Monday, March 17, 2008

In Response to "Concerning homosexuality and extremists in the Church.."

This blog entry is in response to a blog that was written Saturday by a fellow member of the Newman Club. First, some background information. The Newman Center is a Catholic College organization that is meant to serve as spiritual center for college students, based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Newman Club is simply a student run club associated with the Newman Center.

When I came to college last September, I quickly got heavily involved in the Newman Center, but was distressed by what seemed to be a lack of orthodoxy (faithfulness to Church teaching) in the Center’s attitudes. For example, the Center hosted a talk by a priest who dissented from Catholic teaching on homosexuality, charging the Church with being “homophobic.”

Because this kind of dissenting attitude toward the Catholic Church was not what I was looking for and was not helpful to my spiritual growth, I have been gradually distancing myself, feeling that this was better than a confrontation, which would inevitably lead to a painful and likely unchristian situation.

However, when I was asked last week by another member of the Newman Club why it seemed like I was avoiding them, I simply told him why. I told him that I didn’t agree with a lot of the things they were doing and why I didn’t feel comfortable with them. That was March 11th and everything was more or less quiet until Saturday, when this blog was written. The link to the blog is http://bernstein09.blogspot.com/ and I would encourage you to read it before going on since I will be addressing the content of the blog itself.

First, a quick word about the tone and word choice of this blog. Ironically, the author of the blog calls for open-mindedness but then calls and/or implies that people who disagree with her on this issue as bigot, terrorist, hateful person, etc. Is this open-minded?

How many people, even among Catholics, actually know what the Church teaches about homosexuality? Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997) says:

Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture . . . tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sex act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination . . . constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives, and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Homosexual persons are called to chastity.

The Catholic Church’s teaching on this matter is consistent with Biblical condemnations of homosexual behavior (check your Bible, Leviticus 18:22-30, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Jude 7). Catholic teaching on this issue is also shared by most religions, including most Protestant Christians, Muslims, and orthodox Jews. All of these faiths teach that sex belongs in marriage and that marriage must be between a man and a woman because the two purposes of sex—the expression of faithful, complementary love and the procreation of children—can be fulfilled only in heterosexual marriage. This is not a “prejudice” but a belief about God’s purposes for sex.

In saying that the Catholic Church is wrong to condemn homosexual behavior, the author of the blog is also saying that the Church is wrong on a matter of faith and morals. According to Catholic belief, this is not possible. Catholics believe that Jesus promised the Church that he would send the Holy Spirit to ensure the truth of its teachings. If you’d like more information about the Biblical backing of this, I would be happy to discuss it with you.

Lastly, the blog states that we must allow homosexual behavior in order to love them. This is not true at all. Jesus loved every person more than we are capable of, but he wasn’t afraid to tell them they were wrong and that they needed to repent and take control of their sinful desires. Being loving does not mean allowing sinful behavior to continue. I by no means support those who abuse homosexuals and discriminate against them. However, to let them do what they want is to stand by while they fall deeper into sin. That is not loving, in fact, I can think of no way to be more unloving. The true Catholic teaching on homosexuals, as shown in the Catechism, is that we are called to love and encourage these people to place God at the center of their lives and take control of their desires. We are to pray for them and help them, not allow them to do whatever they wish.

You might think, “How can you ask people to suppress their natural desires?” Let me give you just one example of a person who is living a chaste lifestyle even though she has homosexual inclinations. She is part of a Catholic support group, Courage, that helps persons experiencing same-sex attraction to lead a chaste life. She says:

A homosexual tendency is not who you are; it’s a tendency in a person. There is a whole deeper reality to who you are. The more you grow internally, the more you can know yourself as you are known by God. The deepest peace you can have is when you are living the way God intended you to live.

Of course, you don’t have to agree with Catholic teaching or any other religious view of this or any other issue. That is your right of conscience, just as it is a right of conscience for other persons to hold the above-quoted beliefs.

Thank you for reading these thoughts with an open mind. I have tried my best to explain my views. I pray that we may all know the truth as God wants us to know it, I don’t wish to debate the issue further, especially not during the holiest week of the year. God bless you all.


Further Reading: Please leave a comment and I will give you some documents that I was not able to upload for furthered reading!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Atlanta Storm Damages CNN, Georgia Dome

A storm, possibly a tornado, ripped through downtown Atlanta last night, damaging the CNN studios and the Georgia Dome during the SEC basketball tournament.

Story: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,338078,00.html
Pictures: http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,3558,00.html

Earlier this week, one of my fellow Christian meteorology majors showed me a passage in the Gospel of Matthew that is probably overlooked by most people. But, the Bible is the Word of God, so every single verse has worth.
He said to them in reply, "In the evening you say, 'Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red'
and, in the morning, 'Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times. ~Matthew 16:2-3
If you read the verses around this passage, you can see that the Pharisees were again testing Jesus and you can tell he is slightly annoyed with them becuase while they are asking for a sign, Jesus is telling them they are blind to the signs God has already given them.

