Why don't Catholics fight for a law agianst non-believers recieving communion?

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Other than another farcical reality denying objection qualifying this statement, we are almost there. As you clearly admit we can and do produce and distribute goods globally. Now if you can just admit that means you were wrong, and that everyone can live in an area the size of Texas, that would be great.
You actually quoted the part I wanted you to quote, thank you. Now could you respond and clarify your proposition that because import/export rates are what they are in reality that nothing would change in the hypothetical? I do not understand how that could be maintained with such a drastic change in population spread.
 
You actually quoted the part I wanted you to quote, thank you…
You’re welcome, but that doesn’t change my answer. The math and the empirical evidence clearly prove you wrong. We can and do produce and distribute goods globally.
 
You’re welcome, but that doesn’t change my answer. The math and the empirical evidence clearly prove you wrong. We can and do produce and distribute goods globally.
So you don’t plan to explain yourself but rather just claim the same thing over and over again. OK, looks like this argument is going to die out then, or at least until you decide to meaningfully respond to my inquiry.
 
So you don’t plan to explain yourself but rather just claim the same thing over and over again. OK, looks like this argument is going to die out then, or at least until you decide to meaningfully respond to my inquiry.
I responded meaningfully many timmes, more than a hundred posts ago. I even posted thhem for you just yesterday. What part of the empirical evidence are you not understanding? We can and do produce and distribute goods on a global basis. What part of this can you deny? You cannot, and all the farcical, reality denying objections you have raised, from claiming that we cannot figure out how to move mining equipment without docks and cranes to claiming that the distances are too far is an utter denial of reality. You have presented no real reason that we cannot produce and distribute goods on a global basis. You are obviously unable to admit that the mathematical and the empirical evidence prove you wrong. Your cherished belief is more important than incontrovertible evidence to you. So what the point of being an atheist? That is exactly what atheists say about us, so how is it any different for you? You are a person of faith in reality. You are one of us. There is no need to pretend otherwise.
 
So, again - what do homosexuals need with marriage? 🤷
Income tax breaks. 🙂

If they changed the tax code (and contract codes) to drop “married couples” there probably would be far fewer of these marriages. IMO.
 
I responded meaningfully many timmes, more than a hundred posts ago. I even posted thhem for you just yesterday. What part of the empirical evidence are you not understanding? We can and do produce and distribute goods on a global basis. What part of this can you deny? You cannot, and all the farcical, reality denying objections you have raised, from claiming that we cannot figure out how to move mining equipment without docks and cranes to claiming that the distances are too far is an utter denial of reality. You have presented no real reason that we cannot produce and distribute goods on a global basis. You are obviously unable to admit that the mathematical and the empirical evidence prove you wrong. Your cherished belief is more important than incontrovertible evidence to you. So what the point of being an atheist? That is exactly what atheists say about us, so how is it any different for you? You are a person of faith in reality. You are one of us. There is no need to pretend otherwise.
Seriously, this is crazy. Pete, this is not the way to win arguments or debates. You are willfully ignoring a valid objection to your premise. Yes, of course, everyone can see and admit and agree that we currently produce and distribute goods on a global basis. the PROBLEM is that if the entire world lived in Texas, how would goods be produced in and distributed from Russia, Canada, China, etc? You stating that you have family that commutes 25 miles or 50 miles to their farm is a meaningless statement in this scenario. If all the people live in Texas, WHO would be doing the producing and distributing in and from all the other parts of the globe?

You have NOT answered this objection and just continuing to say the same thing over and over again is insanity.

This is a like a train wreck and I can’t seem to look away!
 
Seriously, this is crazy. Pete, this is not the way to win arguments or debates. You are willfully ignoring a valid objection to your premise. Yes, of course, everyone can see and admit and agree that we currently produce and distribute goods on a global basis. the PROBLEM is that if the entire world lived in Texas, how would goods be produced in and distributed from Russia, Canada, China, etc? You stating that you have family that commutes 25 miles or 50 miles to their farm is a meaningless statement in this scenario. If all the people live in Texas, WHO would be doing the producing and distributing in and from all the other parts of the globe?

You have NOT answered this objection and just continuing to say the same thing over and over again is insanity.

