.
 
Given that children are born without mature sex organs and hormonal influences, it would be difficult to prove anyone is born with an attraction to the same sex. Given that we are born with certain chromosomes and physical features, people are born to be heterosexual, to express their sexuality in a normal way that is appropriate for the way they are made.

But that isn’t the test for protection of rights…that being something out of the person’s control such as gender and race. I don’t control being female, I have been female since conception. My co workder doesn’t control being female or black.

You however can control your sexual passions and lusts and desires. You do not have to act upon them. They are not unchanging, immutable and outside of your control. Therefore your choice of what you do with your genitals should not be protected as if it were race or gender.
Merely your opinion and that of others who share it, that a person controls their orientation any more than their gender or race. It’s my opinion people are born with their orientation. Heterosexuals don’t just wake up one day and say alrighty yay I’m choosing to be attracted to the opposite sex today any more than homosexuals choose. But again you have your opinion and I mine. Thorolfr is correct.
 
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