Selective Tolerance?

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Kat876

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I was raised with the belief that God loves and accepts everyone; an idea many relious people contradict.
If God really accepts all, why do his followers not accept gays as normal people?
If He is really against gays, why did He create them? To be laughed at, ridiculed, and hated by so many others?

These are the questions I ask, as a soon-to-be confirmed Catholic, and I hope that I get answers that make sense and answer my questions, as opposed to answers that tell me why gays are bad.
Thank you.
 
Kat876 said:
I was raised with the belief that God loves and accepts everyone; an idea many relious people contradict.
If God really accepts all, why do his followers not accept gays as normal people?
If He is really against gays, why did He create them? To be laughed at, ridiculed, and hated by so many others?

These are the questions I ask, as a soon-to-be confirmed Catholic, and I hope that I get answers that make sense and answer my questions, as opposed to answers that tell me why gays are bad.
Thank you.
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We love everyone, including gays!

We do not love homosexual acts, because homosexual acts are sins. (Not to confuse homosexual acts with homosexual tendencies)

God loves gays, so we love gays. But God has commanded us not to commit homosexual acts, because they are sins, and we cannot love sins. Though we do not confuse homosexual acts with homosexual tendencies; the former is sin, the latter is not.

In fact, homosexual tendencies are crosses, and we must bear our crosses daily. Jesus tells us this and we trust in the Lord.
 
You are absolutely right, but a bit understated in your description of God’s disposition toward all: He doesn’t “accept” gays: He LOVES them the same as He loves you. He creates all, He loves all.

Behavior, whether heterosexual or homosexual, outside of a committed marriage between a man and a woman, is what He does not accept. Neither is licit.

So it is BEHAVIOR that is the issue, not the person.

And His mercy is unbounded, His helps are available in abundance to anyone who seeks them.
 
We are to treat homosexuals as neighbors; they have the same dignity as human beings that we do. Here’s the Catechism (bolding mine):

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

God bless you,

Ruthie
 
Kat876 said:
I was raised with the belief that God loves and accepts everyone; an idea many relious people contradict.
If God really accepts all, why do his followers not accept gays as normal people?
If He is really against gays, why did He create them? To be laughed at, ridiculed, and hated by so many others?

These are the questions I ask, as a soon-to-be confirmed Catholic, and I hope that I get answers that make sense and answer my questions, as opposed to answers that tell me why gays are bad.
Thank you.
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First off, welcome Home!

I hope your opinion of how Catholics feel about gay people does not stop you from getting Confirmed into God’s Church.

I said “opinion” because that is what you think & believe. However, you are wrong in your opinion. If a person is a true Catholic then they must love & accept the person with same sex attraction. Jesus loves them so why shouldn’t I? I don’t know very many gay people but the few that I once knew were some of the nicest people I know.

It is the act of homosexual sex that is not acceptable. It is an evil act if two homosexuals have sex. It is also a lie. God did not create us to have such evil acts. Sex is a marital act that is sacred. It should bring a man and a woman together in marriage and only marriage. Any kind of sexual act outside of a sacred marriage is evil.
 
Kat876 said:
I was raised with the belief that God loves and accepts everyone; an idea many relious people contradict.
If God really accepts all, why do his followers not accept gays as normal people?
If He is really against gays, why did He create them? To be laughed at, ridiculed, and hated by so many others?

These are the questions I ask, as a soon-to-be confirmed Catholic, and I hope that I get answers that make sense and answer my questions, as opposed to answers that tell me why gays are bad.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
When you say many religious people, you are talking about a very disperse group. Many of whom have formed their religious beliefs outside of the Church and amidst some who use religion to pursue their personal agendas. You will see anti-gay hatred coming from several free lance religious groups who claim to be “Christian” but many of these same groups hold the same disdain towards the Universal Christian Church. Catholic means Universal. You can not hold the Catholic Church accountable for the actions of these rogue groups attempting to speak for all Christians.

That is not to say that all Catholics are perfect either. We all struggle to be closer to the ideal. Sometimes Catholics take a break from their struggles and live a much less than ideal life. When you get confirmed you will join the struggle as an adult. It is your duty to help those whom you meet live in a manner closser to the ideal.

Now the Church does speak out against gay unions. This is out of love, not hate. Those with immoral tendancies have enough preasure pushing them down the wrong path. Government endorsements of this immoral act only makes it harder for those who are struggling.
 
Seriously, where do threads like this come from? Are there really any people left out there in the world who don’t understand the distinction between a person and an action? Doesn’t EVERYONE learn this as a child? “Mommy, why did you spank me?” “Because I love you and want you to be good”. The mother loves the child, but she doesn’t want the child to do bad things. How hard can this possibly be? The Church teaches that God loves all people, but not all of their actions.
 