This is a like a train wreck and I can’t seem to look away!
You had to see the answers I posted in #212, because you just selectively quoted parts irrelevant to the objection from them. Then you claimed I had not answered the objection, which you must know is false because you quoted from them. Which means you did it on purpose. Why did you do that?
 
I have told you twice now that his methodology is mathematical. Its basic probability. As I have already stated. What are you not understanding about that?

You will make up anything not to admit being wrong won’t you? This is a completely made up story. It has no basis in reality except the one where you cannot admit being wrong. Show me the math.

I have responded. Its an argument from ad popularam. I need no objection to a fallacy except that it is a fallacy.

This is a complete fairly tale. Show me the math.

I already knew that the overpopulation myth is widespread.

Of course no one would be living in China if everyone lived in Texas by definition. I have no idea why you are stating obvious facts.

I demonstrated you were wrong mathematically. That’s why this conversation continues. I have answered every objection. Not because I needed to, after all, the math proved my point off the bat. Nothing you have yet said alters the basic facts of the math.
It’s not about math or at least not directly. It is about resources. Think food, water, public sanitation (so you can use the bathroom and don’t have human or other waste polluting the streets) the need to maintain livable clean air, and such things as maintaining heat and electricity, and air conditioning. then other very basic services like dentistry and mediciine. If supplies cannot be provided consistently on a long-term basis people will get sick and/or die. Shoving a lot of people into a small space is what they do in prisoner of war and etc. camps and it can lead to things like typhoid epidemics.

That’s why it is not just population density it is sheer number of people. A small prisoner of war camp and a very large one with the name number of people per square mile might not be the same b/c with the large one you are facing many more people in absolute numbers and you’ve got to get food and water in and deal with their human waste and need for medical care and keep the rats and etc. out. That is IF you believe in providing people with good living conditions. (I am not talking about death camps in the Holocaust b/c this is not about genocide, but putting large numbers of people together in a camp.)

There need to be enough plumbers and other manual laborers (the unsung heroes of our time) to provide basic sanitation.

the argument about fitting people into Texas is probably rhetorical but it would lead to internment camp conditions with a high mortality rate pretty quickly b/c all of these services have to be provided day after day, month after month and year after year. We have not even started to address employment. With that many people crowded in you will quite likely get large numbers of rats and then plagues and that is the source of many epidemics.

With people spread out all over the globe it is not this severe but the basic issue is the same. People who don’t believe in overcrowding are right in that there is plenty of land and probably will be for a very long time. The question is, is it livable. Is there enough water to drink and can it be brought to the locations where people need it. the same with food.

A lot of this comes down to the dirty jobs we in the west don’t tend to think about. Plumbing, sanitation, keeping the streets clean, avoiding large concentrations of pests like rats - if the population gets too large and the resources fail these vital activities cannot be carried out and then you get typhus and plagues. It can be done now b/c these workers have sophisticated technology such as cars and trucks that use gas and heating and air conditioning and electricity but should there be so many people that the burden overwhelms the technology there is trouble.

That said I don’t support scaring people and making this into a ‘you are bad’ kind of thing. I think working on incremental change and scientific developments is the best thing and I personally think along with some very famous scientists that perfecting space travel so that people have the option to leave the planet is a real possibility. Some restless people will always want to get out there into space and take the risks ;). I don’t support criticizing people on the individual level about problems they did not cause and a choice to have a large family is not my choice but to blame people for doing that is not fair I think. The solutions need to be more system-wide in my opinion.
 
Well, I’m not sure why people are disputing that the world’s population can live in an area the size of Texas. According to my math, the corresponding population density would be under 26,000 persons per square mile. By way of comparison, the County of New York has a population density just over 71,000 residents per square mile. If you want to argue the feasibility of a city that has a population of 6.8 billiion, that’s a different question altogether.
Basically my point is that I think they are related points b/c you can put people in to those spaces but many of them are likely to get sick and die quickly due to lack of water and poor sanitation and difficulty with food distribution. due to both of those factors. the number of people will overwhelm the resources and the high population density will seriously impair sanitation and drinking water and food distribution.

A very small place with a high population density works if there are a lot of resources but a larger place with more people and a high population density can be overwhelmed. To me it is not that potentially different from putting 6.9 billion people in an internment camp.

