|
In response to
"Can...worms...open...everywhere"
by
oblique
|
Very well thought out, and thought provoking.
|
My specific Catholic upbringing never taught me to "hate" gay people; and yet the whole hate the sin, but love the sinner teachings never struck the perfect cord with me either. It's too easy with homosexuality to let "hating the sin" become "hating the sinner" when the "sin" is visible, outwardly expressed, etc. Other sins are often hidden, and therefore nowhere near as open to our condemnation, and judgment.
And then yes, there's the question of whether the homosexuality of today is the same as it was practiced during biblical times where it was most often about power, not affection. As a "student" of Roman history the story of Caesar's alleged homosexuality always stuck with me. Caesar was mocked by his troops for being the "Queen" of Nicomedia. He wasn't mocked for the rumored act of homosexuality, he was mocked because he was perceived as having been a subservient partner to a more powerful man. Would homosexuality as it is known/seen today be viewed the same way as it seems to have been then? Would it still be viewed as sinful?
I think too often we see the judgments and condemnations attributed to God and Jesus and act is if those are the only lessons to be learned, practiced, and carried out. And because of that we often miss the lesson that if God and Jesus can love us, faults and all, then they too can love others faults and all, and any judgments or condemnations will be, and should be, at their hands, not ours. We are all sinners.
I don't know that I ever really gave this much thought until recently, and I don't know if my doing so is as a result of it being "the big issue" or whether it's because I married a woman with two moms, one of whom I've grown especially close too (Ashlee would say that this is because we are so very alike it's sickening), but I have certainly been struggling with this issue as well.
I don't know if I can say, from a religious standpoint, that I agree with redefining traditional marriage. But like you I see the hate that this issue brings out in people and I just can't stand it. It's like the person who cuts you off leaving the church parking lot and then flips you off. Do we learn nothing from the time spent listening to the word of God, all of it? How can people not see that they're not living up to all the words taught to us? Is that the test of faith? To be given two contradictory viewpoints and discern which lesson is most prescient? Do we love our neighbors as God and Jesus do? Or do we act as their agents on earth judging others as we believe they would?
I fear too many people miss the forest for the trees.
Thank you for your post, and your candor. Your thoughts put to word are helpful to me and give me much more to think about as I continue my own journey with Christ.
|