Howard_Roark said:
Seriously, where do threads like this come from? Are there really any people left out there in the world who don’t understand the distinction between a person and an action? Doesn’t EVERYONE learn this as a child? “Mommy, why did you spank me?” “Because I love you and want you to be good”. The mother loves the child, but she doesn’t want the child to do bad things. How hard can this possibly be? The Church teaches that God loves all people, but not all of their actions.
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But Athiest institutions are putting out a different message. They are trying to get people to accept the act by accusing anyone who opposes the act as being against the person. Young people today are constantly bombarded by that mentality.
 
royal_archer said:
But Athiest institutions are putting out a different message. They are trying to get people to accept the act by accusing anyone who opposes the act as being against the person. Young people today are constantly bombarded by that mentality.
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Exactomundo.

Haven’t you ever been referred to as a bigoted homophobe in being a Catholic? 🤷
 
Kat876 said:
I was raised with the belief that God loves and accepts everyone; an idea many relious people contradict.
  1. If God really accepts all, why do his followers not accept gays as normal people?
  2. If He is really against gays, why did He create them? To be laughed at, ridiculed, and hated by so many others?
Click to expand...
  1. God loves all people, but he doesn’t necessarily “accept” all people on their own terms. God is perfection itself and heaven is a place where we will live forever with him in perfection as well. But here on earth, NONE of us a perfect yet. We all still sin and have damaged portions of our souls that are attracted to sin. Sin is, by definition, something that damages our ability to give and receive love (both human and Divine). God has revealed through Scripture and Tradition that homosexual acts are inherently sinful, damaging to the souls of those who participate. Therefore, we NEED to stand up against those who say that wrong behavior is good, positive. This doesn’t mean reject the person, but the behavior (and often the identity label they have placed on themselves). Can this be done? Yes, but it is hard. Alcoholics are another group who suffers from an unhealthy attraction to self-destructive behavior. Society once scorned them too, but has matured to where we no respect those who acknowledge their alcholism and strive to overcome it.
  2. Why are they attracted to it? Why did God allow that to happen? Nobody knows the answer to the question of suffering on an intellectual level. We only know that ALL humans experience suffering and that we can each choose to allow it to bring us closer to God or to allow it to push us away from Him. Why were some born blind? Crippled? genetic defects? We don’t know.
 
Newbie2 said:
Exactomundo.

Haven’t you ever been referred to as a bigoted homophobe in being a Catholic? 🤷
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No, but I was refered to as a baby killer by a bunch of liberals. Even though they are the ones who are militantly pro abortion and I was in a uniformed Search and Rescue unit at a fund raiser to raise money for search and rescue (and was about 15 at the time).
 
Thanks, everyone.
I kind of get it now. The action, not the people.

But I have a new question, and it may sound stupid or I may be wrong or something, so just bear with me.
I’ve heard that God creates everyone in his image. I’m just a little confused. I’m not criticizing, just looking for someone to explain.
Please and thank you. 🙂
 
Adam and Eve were made in the image of God, because, unlike the other animals, they had the ability to choose between what’s morally right and what’s morally wrong. Adam and Eve were perfect, both physically, and in their innocence. But they believed Satan’s tempting promise that they would be like God, and chose to eat the fatal fruit.

That’s when sin entered the world. Since then, each of us is born with the tendency to sin. That’s why Cain was so jealous of Abel that he committed the first murder.

We are still made in the image of God. We still have the capacity to choose the right. We have that tendency to sin, too, making it harder to choose the right.

Does that help?

God bless you,

Ruthie
 
Kat876 said:
Thanks, everyone.
I kind of get it now. The action, not the people.

But I have a new question, and it may sound stupid or I may be wrong or something, so just bear with me.
I’ve heard that God creates everyone in his image. I’m just a little confused. I’m not criticizing, just looking for someone to explain.
Please and thank you. 🙂
Click to expand...
You might be interested in and could benefit from Father Thomas Loya’s talk about the Theology of the Body. I just saw Father this past Sunday at a talk he did in a Catholic Church near my home.

Father Loya describes God as a “union of persons” who love each other very much, with eternal love. God did not keep that love to Himself, He created us in His image with His love. He says if God is like that, a union of persons who love each other, then who are we? The second person “came out” of that love, born in the flesh. Jesus is the Bridegroom and we are the Bride; a spousal relationship. If God is a “union of persons” then we too are a “union of persons” who seek love with one another, but more precisely with a spouse. So it is hard for us not to want to seek love with someone else in a spousal relationship.

When we receive Jesus in Holy “Communion,” not only are we in communion with Jesus, we are also in “communion” with the whole body of Christ which is all of us as Catholics in the Church. Being made in the image of God has more meaning in it than most people believe. The Theology of the Body helped me understand that much better. It is fascniating to me. I hope you find it intriguing also.

Catholic Radio International has Father Thomas Loya on their station. You can find the talks on audio that you can download and listen to them. If you scroll down all the way to the bottom to his first show on there you will find the one about being made in the image of God. It is in 2 parts. Download, listen & enjoy! 🙂
 
Oh Kat, I forgot to mention that you could have started another thread on “being made in the image of God” since this is a different topic then your original post. 🙂
 
In my own Catholic views, I believe that God created them to help others learn how to really “Love Thy Neighbor”.

I’ve always thought that everyone had a purpose in life, whether to help people or to learn from them.

If you sincerely believe God really does love us all as I believe, then nobody else can tell you otherwise.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood
 
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