tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post9056163758271234233..comments2024-03-27T17:15:37.606-04:00Comments on Triablogue: Bock on homosexualityRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17809283662428917799noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-48046489095240658432010-08-28T23:20:36.133-04:002010-08-28T23:20:36.133-04:00Its how and what it speaks out that I have issues ...<i>Its how and what it speaks out that I have issues with..such much money is spent against homosexuality...when the homeless are ignored.</i><br /><br />Perhaps you're not looking closely enough at the right things. The church I go to does a lot for the homeless and financially needy. We have a food bank and many times a week help out families etc. We have other projects that we help with in the community too.<br /><br />My mom's church is the same. They regularly help those in the community. A month ago they volunteered several people to help paint rooms and do other work at Salvation Army. They sent tons of food to persons in Haiti when the earth quake struck, etc.<br /><br />I don't think my church and my mom's church is unique. I think you will find these sorts of activities normal among most evangelical churches.<br /><br />Homosexuality gets a lot of different attention because it is a different type of issue. <br /><br />There is no massive effort by some organization to hurt poor people or screw the homeless. There is, however, a massive effort made by various organizations to legitimize homosexuality. <br /><br />Homosexuality is unique in that regard (with the exception being abortion I suppose?), so naturally it calls for a unique response. <br /><br />If there were a massive effort among a group of people to, say, legitimize rape, Christians would respond in a similar manner I'm sure.<br /><br />So I think the differences in how we are handling homosexuality and how we are handling the homeless is simply due to the different nature of the problems and how they are manifesting themselves in culture at the moment.<br /><br />Perhaps "the Church" focuses on the homeless problem at the local level, because it feels it will be most effective there. And it focuses on the homosexual problem at the national level because that's where the homosexuals have taken the fight.<br /><br /><i>Regarding marriage within homosexuality... cohabitation is what measures marriage within society and in God's eyes... and while some are Godly and some not... its still marriage</i><br /><br />I don't know what this means. What do you mean "measures marriage"? All homosexual "marriages" are ungodly. Homosexual unions can't even properly acquire the label "marriage." <br /><br />As Budziszewski put it, "we might decide to call same-sex liaisons '<br />'marriages,' but we would not thereby succeed in turning these liaisons into marriages because they too are different kinds of realities."<br /><br />("The Illusion of Gay Marriage." Philosophia Christi 7.1 (2005): 45)Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05690738239872948496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-36298826024452743982010-08-28T18:57:56.945-04:002010-08-28T18:57:56.945-04:00Steve.
To a certain level yes the church is manda...Steve. <br />To a certain level yes the church is mandated to speak out to society about social justice. <br /><br />Its how and what it speaks out that I have issues with..such much money is spent against homosexuality...when the homeless are ignored. <br /><br />And yes all individuals as tax payers are called to speak about where societal decisions....what concerns me is the lack of TRUE holiness within the church regarding an outward observance to GODs laws, whilst ignoring Gods heart for the down cast within society.<br /><br />Where is the church in America speaking out for the poor, the homeless, the sick, those imprisoned, the widows and orphans and speaking out for the care of asylum seekers? <br /><br />What I see is the church in America tearing apart other churches who do pursue Gods heart for the downcast... taking the moral high ground in doing so... <br /><br />Perhaps if the church ( Christians) lived out Paul's injunction to live such good lives instead of demanding society to change whilst not plucking the log out of their own eyes..... <br /><br />Regarding marriage within homosexuality... cohabitation is what measures marriage within society and in God's eyes... and while some are Godly and some not... its still marriageAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-65037012776535301612010-08-24T20:44:51.964-04:002010-08-24T20:44:51.964-04:00CRAIGBENNO1 SAID:
"I will be a little contro...CRAIGBENNO1 SAID:<br /><br />"I will be a little controversial here, in that I don't believe the Christian Church has a mandate to oppose same sex union / marriage on a state / societal level."<br /><br />i) The church has a mandate to speak out against personal and social immorality alike.<br /><br />ii) You also use the "church" in the abstract. But members of the church, such as American citizens, also have the rights andduties of citizenship. They are voters and tax-payers. So of course they should have a say in public policy. One way or the other, there will be a public policy which applies to believers and unbelievers alike.stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547070544928321788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-34245692250434607052010-08-24T20:07:43.202-04:002010-08-24T20:07:43.202-04:00Craig,
One of the problems as I see it is that A...Craig, <br /><br />One of the problems as I see it is that Americans see marriage is seen as a fundamental human right (cf. Loving v. Virginia) that the gov't is supposed to protect. <br /><br />So the question <i>must</i> of how we define marriage must arise right?<br /><br />In that case, how can the Christian support any definition of marriage which is not the true definition? Surely Christians cannot support a perverted pseudo-definition of marriage. Am I mistaken?<br /><br />Thus, I don't see how any Christian can support gay marriage. Any other definition of marriage that does not align with God's definition is not a legitimate definition. It seems to me that whenever the Christian has the ability to oppose a pseudo-definition of marriage (whether through personally speaking out against it or by voting against) he should do so.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05690738239872948496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-37725251065110718542010-08-24T19:32:42.484-04:002010-08-24T19:32:42.484-04:00I will be a little controversial here, in that I d...I will be a little controversial here, in that I don't believe the Christian Church has a mandate to oppose same sex union / marriage on a state / societal level. <br /><br />While indeed I do believe that marriage is ordained by God to be between man and women, this is a issue of faith for us as believers within the fellowship of community. <br /><br />Paul taught the church to be married to one person...while society was allowing multiple marriages..he never spoke against society. <br /><br />Also historically the church has never been involved in marrying people...nor was the Mosiac priesthood involved in marrying people. <br /><br />The RC church ratified that it must be performed by a priest in 1550...with a tax alongside with it ooops I mean donation..<br /><br />Martin Luther said it was a worldy / private / state thing and the church should not be involved in the marrying business. <br /><br />In England in 1753 the marriage act was re written for a priest to be involved...again though the RC church was behind it...another tax...<br /><br />Our mandate as Christians is to preach the gospel of Jesus to society in grace and love to allow the Spirit of God to bring change into society... <br /><br />It's also the role of the church to be teaching believers how then we are to live as believers within society. <br /><br />I blogged about this http://craigbenno1.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/struggling-with-the-concepts-of-banning-gay-marriage/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-85883229102173649042010-08-24T19:02:41.285-04:002010-08-24T19:02:41.285-04:00I think Dr. Bock needs to take lessons from the Tr...I think Dr. Bock needs to take lessons from the Triablogue team on how to be more irenic and gentle with those who disagree with him.<br /><br />I found him too contentious and insulting in his remarks to the pro-gay commenter.<br /><br />One can disagree and still do so in a gentle, affirming way.Truth Unites... and Divideshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08891402278361538353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6789188.post-83889529640138949032010-08-24T18:26:26.100-04:002010-08-24T18:26:26.100-04:00Since polygamy often comes up in this context, and...Since polygamy often comes up in this context, and Bock mentioned it in passing, <a href="http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2006/09/polygamy-is-condemned-by-scripture.html" rel="nofollow">here's</a> a Triablogue thread on the subject from a few years ago. I interacted with some defenders of polygamy in the comments section of the thread.Jason Engwerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17031011335190895123noreply@blogger.com