Also the weather in Texas tends to be hotter than that of NYC and without the winters which can kill off pests there is less constraint on possible epidemics. If you put a lot of people into a cold space to avoid this, they might have problems surviving the cold b/c distribution of clothing is another factor.

I know this argument is meant to make a point only but I’m saying I agree - there is plenty of land and places on Earth where the population density is manageable but the resource question can be pretty basic.
 
Petey, please just define what you mean by “live” in your original hypothesis.
I’m afraid people might want to read a history of the Black Plague and how it tore through cities like lightning before they accept the word ‘live.’ I know this is all OT from the original but this discussion had been going on for pages so here is my 0.02. And I think both ‘sides’ on the population debate use the Texas argument as an example of population density and resources.
 
Have you read the thread? I have already addressed this issue among others. You can find all my answers on the thread. Thanks.
I have read every page on this thread and I agree with you about land and quite possibly food distribution; I think that might creatively be done but sustaining it over time would be hard. Where I do not agree is about maintaining water and electricity and heat and air conditioning and without those people often die rapidly due to epidemics.

NYC is somewhat ideal conditions for this b/c there area a lot of resources AND b/c the prestige of the area means getting resources there is important. Wall street and etc. people do not want the market activity to be disrupted to give just one example. However my sister is an epidemiologist and my strong belief is the problem of running out of water and then possibly food and then plague.

For example

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th century by Barbara Tuchman. the technology was not that of today but shows what happens when plagues start.

histories of concentration/internment camps which began during the Boer War I believe and were ‘perfected’ in WW2.

What often happens in places after a natural disaster like Haiti where resource distribution stops and esp. in a climate of intense heat many people die right away.

As I say I know this is a rhetorical argument but that’s my response.
 
I have read every page on this thread and I agree with you about land and quite possibly food distribution; I think that might creatively be done but sustaining it over time would be hard. Where I do not agree is about maintaining water and electricity and heat and air conditioning and without those people often die rapidly due to epidemics.

NYC is somewhat ideal conditions for this b/c there area a lot of resources AND b/c the prestige of the area means getting resources there is important. Wall street and etc. people do not want the market activity to be disrupted to give just one example. However my sister is an epidemiologist and my strong belief is the problem of running out of water and then possibly food and then plague.

For example

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th century by Barbara Tuchman. the technology was not that of today but shows what happens when plagues start.

histories of concentration/internment camps which began during the Boer War I believe and were ‘perfected’ in WW2.

What often happens in places after a natural disaster like Haiti where resource distribution stops and esp. in a climate of intense heat many people die right away.

As I say I know this is a rhetorical argument but that’s my response.
Ok, thank you.
 
So you don’t plan to explain yourself but rather just claim the same thing over and over again. OK, looks like this argument is going to die out then, or at least until you decide to meaningfully respond to my inquiry.
I explained myself fully, hundreds of posts ago. Your refusal to recognize answers detrimental to your position and your refusal to admit that both the mathematical and empirical evidence prove you wrong doesn’t change anything. Clearly, the math agrees the entire population of the world can live in an area the size of Texas at the population density of NYC, which is entirely acceptable. The empirical evidence that we can and do produce and distribute goods globally shows that we can indeed supply the human population with its needs, because we already do so. Therefore your contention that the world is overpopulated is demonstrable false. Thank you for participating.
 
The answer to your question is a simple one. This country was founded on the premise of religious freedom. The Pilgrims were trying to get away from a monarchical form of government that was telling them how, where and when they could worship God. They didn’t want that to be the case so they fled that form of tyranny and, over time, sought to form a government that would be separate from religion. We have seen the effects of that form of government slowly evolve over time. No prayer in schools, no ten commandment plaques in front of courthouses, etc.
So much of that was instigated not by secularists, but by alternate religious groups. Pledge allegiance for instance was a lawsuit brought by Jehovah’s witness. Some things become obvious, like the meaninglessness of an atheist swearing on a Bible in a court room, which only diminishes the significance of the Bible in the process. Atheists may have a shallow case against in god we trust on our currency, but those who point out that it’s a form of idolatry mocking religion have a much more legitimate cause. I tend to agree with them when I see where televangelists take things.
Would you really want the government to dictate to the people of this country what they could and couldn’t do in their own churches with regards to communion or any other form of worship?
On constitutional basis, the founders wanted nothing to do with regulating private worship (save for where boundary issues come into play, which is the case today) and they also wanted nothing to do with regulating/ enumerating the space between consenting adults. Most of the laws doing so in regards to marriage were either religious based or blue laws intent on social engineering. Some religious blue laws come to mind about SC- they offered incentives for married protestants to settle in SC, which yielded false conversions, superficial marriages for profit, and once the property appreciated sufficiently, house flipping and move out of town after reverting to faith of origin. Presuming they remained married at all or simply went their ways in the wild west wholly unregulated. Can’t divorce? Change your name in another town USA, the law no longer sees you as married anymore.

