Proud, Haughty, Arrogant repeatedly mentioned in Bible, Homosexuality hardly ever

[WhiteDove]

fix:

Well, I think most are aware that abuse of power and greed are sinful. That message has been played over and over again in recent decades. That does not mean more should not be done, but it gets plenty of air time both in Church homilies and pop culture. What does not get much air time are the consequences of impure sexual conduct. Our culture has decided pan sexuality is the norm and to reject that is to be intolerant.

That’s very true. I agree with you about that.

Scripture, though, does emphasize these things that I’ve brought up, but I rarely see them mentioned here on CAF. It disheartens me.

As for things our culture supports that are sinful, unfortunately our consumeristic society is highly dependent on sweatshop labor in Asia and elsewhere to feed our materialist appitites for goods. And, as a nation, we are a proud people with a sense of entitlement to these things. Our Holy Father has pointed out this. I believe this is important not to gloss over.

 

[WhiteDove]

rlg94086:

Being proud, mighty or haughty are character flaws that we all must work on, but I don’t see anyone pushing to give an active, boastfully proud lifestyle endorsement by the government.

God Bless,

Robert.

I beg to differ. The media and government is constantly indoctrinating us to be proud of our cars, our beautiful homes, our computers, our widescreen TV’s. We are encouraged to think that our country is the greatest, the mightiest, the noblest. We are told that we are entitled to the biggest, the best, the newest. We are a proud and arrogent people, I do believe. Modesty is not second nature to us.

 

[fix]

WhiteDove:

That’s very true. I agree with you about that.

Scripture, though, does emphasize these things that I’ve brought up, but I rarely see them mentioned here on CAF. It disheartens me.

As for things our culture supports that are sinful, unfortunately our consumeristic society is highly dependent on sweatshop labor in Asia and elsewhere to feed our materialist appitites for goods. And, as a nation, we are a proud people with a sense of entitlement to these things. Our Holy Father has pointed out this. I believe this is important not to gloss over.

I agree we worship money over God in many ways. We can’t separate economic injustices from other sins. I believe it is easy to overlook the terribly poor particularly because we live so much life in unrepentent sin. How many Catholics contracept? I would imagine many, including those in the communion line each week. If we are so callous as to disregard the authority of the Church in our sex lives, why on earth would we care what She teaches about poor people we never see? The issues cannot be separated. It is comes down to obedience. Picking and choosing is the mindset today. If we want more “social” justice, we should start preaching personal morality, personal sin and personal conversion to holiness. It all fits together.

 

[Lisa_N]

WhiteDove:

I beg to differ. The media and government is constantly indoctrinating us to be proud of our cars, our beautiful homes, our computers, our widescreen TV’s. We are encouraged to think that our country is the greatest, the mightiest, the noblest. We are told that we are entitled to the biggest, the best, the newest. We are a proud and arrogent people, I do believe. Modesty is not second nature to us.

The media that “indoctrinates” us to be proud of cars and other consumer goods is the commercial media. You and everyone else has the choice to turn off the tube, not read magazines or ads or if you do read/watch, not be swayed by them. The pride is fostered by the world of advertising, not the government. I don’t recall the last time the government told me to be proud of my car. While there are certain tax policies that encourage home owners (and charitable giving!) those policies are not borne of pride but borne of the knowledge that homeowners are more stable citizens and when people give to charity it helps take the burden off of government. IOW the government doesn’t do this out of the good of its little heart but because it assumes there will be commensurate benefits.

There really are no significant forces in society that would suggest a humble lifestyle, other than organized religion. Really the only thing we can do is to try to live according to the word of God and try to demonstrate that this is a very abundant way to live. It’s probably not a very effective message but it’s worth a try.

Lisa N

 

[gardenswithkids]

WhiteDove:

Sometimes it might be pride and arrogence that motivates us to comment on sins which pose no temptation for us personally?

I think this may be what motivates some, but not all. I think homosexuality is just slightly farther down a road that I already travelled: contraception.

Many Catholics contracept. That separates the life giving potential of our reproductive organs from the reproductive act. That’s the same thing that active homosexuals do–they use their reproductive organs for pleasure and possibly the “expression of love” without the pro-creative aspects of the union.

That thought humbles me. I know the temptation to use contraception, and it’s not easy to overcome once the habit of sin has taken hold.

 

[gardenswithkids]

One more thought, perhaps those who struggle with same sex attraction might find it easier to study Church teachings on contraception rather than homosexuality. (Most people who post on those tend to be understanding of the struggles faced.) I see far more threads about contraception and NFP here than I see about either arrogance or homosexuality.