I think it is possibly an attempt to position the Church as an/the arbiter of marriage. If the pope promotes civil unions, he can grant rights to the married without having to recognize civil-union couples.Civil unions but not marriages?
Some people just have same sex attraction. I get it. But God calls practicing that lifestyle sin. These people are not converted.Gay people have a right to be in a family but clergy don't.
Some people just have same sex attraction. I get it. But God calls practicing that lifestyle sin. These people are not converted.
The bottom line is people are either going to live by God's standards and commandments or not. The day is which we live can easily be described by the line in Judges that said people did what they thought was right in their own eyes. :sigh*I think @Tree of Life 's point is that he doesn't think his religion can dictate how people who don't share his religious beliefs live. Which is quite correct. If I'm not a conservative Christian, why should I have to live by the implications of your belief?
Freedom of religion is a widely recognized civil right now among most traditional Protestant churches, and also to a great extent, in Catholicism.
The bottom line is people are either going to live by God's standards and commandments or not. The day is which we live can easily be described by the line in Judges that said people did what they thought was right in their own eyes. :sigh*
But there will always be a remnant that live by the Word of God.
I think @Tree of Life 's point is that he doesn't think his religion can dictate how people who don't share his religious beliefs live. Which is quite correct. If I'm not a conservative Christian, why should I have to live by the implications of your belief?
He said: “Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it. What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that.”
That's like stating we dont share the religios beliefs of, thou shalt not steal, kill, or bear false witness.
This isn't some mild disagreement on theology, we're talking damnable sin here.
I truly thought that this was a joke or over exaggerating a press release of some kind.
Then I looked at the news...
Can they excommunicate the Pope?
I know that they are about to have a civil war within the ranks.
OK, but some of us don't center our lives on theistic belief or a particular interpretation of the Bible. I'm just saying we should try to live and let live, that is what civilized people do when they disagree. You respect my rights and I respect yours.
It seems what you're really demanding is respect for relationships we find sinful. Not a live and let live attitude of liberalism. Don't pretend your position is neutral because it isn't, it is just as forceful as any other political ideology in ultimately demanding compliance.
That is ridiculous. The exact same problems were present in, e.g., the Corinthian church as there are in Western churches. In fact, they had some even more damnable problems relating to local cults and temple prostitution, etc. And blaming some of this stuff on "mistranslation" of well known Koine Greek words is laughable. Quote me passages you think are "mistranslated", and we'll compare them to Dan Wallace's NET Bible translations. (He is a renowned world expert in the Koine Greek, and also a believer, so he ticks both boxes for Biblical authority.)A great deal of the supposed condemnation of homosexuality in the Bible stem from mistranslations and/or are rooted in highly specific historical and cultural subtext that you cannot translate into modern darn relationships.
Affirmation of sinful behavior is sin. Also, disagreeing with you is not "injury".I'm talking about tolerance, not respect. If you can't adhere to a principle of non-injury to others who have different religious values from you, you are the one being forceful and aggressive.