4 Comments

1. 

   VJnet on July 7, 2006 at 6:49 pm

   Wow. Bishop Gumbeleton brought up some very outstanding points on the evolution of religion when it comes to the church. I’ve always wondered what and where in the Bible specifically says that homosexuality is a sin and the reasons for it.

   It is horrible that the US is using such a evil weapon that can leave long term devastation over generations, even after the war is over. I am so outraged by our nations use of such weapons of mass destruction. Thanks John for letting everyone know about this.

2. 

   John Ong on July 8, 2006 at 1:37 am

   Thanks for your comment VJ.
   I think there are quite a number of people who are both religious and gay, would probably appreciate Bishop Gumbleton’s talk.
   We just have to keep fighting for our rights, both on the civil ground, and if one prefers, on the religious gorund too.

3. 

   Mark on July 10, 2006 at 6:07 pm

   I’m going to listen to this part of the talk again. I love how he stressed Ratzinger’s writing from Vatican II. He is right on the mark in saying that it is wrong to bless our policies of harming civilians and the people that are carrying it out. He affirms my highest value and surprises me by tying it to Catholic doctrine that the individual is the true arbiter of that which is moral for himself, even above the Papacy. This is the secular humanist morality in a nutshell, and it’s the only way that we can BE as humans. Whether you believe that we were created y a God or not, the fact that we have reason (either that we developed or that he endowed us with), it is our nature and we must use it. It would be our duty to judge our choices based on our own moral compass.

   Of course, this reliance on individual morality and it’s place in the Catholic doctrine as expressed by Gumbleton is in keeping with Christianity’s Jewish roots, which stress the word and one’s individual relationship to it. The rabbi is a teacher and guide, not the arbiter between g-d and his people. He is there to help guide us in making our decisions. This of course is the historical role of the clergy in the Christian faith, but one that has long since overstepped it’s original role.

4. 

   John Ong on July 10, 2006 at 11:28 pm

   Mark,

   Thanks for sharing your insights.
   What I wonder when it comes to come “Christians” who use the bible to attack gay people is, what if the few verses of the scriptures that may suggest that homosexuality is a sin are not there, will they feel any differently. I hear a lot of them saying that “I like you, and I respect you, but since my religion taught me this to be a sin, therefore I still think that homosexuality is a sin.

   I also wonder, how people hate people who are different? Is if from ignorance or religion teaching them that that’s a sin, or a combination of both?

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