Proof that Gay Relationships are Wrong

[MoNiCa4316]

I hope it is okay for me to post here.

Justin, I live with the same sexual orientation you do. It sucks. It really, really does. But the worst thing, I've learned, is to try to justify it. I've tried that, but it's not real. It's a fantasy, a lie, a self-deception. If you want to be happy, you have to learn to live with this because it is not going to go away and it is not going to become right or natural either. Seek the Lord's face, reach out for the hem of His garment.

Jesus is the only beloved you and I are meant to have.

I'm sure it is very difficult and a heavy cross to bear. But Christ said, if we bear our crosses for Him, we will share in His glory also Have courage.. and for the last sentence: it is true that no one can love us more than God.. even though we all have a natural desire to be with another human being... God can fill all our hearts and by grace, we would be truly happy with Him. Many of the Saints were religious and so did not marry..they were married mystically to Christ. It is both a sacrifice and a joy.. maybe it helps to see it positively, not negatively.

I believe that with God's grace, we can bear ANYTHING. Sometimes He asks us to give things up, but gives so much more in return.. God is very generous and very patient.

God bless.

 

[Dorothea]

Justin, you must know that everyone here loves and cares about you. You asked for proof of where it teaching homosexuality is wrong and I provided quotes from the Holy Scriptures and from the Fathers. It is all there in black and white. You cannot twist Orthodoxy the way you want it as others have said. The Church can't change but we have to change for the Church and for our love of Jesus Christ. I've seen many people have been very loving to you and then you say that we are intolerant; in a sense that is true that Orthodoxy is intolerant toward any kind of sin weather it be theft, murder, adultery, masturbation, abortion, pride, hate, you get the idea but we aren't intolerant to you. We have to work hard towards God and it is going to be hard but we have to endure all things for our love of God.

Forgive me Justin if I have ever been unloving, intolerant, or insensitive to you. I really don't mean to be and nobody here does, everyone tries their best to help you but you have to be patient to human weakness, especially mine.

Wonderful post (as usual), Andrew.

 

[Dorothea]

I hope it is okay for me to post here.

Justin, I live with the same sexual orientation you do. It sucks. It really, really does. But the worst thing, I've learned, is to try to justify it. I've tried that, but it's not real. It's a fantasy, a lie, a self-deception. If you want to be happy, you have to learn to live with this because it is not going to go away and it is not going to become right or natural either. Seek the Lord's face, reach out for the hem of His garment.

Jesus is the only beloved you and I are meant to have.

Thank you for sharing this. Your strength, courage, and dedication to Christ is admirable.

 

[mg0086]

I'm sure it is very difficult and a heavy cross to bear. But Christ said, if we bear our crosses for Him, we will share in His glory also Have courage.. and for the last sentence: it is true that no one can love us more than God.. even though we all have a natural desire to be with another human being... God can fill all our hearts and by grace, we would be truly happy with Him. Many of the Saints were religious and so did not marry..they were married mystically to Christ. It is both a sacrifice and a joy.. maybe it helps to see it positively, not negatively.

I believe that with God's grace, we can bear ANYTHING. Sometimes He asks us to give things up, but gives so much more in return.. God is very generous and very patient.

God bless.

I have to agree with this, even though I love all my homosexual buddies and they're really sweet and loving. But I can't justify something that was strickly disordered in the bible. Several times I might add. And you and I know it's only disordered because two people of the same sex can't produce a child on their own which it's something God depends on to keep our human race going. It'll never be justified by the church because the church follows the bible day in and day out.

I'm sorry to say this...but it's a sin...a very grave one at that. The devil loves to get people to follow empty promises and very powerful deceptions...it's the most severe deceptions of our time with more and more people being drawn in by the minute.

BUT PLEASE do not think any less of us for saying so....I don't think any less of my homosexual buddies and they don't of me. Hate the sin, love the sinner I always say!

 

[katherine2001]

I hope it is okay for me to post here.

Justin, I live with the same sexual orientation you do. It sucks. It really, really does. But the worst thing, I've learned, is to try to justify it. I've tried that, but it's not real. It's a fantasy, a lie, a self-deception. If you want to be happy, you have to learn to live with this because it is not going to go away and it is not going to become right or natural either. Seek the Lord's face, reach out for the hem of His garment.

Jesus is the only beloved you and I are meant to have.

. Justin, I'm heterosexual, but it's not likely I'm going to end up married at this stage. Therefore, I've had to remain celebate also. Of course, it is worse for people with same-sex attraction, because they don't even have that option. Not to mention the fact that there are people who not only reject the sin, but reject the sinner too, leaving the person to deal with it all on their own. If you struggle with this, please talk to your priest about it. Also, see if you can get a copy of "Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections" by Fr. Thomas Hopko. Also, there was an issue of "Again" magazine a year or two ago that dealt with the topic. If you ever want to PM me to just get things off your chest, please do so.

 

[127.0.0.1]

Hate the sin, love the sinner I always say!

