I Need help responding to gay friend

[Edwin1961]

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Kramerbaby,

A lot of well-thought out, long, elegant responses. Mine won’t be so complex.

I think a lot of Christians/Catholics concentrate on God and Jesus in the Holy Trinity and not the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be one with the Holy Spirit?

I think the answer to your dilemma is simple rather than complex. You, as a Catholic, are called to love thy neighbor. Not necessarily because you want to but because your Lord commands it of you. It’s that simple. And that means homosexuals. Quite frankly, your friend’s brother felt compelled to tell you for some reason, he treated you as his “father-confessor” but you don’t have to care one way or another. He doesn’t need to confess anything to you. He has not sinned against you. His spirituality and sexuality are private and really a matter between him, God, and a pastor/priest.

I don’t recommend Kev7’s approach to life at all - first shun homosexuals, then what? AIDS victims? Prisioners? Lepers?

That, is not what the Holy Spirit is about. Kev7 may have the letter of scripture on his side but I beleive the spirit of what is taught in the Bible is to not engage in the practice of shunning/avoidance.

Part of growing up is learning about the world about you. It isn’t always pretty; it isn’t always easy to digest.

Good luck.

Did you listen to today’s CA Live program
catholic.com/radio/calive.asp

Maybe your friend can have an insight on this topic conserning his ‘lifestyle’.

 

[rayne89]

kev7:

Personally, I have no Homosexual friends and I know for a fact that I never will. The reason for this is that I am not afraid to be true to how I feel regarding homosexuality. It is an abomination in the eyes of God.

You must have a very small group of friends if you only include the sinless. A person’s sin is not what their whole being is, we are all made in the image and likeness of God.

kev7:

If you don’t want to become sexual immoral then don’t hang around homosexuals.

Do you honestly think being friends with a person with same sex attraction will make you become attracted to the same sex?

You certainly have the right to chose whom ever you wish to spend your time with and if you truly feel it is leading you to temptation then yes you should distance the relationship. But to reject a certain group of people across the board because their sin disgusts you is a personal preference. I wouldn’t veil it with Christian piety as an excuse.

 

[kev7]

rayne89:

You must have a very small group of friends if you only include the sinless. A person’s sin is not what their whole being is, we are all made in the image and likeness of God.

This is where you are wrong. I don’t have a problem with being friends with a sinner. I have problem with being friends with someone who outright rejects the message of God in favour of their lifestyle. In other words, there is nothing worse then someonme who refuses to recognize that they are a sinner. That is the main problem I have with homosexuals. As I said before, I don’t have a problem with someone who admits that they have SSA. But when they take the step away from God I have no respect for their actions and i have a right not to hang around them.

As a catholic you do not have to be friends with someone who rejects God. Jesus said that if you are his friend you will not be a friend of this world.

Do you honestly think being friends with a person with same sex attraction will make you become attracted to the same sex?

No, but it can disturb your thought process and distract you away from God. I would also not want a child to see a man kissing another man.

You certainly have the right to chose whom ever you wish to spend your time with and if you truly feel it is leading you to temptation then yes you should distance the relationship. But to reject a certain group of people across the board because their sin disgusts you is a personal preference. I wouldn’t veil it with Christian piety as an excuse.

I don’t consider homosexuals to be a group of people. I consider them to be people who have rejected God, both in action and in thought.

 

[kev7]

Scanner:

Kramerbaby,

A lot of well-thought out, long, elegant responses. Mine won’t be so complex.

I think a lot of Christians/Catholics concentrate on God and Jesus in the Holy Trinity and not the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be one with the Holy Spirit?

I think the answer to your dilemma is simple rather than complex. You, as a Catholic, are called to love thy neighbor. Not necessarily because you want to but because your Lord commands it of you. It’s that simple. And that means homosexuals. Quite frankly, your friend’s brother felt compelled to tell you for some reason, he treated you as his “father-confessor” but you don’t have to care one way or another. He doesn’t need to confess anything to you. He has not sinned against you. His spirituality and sexuality are private and really a matter between him, God, and a pastor/priest.

I don’t recommend Kev7’s approach to life at all - first shun homosexuals, then what? AIDS victims? Prisioners? Lepers?

That, is not what the Holy Spirit is about. Kev7 may have the letter of scripture on his side but I beleive the spirit of what is taught in the Bible is to not engage in the practice of shunning/avoidance.

Part of growing up is learning about the world about you. It isn’t always pretty; it isn’t always easy to digest.

Good luck.

Gays are people who have outright rejected the message of Christ. As a catholic we must rebuke the sinfull act and rubuke their actions again for their outright denial that their actions are sinfull.

Don’t hang around people who commit acts of evil and then claim that they are not doing anything wrong. These are the kinds of people one must not hang around.

At the same time if they asked me for help with something I would help them. But I would not accept them for being homosexual. That would be against everything I stand for.

I think that it is a fact that you just can’t be friends with everyone. You can pray for them and you can care about them but it isn’t a requirement to be their friends.

I could not for example be good friends with a woman who had several abortions and rejected the message of Christ. That would be too disturbing for me and I could only voice my rejection of her actions, pray for her, and keep my distance.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

That is the main problem I have with homosexuals.<<

I notice something in this language…the use of an adjective as a noun. Calling a person by a descriptive term reduces them to a mere attribute that they have at any given moment (in this case, the sum of their sins and temptations) and fails to acknowledge their complete personhood.

The Church is EXTREMELY careful in the way she says things to ensure that the personhood of every person is acknowledged and respected regardless of their attributes. Would that her members did the same.

 

[kev7]

>>That is the main problem I have with homosexuals.<<

I notice something in this language…the use of an adjective as a noun. Calling a person by a descriptive term reduces them to a mere attribute that they have at any given moment (in this case, the sum of their sins and temptations) and fails to acknowledge their complete personhood.

The Church is EXTREMELY careful in the way she says things to ensure that the personhood of every person is acknowledged and respected regardless of their attributes. Would that her members did the same.

Yes I agree, they call themselves that so I was just using it in kind.

Anyone who calls themself a homosexual does not understand what the church teaches. It is not a lifestyle.

 

[kramerbaby]

these are some good thoughts, and i liked struggle’s anwer a lot. that really gives me some insight into it. My fiend is not Catholic, though, and there are other people who knew before me. He even said my family i slike a second family to him. Does anyone have a recomendation of a book l couldd get for him, or any reading material? thanks

 

[LCMS_No_More]

Is his family Christian in any way?

A really good book on the subject is “Beyond Gay” by David Morrison.