Once upon a time, a good friend of mine and I found ourselves in a heated argument. It concerned the nature of homosexuality and its affiliation or lack thereof with Christian doctrine and practice. This man had gone to the Bacilica Block Party, and while he was present, witnessed a homosexual say that all gays will be able to go to Heaven. To this observation, my friend felt disgusted by the very notion of a Gay Christian. He believes that through the rhetoric of the church and scripture, homosexuality is a perverted choice that is purely unnatural and evil because it fails to accomplish the goal of human connection which is procreation. Since it is a choice to involve themselves in homosexual activity, he prays for their souls as he believes they have an uphill climb if they are to ever reach Heaven. Finally, his strongest belief is that if the church ever decides that gays are acceptable, they are falling into the temptation of pleasing the masses and not following the teachings in Scripture and the Catechism. All these beliefs that my friend holds are beyond reason. To me, it looks like a dependency of ideology that this man wishes to leech onto when he clings so wholeheartedly to scripture and the catechism.
I, on the other hand, take a more scientific approach. I stick to science, and feel comfortable saying that there is just something genetically different between that of a hetero and homosexual. I can even look to nature itself and find animals having gay sex with each other. Can nature itself then be unnatural? I think not! Thus, I don't think that homosexuals are evil in their actions and should be allowed to practice Christianity.
The bridge is clear in that one holds science while the other holds religious faith as an authority through which they make their arguments. Their inherent fundamentals and what they've been brought up with are so cemented that it becomes nearly impossible for either side to budge. The issue itself is the rights that Homosexuals have in choosing to be Christians. I was born into a catholic family as well as my friend, and this is what i find so fascinating!!! Though we both practice the same religion, there are substantially different degrees to which we believe within the church. I understand where he's coming from. I just can't talk to him without getting angry! LOL
We just did our cultural wiki on gay rights and many of the related issues. It's really interesting to here your own take as well as your friends take because it acts upon the theories and principles we researched. The bridge you mention at the end of your post is one that may never be resolved, because christianity and science are two realms that have both stood the test of time. Therefore, firm supporters of either or both may have a hard time agreeing upon homosexuality.
ReplyDeleteI like how both sides are argued here. I know people who are completely against homosexuality and people that believe everyone should be able to love who they want. I really like how you wrote it in an unbiased way also.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing what an impact religion can have on people's lives and how they go about their morals and values.. makes me think what everyone's morals and values would be like if no religion ever existed. I liked how unbias you went about writing this post with your best effort possible. Science and religion I believe will continue to clash for a long time.
ReplyDelete