Secular functional definition of the term marriage is not about anything more than contract enforcement. A legal profile, tax status, and a means of establishing human bond units relative to benefits. SS, inheritance, insurance. That’s a pure state view separate from the functional religious definition of marriage (formerly holy matrimony). I support the Church defending holy matrimony but not secular law tampered with to force conversion or force civilization to uphold specifics of faith for them.
You assume that those laws (if it ever happened) would be decidedly pro-Catholic, but what if they weren’t? By giving the government the power to dictate laws about religion, you’re putting your Catholic beliefs on the chopping block as well.
Exactly, which is precisely why Kennedy took the position he did even if it does vex the Vatican. Failing to do so would mean no Catholic could be trusted to hold office. Protestant- Catholic relations have come a long way upholding that gentleman’s agreement. Canadians have seen fit to shore up separation of church and state even more in light of Islam attempting to justify state sponsored sharia law. Jews and Christians realized the wisdom of closing that door solidly and sharia law is no justification to override national law.

No matter who is elected, they’re indirectly representing all faiths, even the faithless. America is not a theocracy. I respect the right of Amish to exist without imposing my Catholicism upon them through writ wrongfully. I’m more than happy that nudist atheist colonies exist if it means the rest of us are left alone respectfully. If it were another group harming their children physically rationalized by their religious convictions (attleborro body for example) secular law does need to prevail as supreme rule presiding over generalized spirit of things. This is all a 2 way street. Once you put up a fence, you keep others out but you are also responsible for the interior content of that fence line. Neither a tyranny of the majority nor tyranny of the minority should be permitted to interfere with anyone (or any group) attempting to be fully responsible for their own lives. It’s antithetical to free will and the constitution.

From the Church position I can see their that gays are encroaching on ‘holy matrimony’ but they’re not stating it that way so they’re hurting their own case. They’re speaking in a way that presumes a patent right on secular law definition of marriage, which is an overstep of their own boundaries. If gays were to be enjoined by the noodly appendage church, should Christendom have the right to impose it’s own law? What if Christendom were the minority in America? Should the noodly appendage laws be imposed upon Christendom? I don’t recognize the noodly appendage as a legitimate deity. Their union would represent something very different to me than the marriage of my grandparents. I would add that it’s also distinct from the marriage for atheist/ agnostic hetero’s as well. They’re also outside the state of ‘holy matrimony’.
‘Good fences make good neighbors’ ~Robert Frost
 
Gays marrying hetero’s has been happening all along with tragic consequences to all parties involved. Being too stubborn about this issue is only going to result in gay partners marrying lesbian partners, specifying birth parents as they see fit, arranging things as they see fit to get around rules that don’t match them. Everyone just needs to be honest because the lies are far more corrosive to the fabric of society.
Not to sound petty, but this brings to mind the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness… The only thing I will say is that as an American, I value freedom, for all. Even if that means that others exercise of freedom involves them doing things I don’t like, or even find morally objectionable.
Agreed. The Bible instructs me to abide the Bible, not to force others to abide the Bible. Another thing that’s occurred to me is that the passages in question were hetero males speaking to hetero males. That is to say, a prohibition of hetero’s to be experimenting in such a way with the same sex. I abide that myself and would hope most hetero’s would refrain harming themselves psychologically.