Hate is antithetical to God's nature.
We as Christians are not called to hate. Hate is not a Christian virtue.

 

[ArmyMatt]

yeah man, I have to agree that all of us here care about you. if we didn't we wouldn't say anything. now, I know that I don't know what your struggle is like or how hard it is, but I can tell you that it is no picnic being a single 20 something, who is old (and German) enough to drink in 21st century America. I gotta tell you it's tough, but I am blessed that I have a Church and I have many friends who love me enough to keep me in line. who love me enough to help me when I stumble into my own sinful problems. yes, sometimes they say things that at the moment I don't want to hear or that tick me off, but love does that. love is not telling someone that it's okay when it's not okay. love is not covering over our evil with a blind eye, it's obliterating it through the power of the cross.

bottom line, we do care. we care a lot, every one of us. please forgive us for sounding ignorant or unloving, because that should never be our intent no matter what sin we are talking about.

struggle, struggle, struggle my brother. help us with our struggles. we either make it to heaven together, or not at all.

 

[AureateDawn]

Thanks all. But I can be close to God anyways and still love another man. I care about y'all, too!

 

[ArmyMatt]

But I can be close to God anyways and still love another man.

you can, as Christians we are called to love everybody. however, you cannot be close to Christ and not follow what He says. so doing the dating thing with another man will impede your relationship with Christ.

 

[AureateDawn]

You can think that. I think otherwise. I'm gonna keep going to my church, I just own't be able to have communion, and I am fine with that. Everything will work out if I trust God.

 

[ArmyMatt]

You can think that. I think otherwise. I'm gonna keep going to my church, I just own't be able to have communion, and I am fine with that. Everything will work out if I trust God.

forgive me, but if you really trusted God, then why would you chose anything over partaking of His Body and Blood? if you do not eat of my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have life within you are the words of the Savior Himself. if you trust God, you will struggle against this, just like all of us must struggle against our sins.

 

[Monica child of God 1]

Glad someone posted this. It gives me an excuse to delve into one of my all time favorite little bits of Orthodox Theology (this isn't directed directly at you btw);

Does God hate? If so, how...why? Does God hate sin?
The answer, hate is antithetical to God's nature, but not to ours. Whenever we commit sin or evil it is a serious crisis moment that urgently requires God's Love, Mercy, and Grace.

Where or when did Christ ever command, "Hate!" Where is, "Hate!" written in the Gospels? Where has, "Hate!" been given to us by our Holy Tradition?

"I love you, but I hate what you do." We're not called to simultaneously love someone and hate them at the same time.

Since God is Love, hate and its user-base keep themselves unaware of the divine image they are imprinted with.



We as Christians are not called to hate. Hate is not a Christian virtue.

I think that if you want to discuss this, you should start your own thread. It is not polite to hijack someone else's thread for your own purposes.

I really mean that with respect.

M.

 

[Monica child of God 1]

You can think that. I think otherwise. I'm gonna keep going to my church, I just own't be able to have communion, and I am fine with that. Everything will work out if I trust God.

I am glad that you plan to keep coming to Church. Keep praying too and reading Scripture. Many of us, including me, are or have been caught in sin and delusion. The most important thing is not to withdraw. This is the hospital for sinners and thank God we are all welcome to come and struggle.

M.

 

[127.0.0.1]

I think that if you want to discuss this, you should start your own thread. It is not polite to hijack someone else's thread for your own purposes.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I apologize.


PS
Justin, bear in mind that ArmyMatt has a good point. You must partake of Communion at least once a year to remain Orthodox.

 

[Monica child of God 1]

"Work something out with your priest if you can" ???


Partaking of Holy Communion requires self examination, repentance and confession of belief in Orthodox dogma and doctrine. Partaking in an unworthy manner can cause illness and death. Actively, knowingly going against Church teaching on sexual sin is a grave matter. One is sinning against the Holy Spirit whose temple his body is. What you are suggesting could be really serious.

"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Cor 6

M.

 

[gzt]

No, you don't have to partake of communion once per year to remain Orthodox. He will be Orthodox until the day he dies.

 

[gzt]

You know, this post will just be confusing, so I'm editing it out.

 

[Monica child of God 1]

?

 

[Barky]

You can think that. I think otherwise. I'm gonna keep going to my church, I just own't be able to have communion, and I am fine with that. Everything will work out if I trust God.

Really, Justin, why do you even post here? Your decision is made. Lord have mercy.

 

[Michael G]

Some of you here on this thread, as well as some people on Facebook, have reminded me just how unloving, intolerant and insensitive Orthodox Christians can be.

If you are meaning me, personally, you can just say it. I am strong enough to take any criticism you can throw at me. I am not unloving Justin. I honestly care about you as a person, but you are not willing to listen to what I have to say or anyone else who disagrees with you has to say. At first I tried to put it in a very gentle manner, but you would not listen. So now I feel you need to know the cold, hard truth. I am intolerant of situations that are only destructive and out of which no good can possibly come.