Thursday, October 07, 2004
A state judge tossed the Louisiana constitutional amendment against gay marriage that was passed 79% to 21% awhile back. I have some thoughts on gay marriage below that have no links because it's all my own opinion, for what it's worth.
Some say that to be against gay marriage is to be prejudiced. Others say that to call being gay a sin, or to be otherwise against gay marriage, is bigoted. 'Predudice' can mean several things. It can mean your opinion is not informed by the true facts, it can mean your opinion is unfounded and based on emotion rather than on reality. It really means that you are prejudging something before you know everything there is to know. 'Bigoted' doesn't have a lot of meanings. It means you hold a strong opinion about something or someone or some group and you're unwilling to accept any other views in disagreement with your own.
1. Is the Catholic Church prejudiced against gays? Does the Catholic Church prejudge 'gayness' as 'sinful' before knowing the facts? Those who say, "yes," believe being gay causes no harm to society or to the individuals involved. They believe it's better for society to have loving couples, no matter their gender, accepted and supported. But what fact has the Catholic Church missed? What fact does the Church ignore that shows gayness is not sinful? In what way is 'sin,' which is 'estrangement from God,' defined as what is accepted by society? It is just that method of defining 'sin' as whatever fits with modern society's norms that is driving people away, that is driving me away, from the Protestant churches. The Catholic Church is not prejudiced against gays because prejudice means opinion based on insufficient knowledge, irrational feelings or inaccurate stereotypes. The Catholic Church teaches that gay actions are a sin because the Bible says so and no teaching since the beginning has contradicted that. Psychiatry does not define sin, God defines sin. Politicians don't define sin, God does. The Supreme Court of the United States cannot define sin, only the Word can.
2. Is the Catholic Church bigoted against gays? 'Bigoted' means you hold a strong opinion about something or someone and you're not willing to accept any other views on the matter. Is the Catholic Church willing to accept other views on gayness and gay marriage? Bigots do not even listen to the arguments, and how can anyone say that the Catholic Church has not been listening to the gay argument? The Church is full of statements and teachings on this matter. The acceptance of gay activity in the church is under constant discussion and always, always the sinfulness of gay marriage is taught with scripture and with logic. Bigots? Who among those accepting gay as normal, accepting gay marriage as unsinful, are not holding a strong opinion they are unwilling to change? Where the Catholic Church listens, thinks, and then opposes, those who call the Church bigoted are unwilling to even consider any other view on the matter. To them, it is settled. It is, as Archie Bunker used to say, "Case Closed."
Only thirty years ago, psychiatrists held that homosexuality was deviant and society as a whole considered gay activity sinful. Today, you would be hard pressed to find a psychiatric paper that tries to study what acceptance has done to society in general and to children in particular. In other words, those who believe gayness is not bad for the world have few or no facts, few or no studies and few or no clues as to whether their belief holds water. This is the very definition of 'Prejudice,' and being unwilling to listen to others is the very definition of 'Bigoted.' Catholics, on the other hand, faced with constant questions on the matter, study and hold onto the belief that homosexual activity is a sin based on the teachings and considerations of theologians. This is the opposite of prejudice and bigotry.
There is another notion that modern society has that the church as always fought: birth control. Birth control and acceptance of gays both broke onto the scene around the same time. Birth control has made much broader inroads into the Catholic Church. Look at the world today, thirty years later. The populations of Japan and Europe are falling like a rock. The population of the United States, if immigration is removed, is also falling. Who among you didn't believe, thirty years ago, in the population explosion? But God was steadfast and now the truth is becoming clear that societies are massively hurt by birth control and abortion... and will be even worse off in the years to come. Some believe that Japan and other countries may not even be able to sustain itself as a country in another generation. Some believe that the Muslim population will completely overtake Europe in another generation.
Just how bad will gay marriage appear to us all when more and more teenagers see nothing wrong in living that life? Just how bad off will society be after another generation of limited and selected children?
Some say that to be against gay marriage is to be prejudiced. Others say that to call being gay a sin, or to be otherwise against gay marriage, is bigoted. 'Predudice' can mean several things. It can mean your opinion is not informed by the true facts, it can mean your opinion is unfounded and based on emotion rather than on reality. It really means that you are prejudging something before you know everything there is to know. 'Bigoted' doesn't have a lot of meanings. It means you hold a strong opinion about something or someone or some group and you're unwilling to accept any other views in disagreement with your own.
1. Is the Catholic Church prejudiced against gays? Does the Catholic Church prejudge 'gayness' as 'sinful' before knowing the facts? Those who say, "yes," believe being gay causes no harm to society or to the individuals involved. They believe it's better for society to have loving couples, no matter their gender, accepted and supported. But what fact has the Catholic Church missed? What fact does the Church ignore that shows gayness is not sinful? In what way is 'sin,' which is 'estrangement from God,' defined as what is accepted by society? It is just that method of defining 'sin' as whatever fits with modern society's norms that is driving people away, that is driving me away, from the Protestant churches. The Catholic Church is not prejudiced against gays because prejudice means opinion based on insufficient knowledge, irrational feelings or inaccurate stereotypes. The Catholic Church teaches that gay actions are a sin because the Bible says so and no teaching since the beginning has contradicted that. Psychiatry does not define sin, God defines sin. Politicians don't define sin, God does. The Supreme Court of the United States cannot define sin, only the Word can.
2. Is the Catholic Church bigoted against gays? 'Bigoted' means you hold a strong opinion about something or someone and you're not willing to accept any other views on the matter. Is the Catholic Church willing to accept other views on gayness and gay marriage? Bigots do not even listen to the arguments, and how can anyone say that the Catholic Church has not been listening to the gay argument? The Church is full of statements and teachings on this matter. The acceptance of gay activity in the church is under constant discussion and always, always the sinfulness of gay marriage is taught with scripture and with logic. Bigots? Who among those accepting gay as normal, accepting gay marriage as unsinful, are not holding a strong opinion they are unwilling to change? Where the Catholic Church listens, thinks, and then opposes, those who call the Church bigoted are unwilling to even consider any other view on the matter. To them, it is settled. It is, as Archie Bunker used to say, "Case Closed."
Only thirty years ago, psychiatrists held that homosexuality was deviant and society as a whole considered gay activity sinful. Today, you would be hard pressed to find a psychiatric paper that tries to study what acceptance has done to society in general and to children in particular. In other words, those who believe gayness is not bad for the world have few or no facts, few or no studies and few or no clues as to whether their belief holds water. This is the very definition of 'Prejudice,' and being unwilling to listen to others is the very definition of 'Bigoted.' Catholics, on the other hand, faced with constant questions on the matter, study and hold onto the belief that homosexual activity is a sin based on the teachings and considerations of theologians. This is the opposite of prejudice and bigotry.
There is another notion that modern society has that the church as always fought: birth control. Birth control and acceptance of gays both broke onto the scene around the same time. Birth control has made much broader inroads into the Catholic Church. Look at the world today, thirty years later. The populations of Japan and Europe are falling like a rock. The population of the United States, if immigration is removed, is also falling. Who among you didn't believe, thirty years ago, in the population explosion? But God was steadfast and now the truth is becoming clear that societies are massively hurt by birth control and abortion... and will be even worse off in the years to come. Some believe that Japan and other countries may not even be able to sustain itself as a country in another generation. Some believe that the Muslim population will completely overtake Europe in another generation.
Just how bad will gay marriage appear to us all when more and more teenagers see nothing wrong in living that life? Just how bad off will society be after another generation of limited and selected children?