As grandparents used to say, just because you can do a thing doesn’t mean you should. AND I didn’t, because I understood fully why I shouldn’t. That’s how Christians manage to walk around reasonably in secular existence. Old fashioned common sense does apply here.
Heck, to enjoy worshipping how I choose, I have to allow people to be able to teach outright heresy in their churches. :mad:
Both true and false. While I may not prevent them from worshiping how they choose, I’ll not be quiet over prosperity preachers, political agenda ‘religion’ of westboro baptists, or Jim Jones cults claiming themselves to be Christian. Some departures are just too far off point to be considered reasonable under the umbrella. Parallel issue to islamic extremists hijacking islam. It’s an injustice to integrity. For instance, this is utterly insane, not to be confused with actual Christianity… neirr.org/AttleboroHistoryNew.htm I have no idea how to tangibly defend Christianity from that but I would hope legal eagles and theologians hammer it out. If you’re preaching the gospel of lucifer you don’t get the right to put out a shingle calling yourself Christian. Church of noodly appendage is truth in advertisement. So is the church of satan.
You don’t come across as a bigotted person to me at all. I can see you do care about people and are only concerned about the truth. I concur with these feelings, you did a good job describing how I feel as well.
While I may share your feelings, I also cannot help but agree with gays having every reason to feel excluded from Christian & Judaic traditions. They tangibly have been, and continue to be, so long as leviticus & timothy interpretations stand as they are. I see them as human beings offered no place to materially exist by Biblical decree. The Vatican has decided for vague reasons or out of habit contrary to the science I’ve read that homosexuality is a behavioral flaw or a disease. What would Jesus do?

Furthermore, it makes me seriously doubt hetero men when they act so over the top about this subject. Are they really so out of control with themselves that they require a law forbidding partaking in something so detrimental to them? I mean, I don’t need a law prohibiting me from drinking drano. I abhor prostitution as well, but why aren’t they broke from lack of customers? Men go where their values lead them, which is the sad fact for too many of them. I don’t think laws change that as much as we believe, because they only sneak around it.

The investment in cultivating their values changes it. The encouragement of personal discipline changes it. Solidifying their identity as hetero male is far more pragmatic. All of the above I’d be more than happy to lend my support. That’s what put the Church on the map. It’s very hard for me as a woman to understand why hetero men feel so threatened or insecure about gays, but I do feel compelled to defend gays who have a hard enough time grappling with their identity. Hetero males dumping their inexplicable insecurity on them every which way is cruel beyond belief.

Wild guess- Do hetero men feel accepting they exist is somehow giving permission for gays to prey on them in open society? As juror or on the job I’d be compelled to defend hetero males being harassed by gays. No means no for men as well as hetero women, and inappropriate professional conduct standards should be universally applied. Lewd and lascivious behavior statutes shouldn’t be gender or sexual orientation specific. I hope they know that I’d defend/ uphold their rights equally. That’s the point of the constitution, isn’t it? Liberty and justice for all.
 
Agreed. The Bible instructs me to abide the Bible, not to force others to abide the Bible.
Very true, though that’s not relevant to the gay marriage debate. No one religion has a monopoly on traditional ideals of marriage, and the legitimate legal reasons behind the side seeking to maintain marriage as the union of one man and one woman have nothing to do with the Bible or religion.
Another thing that’s occurred to me is that the passages in question were hetero males speaking to hetero males. That is to say, a prohibition of hetero’s to be experimenting in such a way with the same sex.
Okay, even though we’re getting into moral and religious matters here - all of which, even value judgments of homosexual activity, are irrelevant to the marriage debate - I still just have to correct this irredeemably flawed interpretation:

No moral principle ever applies to just one group of people. If a certain act is immoral, it’s immoral for everyone. It’s as ridiculous to suggest that a certain behavior could be wrong for straight people but not for gay people as it would be to suggest that a certain behavior is wrong for women but not for men, or for black people but not for white people, etc.
While I may share your feelings, I also cannot help but agree with gays having every reason to feel excluded from Christian & Judaic traditions.
I agree that Christian groups - including our own Catholic Church - have failed to help gay people feel included and wanted. This is a shame which we must all strive to rectify.
The Vatican has decided for vague reasons or out of habit contrary to the science I’ve read that homosexuality is a behavioral flaw or a disease.
That’s an inaccurate and sloppy caricature of the Catholic position. Under no circumstances is homosexuality a “disease” - you can’t “contract” homosexuality as if some kind of bacteria or virus or cancer causes it.

