WobLog

Oh those Jesuits! I graduated from a Jesuit University (Fordham) and I was always puzzled by the total lack of a religious sense on campus. You'd only know it was Catholic because there was Mass in one of the rooms every morning. Our professors were VERY liberal, very big on the social activism thing. It seems this order has a bit of a rebellious tendency.
Mainline Protestant churches are being torn apart by the radicalization of their clergy...particularly over the gay issue. The church where Victoria goes to school is a conservative Presbyterian (part of PCUSA) and they have considered withdrawing from the denomination because of their un-Biblical stance on homosexuality. I am personally tired of having to concentrate on this particular sin...we are ALL sinners and in need of God's grace to salvation...but it seems like this is THE issue that can rock the foundations of the Church. As Bill O'Reilly says, "What say you?"

Yes, the Jesuits of recent times seem to be well known, in general, for dissent from Rome, though there are some well-known Jesuits who are faithful to the teachings of the Church. The issue of homosexuality is a representative one for our times. Though I understand your being tired of having to concentrate on this particular sin, I think the reason why it is such an issue is that it is one of the (many) sins people are trying to rehabilitate. We *are* all sinners. But one hopes we acknowledge our sins, repent of them, and strive not to repeat them. Homosexual activists do not acknowledge that homosexual activity is sinful, and therefor do not repent nor strive not to repeat the sin. Their goal seems to be to get others to agree that homosexual acts are not sinful. Given the Bible's (and the Church's) position on homosexuality as intrinsically disordered, Catholic bishops ought to faithfully enforce the Vatican's degree that Catholic agencies may not place children for adoption by homosexuals. I don't think that this is "THE issue that can rock the foundations of the Church" per se. I believe this is really just part of a larger debate about relativism. Do we believe in Truth, or do we believe that each man is the arbiter of his own "truth?" If we believe in Truth as taught and embodied by Christ and his Church, then we have to take a stand for Truth regardless of popular opinion.

Thanks, as always, for your comments. I enjoy hearing what you think!

You are right, of course, the reason this sin is so talked and argued about now is the drive to rehabilitate it. I can not think of another sin that people are pushing to normalize in this way. Homosexual activists would probably all agree that lying, cheating, stealing and even adultery are sins (or at least wrong.) The reason I believe this sin may damage the church - and by that I mean Christianity - is that no sin has so infected the clergy. We now have church leaders - a certain Episcopal bishop leaps to mind - promoting a sin as good, decent and of God! Many, many people have been led astray by this teaching and now hold a view which is antithetical to the very word of God.
I also think your argument about relativism is ping on and has also infected the church. There are only a few denominations in the protestant church that hold to Biblical truth these days, and they are NOT the mainline ones (Methodist, Episcopals, most Presbyterians and Lutherans.) I think some pastors believe that if they preach conviction of sin and repentance - the old "hell fire and damnation" sermons of the past - they will lose their flock. The ironic thing is the denominations who do preach this message are the fastest growing. Evangelical churches in many places are bursting at the seams while you hear crickets churping at your local Methodist church. People are hungry for the word of God and for Biblical Truth. Serving up a theology of feel-goodisms and "do what seems best for you" is a very meager meal indeed and ultimately leaves the soul unsatisfied. It also keeps people in a perpetual state of spiritual babyhood. Their faith never matures. My experience visiting churches like this is that they function mostly as social clubs and help centers. Bless the Catholic church for holding to it's guns on abortion, gay adoption and marriage issues.

OOps! I expect most crickets CHIRP not churp! I'm not the world's greatest typist and the U is next to the I so I have a good excuse.

I am actually somewhat optimistic about the near term prospects for Christianity. In the Catholic Church, religious orders that embrace orthodox positions receive more applicants than they can currently take, while the liberal religious orders have a harder time attracting vocations. I can not verify this among pastors in the Protestant churches, but your statement about the dearth of members in the "mainline" Protestant churches seems to evince the same thing. Proponents of the 1960's idea of radically changing Christianity are finding that people have rejected their ideas, and as those proponents slip from the stage there are fewer acolytes to take their place. Orthodoxy -- "fire and brimstone" -- knowledge of sin and the call to repentance -- the importance of sacrifice -- these things attract people because they know in their hearts they are true. God is not a teddy bear. God is not Santa Claus. God is Truth, Mercy, Love, and Justice. Basically, I can "feel good" just cuddling in bed with a good book on a Sunday morning. If church is just about "feeling good", why wouldn't I stay home, particularly if it's raining? ;-> Jesus calls us to more than feeling good about ourselves. Jesus calls us to "Go, and sin no more" as we follow him.