Right now in this world we have sin in abundance. There is violence, war, rape, murder, civil unrest, hatred, sloth, perversion, atheism, abortion, the list goes on and on.
We've always had violence. And violence has always been considered tragic and something to be avoided. Nobody really likes war except the braintrusts that start them. But at least the world has been able to understand the dignity of the marital act, the sublime and powerful role of marriage, the fact that pre-marital sex is sin, the fact that sodomy is not only disgusting but also evil, and that same-sex attraction is a disorder.
But in this brave new world of the new millennium we live in, in these wonderful times, morality has been turned upside down. Sexual sins are evil. We get into trouble when we start this silly game of downplaying perversion and sexual evils and just focusing on violence. And we get into even BIGGER trouble when we get on here and second guess and predict what would and wouldn't bother Our Lord.
Sodomy and oral copulation amongst two men or sexual acts between two lesbians is evil. Pure and simple. The Orthodox Church, to whom this subforum is dedicated, teaches officially that active same-sex intercourse is sinful. We all know why. It is a perversion of God's design and desire for the course of human events with regard to sexuality and the family unit. It is something Satan delights in. Two men using their anuses for sex. You get the point. It's gross and manipulating the human body in a disgustingly un-Godly way. Pretending a man is a woman in penetration. The very act is ugly beyond belief and a slap in God's face.
So gay sex is evil. It was in the beginning, is now, always will be. To stand up bravely in a world that adores sodomy and proclaim God's teaching isn't detracting from anything else. It's courageous and must be done.
Premarital sex violates God's desire for us. It's wrong. It was wrong and still is and always will be.
Cohabitation and "trial marriage" is sin. It is against God's wishes and subjects the Holy Spirit to sin. It's wrong. Still is.
Adultery is sin.
Now here's a simple reality: I can be outraged at how the media, politicians, my state, cable TV, music, and the whole entirety of pop culture is brainwashing everyone to find sodomy to be a beautiful thing and the "gay" lifestyle a lovely and fresh slice of life AND I can be mad at ISIS AND I can be mad about abortion deaths AND I can be disgusted at the cohabitation and inappropriate content epidemic AND I can be mad at the beheading of journalists in Syria AND I can be upset about....
It's a simple concept: walking and chewing gum at the same time.
We've heard these arguments for years: "why can't we ignore the gay stuff and just feed the poor?" Really? You can't do both? "Why can't we quit worrying who people are sleeping with and just love people?" uh....yeah, we do? That's why we love them! We hate to see them killing their souls and those of others!
An, Orthodox Christian SHOULD be mad at the LGBT fascism of this country. We can't disagree with this vile agenda without being labeled as hate-mongers and bigots and losing our jobs or being branded. it's a fascist setup. We can't criticize any sexual sin lest we get labeled judgmental. It's absurd. We carry sins ourselves. I do. I screw up all the time. I go to confession, I beg for forgiveness and know I'm 100% inadequate without God's grace and sacraments. Same with other sinners. But when we get to the point where we try to bury our heads and ignore the hedonism and gross evils our culture is pounding into our kids' heads and say the only thing we should worry about is ISIS and Putin's invasions, well, then we're in trouble. Walk and chew gum.
yet we cannot just vent and gripe and preach against sins. Christians can't just be about what we're against. We must be FOR things as well. That's where charity, prayer, outreach, ministries, and community come in.
A Christian is a multi-faceted critter who is against sin, fighting sins within himself, and trying to love and serve all at the same time.