You’re even farther off than the people who insist Catholic teaching says it’s a psychological disorder, yet even those people are also caricaturing the Catholic position, which takes theological and spiritual stances without encroaching upon the territory of other academic fields (like psychology).

I suppose you could say Catholic teaching says it is spiritually disordered (though that’s true of all our sinful inclinations and thus hardly makes same-sex attraction unique), since the Church calls same-sex attraction “objectively disordered.” But this assertion is clearly offered in a Christian spiritual context, not one of professional psychology. In any case, it’s certainly not a “disease.”
What would Jesus do?
Jesus was often quite brutal in the things he said to people. Telling someone he shouldn’t bother burying his father, calling a foreigner’s entire people “dogs,” telling certain Pharisees that they make people twice as fit for hell as they are themselves, etc.

I’m in no way advocating such harshness from our mouths. I’m just pointing out that since Jesus was often not nice - and remember, “nice” is different than “good” - that asking, “What would Jesus do?” is probably not the route we want to take here.
Furthermore, it makes me seriously doubt hetero men when they act so over the top about this subject. Are they really so out of control with themselves that they require a law forbidding partaking in something so detrimental to them? I mean, I don’t need a law prohibiting me from drinking drano. I abhor prostitution as well, but why aren’t they broke from lack of customers? Men go where their values lead them, which is the sad fact for too many of them.
I totally agree with you, I’m just not sure how this is relevant. Who is advocating forbidding certain behaviors in this context? I thought we were arguing about gay marriage, not sodomy laws.
It’s very hard for me as a woman to understand why hetero men feel so threatened or insecure about gays.
Please forgive me if I now caricature your observation, because I’m not sure I understand what your claim is.

How do you see this insecurity being made manifest? If you mean general homophobia - i.e. straight men fearing gays will hit on them, as you’ve pointed out - and anti-gay rhetoric, bashing, mockery, or distrust, then I completely agree with you.

But we all have to learn to separate that homophobia in our minds from the nuanced, neutral, social assessments like that of the article I linked to when I first joined this thread a few pages ago. To promote the cause of marriage as the union of one man and one woman - or even (and this is not the same thing!) to believe what the Catholic Church happens to teach about homosexuality - does not constitute or necessarily include bigotry or homophobia in any way.

I know this because I know it’s true of myself. I think marriage should remain the union of one man and one woman. I also happen to be Catholic in my ethical views - including sexual ethics, and therefore including homosexuality.

But I’m in no way afraid of gay people. I know they’re not going to do anything to me any more than I would do something inappropriate to a woman - besides, I’m not that attractive anyway. I have gay friends, including one very good friend of mine.

The reason same-sex attraction in other men doesn’t bother me is because I choose not to define them by it in my mind. I see them as persons, incommunicably their own, unique, created in the image and likeness of God, with their own particular hopes, dreams, and fears, and called - ultimately - to a supernatural love greater than they or I can even yet imagine.

That is how I see people - not as sinners to be judged by me or any other mere mortal.
 
Sadly, the church is more concerned about excluding others from these secular entitlements than they are protecting our marriages from being ravaged by harmful 50% divorce rates. Many of these rights can be obtained by having papers drawn up by an attorney.
That’s something firmly in the hands of individuals and the Church itself. I’ve had considerable in depth discussions in interfaith groups about this subject and we almost always come to unanimous consensus-- we could all be doing more to prevent bad marriages from happening in the first place.

Second layer strategy has to do with preserving marriage. Long time married couples should be the welcome advice for common ailments but making those connections isn’t as easy as so many couples get separated from roots of extended families chasing the economy around. Perhaps if these old salts of marriage started getting published?
Not long ago women were not allowed to own property or have credit in their name. I jokingly recommend returning to that kind of definition for “traditional” marriage and homosexuals wouldn’t want to be married, but then neither would anyone else in this liberal society where it is more about “having” instead of holiness.
There’s nothing holy about a human being owning another no matter who is the owner or the owned. Once every last excuse why you fail to fully appreciate your wife is gone, you’re free to appreciate your wife (and yourself). Same for wives appreciating their husbands. You’re more than just your job in life. Free society doesn’t decide what you over value wrongfully, or what you fail to value at all.

