Gay, Catholic and Doing Fine

[athrock]

I'm going to try to avoid cursing for a post.  That's unusual for me, because every other word that comes out my mouth is something you can't say on television.  But I'm going to, in order to try to be polite.  I don't extend this courtesy often.

You might want to give that some thought.

I don't think Christians (and I call out Christians, but this can be said of people of all religions, and even some Atheists who view Homosexuality as unnatural or immoral, but I mainly call out Christians here because the majority of the push back against lesbians, gays, and transgender in the United States are in fact Christian) realize the harm they do with the theology they have that states that Homosexuality isn't normal, and that Lesbians and Gays should remain celibate.

I hope you recognize that most of the most vocal pushback comes not from the Catholic Church but from Protestant denominations - especially insignificant little fundamentalist groups who make the nightly news because of their extremism and not because of their impressive accomplishments in other areas.

The Catholic Church pushes back against Gay Marriage and against Gay Adoption.  They call it "Defending the Family".  I find this incredibly offensive.  To suggest that a man who marries a man, or a woman who marries a woman is not REAL marriage should be an insult not just to Gays and Lesbians who are married, but to everyone else who is married and not part of the Christian Faith.  Christians neither invented marriage, nor do they have a monopoly on it.  Their claim that their God created marriage is unfounded for marriage has been around as a concept in many different cultures.  "Defending the family" is equally offensive because it suggests that what gays and lesbians have when they are married are not a REAL family, just as they suggest their marriage isn't a REAL marriage.  

Yes, you are offended. Having our sins pointed out offends all of us. So what?

God created man and woman and declared that the two become one flesh. Marriage, real marriage, is permanent. This is a tough concept for a culture that is accustomed to or has a preference for serial monogamy. Again, so what?

So, while Christians didn't invent marriage, they are correct in defending God's definition of what marriage is intended to be. And no one does this better than the Catholic Church.

Consider the implications of saying that their family is not a REAL family.  If my daughter and her wife chose to adopt, then by the teachings of many faiths, they would not be considered a family.  

Many faiths? So, not just Christians then? Hmmm...THAT should tell you something.

Is this not a bigoted thing to say?  To claim that someone isn't a family because of their gender preference?  

Would it be better that we keep silent instead? "Well, she's going to hell, but I don't want to be rude by pointing that out..."

Sorry, Divinity, but people of faith are being consistent when they warn others about the things that offend God. Just as you would warn your daughter if you thought something was harmful to her. You just don't like hearing what people of faith are saying.

Do you not see the harm done, telling a child that their adopted mothers aren't really their family?  That they'd be better off in an orphanage than to be with someone they love?  

The child should have been protected from being adopted by lesbians in the first place. I don't say that the lesbians don't love their daughter, but to say that harm would be done NOW is obvious. The horses are already out of the barn. But the barn door never should have been opened in the first place. And the child could have been adopted by a loving heterosexual couple instead. No need to invoke images of Dickensian orphanages, please.

That's not just an attack on gay people, but an attack on children as well.  The same children that the Catholic Church and other Churches claim to be looking out for when they try to ban abortion (including in cases of rape) The implications aren't meaningless.  They have real effects.  On children, teenagers, and even adults.  Even if they don't believe in the same god, it has an effect on them.  A very real effect.  I would know because I've worked with a lot of gay teens who felt like they didn't belong because of their parents religion.   These people live in a world where a lot of people are already bigoted against them.  This makes them vulnerable.  It's insulting what they do.  

The implications of these things are anything BUT meaningless. But you fail to consider the eternal, spiritual consequences of these things.

I will forever fight against the attitudes that homosexual activity is somehow 'immoral'.  Because it's not immoral, and teaching children and teenagers and adults that it is, is harmful.  Every time I hear someone tell me that their parents don't accept them, or that their parents think that there's something wrong with them because of their attraction to the same gender, my heart breaks.  It breaks because I know how hard it is for teens out there.  I know all too well what being ostracized feels like, having been a teen mother.  It's not acceptable to me that someone can claim that they are okay with gay people, so long as they remain celibate.  It's not acceptable to me that someone can claim someone is immoral just because they have sex with the gender they are attracted to.

And you will lose the fight because God is in command, not you.

However, I would agree with a fight against discrimination against homosexuals...which is not the same thing.

And in this regard, the Catholic Church is your ally and not your enemy. LEARN. THIS.

I have a big problem with the churches views on homosexuality.  They try to handwave the bigotry.  Some of them try to claim bigotry toward them because of a lack of tolerance for their intolerance.  But they don't get to handwave it.  Softer bigotry is still bigotry.  All people yearn for acceptance.  Those who find it hard to find yearn for it most of all.  Furthermore, the churches softer bigotry is used to justify the harsher bigotry we have out there.  The parents who don't accept their children at all because they are gay.  The church justifies that, intentional or not.  That's the effect of the soft bigotry that isn't outright hate, but subtle disdain.

I will always speak out against those people (I always speak my mind whether people like it or not)  I will always speak out against those who would call them immoral for choosing to have sex with a consenting adult of their preferred gender.  I've seen the effects.  Some people are blind to them, others choose to ignore them.  But they're there.  They are the elephant in the room, they cannot just be ignored.  My daughter is a wonderful person who is always helping others.  Not so that she looks better to her friends, or because she thinks she'll be rewarded for it in the next life.  but because she has compassion.   That they would call her immoral because she has sex with her wife is what I'd consider immoral.  And yes, I think the Catholic Church is immoral.  I think most Christian churches are immoral.  It's why I'm not a Christian anymore.  I recognize the intolerance, and the bigotry.   I wouldn't think that's what your Jesus would want.  And if he would, then I would say a few choice words to him that would not be the politely extended courtesy that I've given here.

So, you're not a Christian anymore because God won't let you have something you want. You stormed out of the church, and now you shake your fist at Him and hurl your choice words at the sky because you're angry at Him.

He loves you no less for all that.