When I heard about the storm in Atlanta last night and the two biggest stories surrounding it, this verse came to mind. What might God be trying to say to us through this storm. Maybe nothing, but the fact that a couple things immediately came to mind makes me really wonder. I am not saying this is for certain, but I find it very interesting.

CNN's studios were damaged. Now, I consider CNN to be one of the pillars of the liberal, leftish media in America. Their slanted news most certainly doesn't build up or support the kingdom of God. Could this storm have been a bit of a warning sign?

As for the basketball game, no God isn't upset at the teams that were playing when the storm hit. God isn't condemning sports or anything like that. However, I find the timing of the storm key. This game was part of the SEC College Basketball tournament. If you aren't familiar with "March Madness," let me explain. Basically, every major basketball conference holds a tournament at the end of the year. These tournaments help set the field for a larger, 65 team tournament. Tomorrow is 'Selection Sunday," when the tournament field is set.

Here is my thought linking the storm to the tournament. The NCAA tournament is a HUGE betting event...probably one of, if not the largest of each year. There will be a lot of excess money thrown around once the field is set tomorrow and the betting will continue for the duration of the tournament, which goes into April. Think of all the good that could be done with that money if it was spent on feeding the poor, clothing the naked, building homes, etc etc! Perhaps God is trying to get us to turn back to His word and have us spend our money on better things?

Friday, March 14, 2008

Barack Obama's Pastor

Now I have heard some things in the past about the pastor of the church that Obama goes to. However, it wasn't until this afternoon that some details finally came out.

Now, when you stick with a church for 20 years, get married in that church, have your children baptized in that church, when you are very close to your pastor...chances are pretty high you are satisfied and supportive of this church. From my own personal experience, my family just left one Catholic parish for another because we became very dissatisfied and uncomfortable (to say the least) with the direction of that parish. Likewise, here at my college, it is becoming clear to me that the Catholic chapel on campus is very liberal and does what they want...which I do not support and makes me uncomfortable. So, this semester, I have been to Mass there once and doubt I will be going there often if ever again, favoring the more traditional churches in town.

Now my whole point here is this. You pick your church and you pick your pastor based on what you like and what you are comfortable with. If you don't like it, you find another one. When you stay with the church for 20 years, you must like it.

Now...I have embedded video from Fox News that analyzes some of the sermons given by the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr that are downright HATEFUL of America! Wait a second...Obama is buddy-buddy with a person who hates America...sits in the pews and listens to this guy spew anti-American lies...and he is running for PRESIDENT? Maybe its just me...but something doesn't seem right.

Take a look for yourself:
WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS OFFENSIVE MATERIAL AND LANGUAGE!!!



For further reading: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/14/obamas-spiritual-adviser....
Another video: http://www.foxnews.com/video2/launchPage.html?031308/....
Obama's Church Website: http://www.tucc.org/home.htm

UPDATE: Apparently Obama has just released a statement regarding this very issue. That can be found by clicking here. You be the judge...I personally find it hard to believe that Obama never heard these sermons or didn't even know about them until the start of his campaign.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Introduction

Greetings all! I'd like to use this first post to introduce myself and let you know what I am going to be doing here.

First off, my name is Todd. Well...actually it isn't, but that is the name I have been using as my online alias for quite some time now, so when I thought of creating this blog, I thought why not use it here too! Anyways, I am a college freshman at an Upstate New York college majoring in meteorology. I have been interested in the weather as long as I can remember and truly enjoy meteorology, especially the forecasting aspect of it.

I was raised in a strong Roman Catholic family that has shaped my deep sense of faith that has gotten me to where I am today. I love the Catholic faith, but that does not mean I do not enjoy talking and communing with other religions. In fact, my best friends, who are more like brothers and sisters to me than simply friends, are not even Catholic.

I am a republican and conservative, with my main political interests being the Right to Life, preservation of marriage and the family, foreign policy, particularly in dealing with Islamic terrorists, and debunking the Global Warming hoax.

Right now, I am one and a half semesters into college and I see that the college environment is tough place for Christians to be. I also see how being a Christian in today's world is tough. Satan is trying so hard to distract us from what is good and right in this world. I felt that I have been called to share my thoughts and beliefs with anyone who would want to read them, which has lead me to create this blog. Furthermore, I am planning to posting a lot of links to current event stories and saying briefly what I think of them...that will probably make up the majority of my posts since I don't always have a lot of time to go into long articles. Please feel free to comment and debate me if you wish...I only ask you keep it respectful!

Thank you for taking time to read this and I hope you will keep coming back (or even subscribe to this). God bless!