So where is your attention? How many unsung heroes, men and women alike, are out there? How many sincerely do their best for how long knowing not one soul will ever say it’s good enough? Worse, hear nothing but complaints for the mess they didn’t make yet took it upon themselves to pick up? itsrainingcatsdogsglixman.blogspot.com/2010/01/10610-welch-wv-shelter-ran-out-of-food.html
If the Eucharist had some kind of perceived value in secular society you can be sure there would be all kinds of legislation to “protect” it from the heathens. Unfortunately the Real Presence of our Lord is ignored by society (and many Catholics too), so there is no perceived threat to protect.
God doesn’t need my defense, legislation, or a pork chop around God’s neck to ‘earn’ my worship. That real presence cannot help but be obscured beneath every stitch of deceit, every manipulation, every madison avenue sales tactic used, to ‘sell’ God. People who have been over eager have been most guilty of harm to Christianity.
 
Very true, though that’s not relevant to the gay marriage debate. No one religion has a monopoly on traditional ideals of marriage, and the legitimate legal reasons behind the side seeking to maintain marriage as the union of one man and one woman have nothing to do with the Bible or religion.
But it is relevant, unless of course, all manner of discourse/ evidence reference will abandon scripture. Judaic tradition is innately entwined law and religion. So too is the Christian tradition. Separation of Church and state can only go so far before it comes unhinged in illogical extremes. Rather than summarily toss scripture out of court, I think it best we examine it with greater depth in it’s context.
No moral principle ever applies to just one group of people. If a certain act is immoral, it’s immoral for everyone. It’s as ridiculous to suggest that a certain behavior could be wrong for straight people but not for gay people as it would be to suggest that a certain behavior is wrong for women but not for men, or for black people but not for white people, etc.
Homosexuals marrying, or socially forced to marry, heterosexuals is morally wrong. What on surface appears to be fulfilling a one man one woman criteria is an anathema to the very institution. The spirit of the law is circumvented. Heterosexuals need no instruction how to be heterosexual because it comes natural to them. We’re the majority, always have been, always will be, and when the law gets authored it’s presuming it’s universal. It presumes too much at times. Homosexuals have always existed in some percent or another and our relationship with them needs to evolve. That’s really all I’m trying to get across.
That’s an inaccurate and sloppy caricature of the Catholic position… since the Church calls same-sex attraction “objectively disordered.” But this assertion is clearly offered in a Christian spiritual context, not one of professional psychology. In any case, it’s certainly not a “disease.”
Reminds me of a phenomena in marriage- which matters more? What a man meant to say or what his wife heard? :eek: The sloppy caricature is a mirror of the sloppy statements not bearing up to reality. The sloppy caricature stands firm as an opportunity for hierarchy to clarify the teachings to the flock.

To better illustrate my point, how are gays supposed to introduce themselves in a congregation? “Pleased to meet you, my name is abomination.”? Revised edition; ‘objectively disordered’? That diagnostic statement is inherently claiming it is a (mental) disease. Homosexuality requires correction, medicinal remedy, modification/ adaptation to conform to our idyllic hetero uniformity.

Although not implied by decree, what is stated in the congregations is that homosexuality IS contagious by way of ‘indoctrination’. Propaganda campaigns in California sponsored by religious groups, Catholics weighing in with their 2 cents, said so. The official stamp was the Mormon Church but it was a collusion between Cardinal/ Bishops office in California and various religious groups. This behavior grievously detracts from whatever real point they mean to make.
Jesus was often quite brutal in the things he said to people… I’m just pointing out that since Jesus was often not nice - and remember, “nice” is different than “good” - that asking, “What would Jesus do?” is probably not the route we want to take here.
Jesus is credited with a single act of violence that brought no physical harm to a person- get these money changers out of my father’s house. His rebuke, memory serves me correctly, was exclusively reserved for those in positions of authority abusing it/ misrepresenting in service to self aggrandizement. Do you know of exceptions to that fairly narrow criteria? At what point in the teachings of Jesus did he take it upon himself to enforce by writ or sword universal conformity to any given thing? To my knowledge, never.

