Last night, I was with friends. They accused a man I know of being gay. He wasn't there and there's no evidence that he is gay, so I defended him and said he's not. Eventually a girl who was with us asked "So what if he is? Why do you care? What difference does it make?" Later, she said "Oh, you're religious aren't you..." This particular person makes statements like this and every now and then will remind people that she is not at all religious and in fact she seems rather anti-Christian.
There are several problems with her statements anyway. Her implication was that I am against gay people because I am religious and that's the only reason. All I said to her in response was that I am religious but that's not the point. The point is I don't think he is gay, so we shouldn't accuse him of that. If someone said she's "lesbian", would the better thing to do is just accept that, even if it's false?
I am not against gay people. I think God loves gay people just like he loves everyone else. With regards to sex and so on, I believe sex is reserved for a man and a woman inside marriage. Anything outside of this is immoral. When it comes to immoral sexual behavior, anyone could potential fall into that category. If a self-identified "gay" person falls into that category, so be it, but others can just as easily.
I think God created marriage as the union of a man and a woman for love between spouses and a good environment for children. Sex ought to be inside this marriage because outside of it, it is not a good environment for the raising of children. I do not think sex and procreation can be completely divorced. God has linked them together. So therefore, sex has a natural consequence of conception. A conception should only happen within the loving bond of a couple who have made a lifelong commitment to each other. Isn't this so beautiful? Isn't a child most loved in this special place? I think so.
It is an unfair statement to say I am against gay people. What is more accurate is to say I am against anything which involves sex outside of marriage. This could be adultery, fornication, masturbation, rape, incest, and homosexual sex. That means I am not just sitting on my pedestal condemning people, because I too am vulnerable to many of these sins. I am not immune to them.
I think to say someone is against gay people because they are religious is avoiding the issue. My religion is against homosexual activity, not just because it decided this haphazardly. The Catholic Church is against this because it is not for the good of society. But the Catholic Church is against many types of illicit sexual behavior.
We all have a narrow path to walk. Let's follow the course set out by Christ.
Phil,
ReplyDeleteSex and procreation CAN be separated and must be or else you are saying that older people who are past their "expiration date" as far as having children, shouldn't marry.
I don't think that's what you mean - or at least I hope not. I'm older, never had children and still wish to marry. There is NOTHING wrong with that.
Yours in Christ
B
A marriage which in principle and in essence is non-procreative is not legitimate, nor is it even a marriage. This applies to a homosexual marriage of two people of the same gender. But this does not apply to older people. In principle, it is the marriage between a man and a woman, and therefore is, in principle possibly fruitful. Take the story of Abraham and Sarah. She was very old, as was he, but through the grace of God, they conceived a child. The age of the couple, or even their infertility are incidental to their essental nature, which is of a man and a woman. This particular union may not bring about children, however, the couple is not closed to that possibility in theory. As Alan Keyes once said, an apple is an apple, that is its nature, its essence. But an apple can be large or small, red or green, or it can even have a worm in it, etc. But it is still an apple. The incidentals of the apple does not change it. However, an orange is not an apple.
ReplyDeleteA marriage is not just the union of two people who like each other. It is a commitment to be open to God's plan for that marriage. God created Adam and Eve in a complementary way, and part of God's plan means being open to life. As long as a couple is open to life, then it is valid. Therefore, a couple cannot enter into a union which, by its very nature and essence, is inherently closed to life and fertility, and contrary to God's plan.
I hope this helps.
Also, I'm curious, do I know you personally?
Phil
No Phil, you don't know me. I stumbled into this blog site while researching something entirely different and found it very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'm just your average apple with a worm in it! lol Or I'm a Sarah - undecided as to which fits me better!!
I liked that apple analogy!!
B
"With regards to sex and so on, I believe sex is reserved for a man and a woman inside marriage"
ReplyDeleteYes, the key here is YOU believe. Therefore, you are free to not have sex with a man.