His rebuke points at serious character flaws inflicted upon others. Can we honestly equate homosexuality with a character flaw as if it were a question of free will to be nor not to be hetero? Humanity under (various) religious instruction has thrown every conceivable punishment it could at gays. This history is so much worse than ‘not being nice’. It’s outright deadly.

Outrage by homosexuals is not directed at the teachings of Jesus so much as it’s directed at selective attention enforcement of leviticus/ timothy via religious authority. The authority abused is coming from the institution itself. An institution that has no real grasp of what gay actually means has fomented policies to manage gays and ultimately animate hetero’s malevolently. I’m not immune from that ignorance but I must say that hetero’s filling in the blanks with gibberish is worse than useless. It adds to the evidence justifying dehumanization of gays providing ready rationalizations for inhumane treatment at least, all the way up the scale to full blown violence.
 
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Please forgive me if I now caricature your observation, because I’m not sure I understand what your claim is.

How do you see this insecurity being made manifest? If you mean general homophobia - i.e. straight men fearing gays will hit on them, as you’ve pointed out - and anti-gay rhetoric, bashing, mockery, or distrust, then I completely agree with you.
No worries about hurting my feelings. The truth never hurts me. Homophobia is a real phenomena in (many) males not exclusive to Christendom. I hope the Church will seriously examine it, and it’s relationship to Christian teachings. If the last thing someone heard before they were beaten to a pulp was leviticus, Christianity’s name is being evoked as justification. That needs to end permanently.
…the nuanced, neutral, social assessments like that of the article I linked to when I first joined this thread a few pages ago. To promote the cause of marriage as the union of one man and one woman - or even (and this is not the same thing!) to believe what the Catholic Church happens to teach about homosexuality - does not constitute or necessarily include bigotry or homophobia in any way.
Promote the cause, defend marriage… nothing I’m doing in my life today has any impact as to the quality or quantity of healthy marriages in main stream America beyond the private encouragement I’ve offered counseling couples (in capacity of friend or relative) in trouble. I can say I’ve done my level best as a shipmate to catch my brothers in arms by the scruff of the neck and steer them away from breaking their marriage vows the way any big sis would. I will never willingly enter into a romantic relationship with a married man. More than that is an unreasonable expectation married individuals put on society.

I’m more apt to defend your right to privacy, to stay OUT of your marriage, than dictate to you what it ought to mean. I feel similarly towards gays, however, that they’d rather not invite y’all between them, but you do tend to invite yourselves wrongfully.
I know this because I know it’s true of myself. I think marriage should remain the union of one man and one woman. I also happen to be Catholic in my ethical views - including sexual ethics, and therefore including homosexuality.
What is true for yourself is not true for all because marriages are not in character identical to one another. No one has the power or the right to dictate too much in the arena of consenting adults. That said I will confirm your unspoken sentiments. I’ve borne witness to healthy marriages and note the achievement of grace between them. Fixating on another’s home will not improve our own. Fixating on our own, and using positive examples to emulate, will.
I can say that I absolutely do defend the Church’s right to marry who they see fit to marry. My question to you specifically, being a Christian married guy-- why doesn’t the specific category of ‘holy matrimony’ solve this for you? Not one poster has acknowledge that statement.
But I’m in no way afraid of gay people. I know they’re not going to do anything to me any more than I would do something inappropriate to a woman - besides, I’m not that attractive anyway. I have gay friends, including one very good friend of mine.

The reason same-sex attraction in other men doesn’t bother me is because I choose not to define them by it in my mind. I see them as persons, incommunicably their own, unique, created in the image and likeness of God, with their own particular hopes, dreams, and fears, and called - ultimately - to a supernatural love greater than they or I can even yet imagine.

That is how I see people - not as sinners to be judged by me or any other mere mortal.
Glad to hear you acknowledge them at very least on this level. I’ve gotten my ear chewed on more than one occasion over the anger they feel towards the religious, and towards hetero’s. I’m still Catholic. I’m still hetero. I also still see injustice. Civil unions are in order in secular society and the burden of proof it harms your marriage is upon you. I’m more than willing to hear that evidence.
 
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