Vikram, I will tread carefully here, especially since I am not Roman Catholic, but I think the Pope must simply articulate the teachings of the Bible; Church doctrine can change, and social conventions can change, but the Bible is the "controlling document." And the Pope must not be in the business of setting social policies. He must simply "argue" the Biblical doctrines. Now that I have said that, I will go on to say that I do not know what the Bible says about homosexuality. Well, I know something about what the Hebrew scriptures say, but I know nothing specific about such matters in the New Testament, the Christians' guide. Perhaps someone else will have more to say.
I think that the Church might want to consider what Thomas Aquinas had to say about the natural law. If I remember correctly, it is something to the effect that while the natural law itself may not change , our perception and understanding of it most definitely can change. I think the Church's uncompromising view of abortion is correct, because it is matter of life and death that is at issue. But modes of living should perhaps be considered more in the context of changing circumstance.
Hi RT, I am not sure I agree with the idea of interpreting social contracts through the prism of religious texts, because those texts belonged to their time. What I do know is that the Bible stands for kindness towards felllow man, and the argument against gay clergy and gay marriage kills the spirit of the text. The idea that a family consisting of a husband and wife is the only social structure wirth perserving does not hold water in my view, because the basic premise of that institution is love. And love can exist between two people of any orientation. I remember reading a piece that Frank linked to -- a wonderful piece -- that spoke about why the Church should bless homosexual unions because the homosexual realisation for any individual sprang from love for the same gender. Sex comes later, and so the idea that the Church should not bless something that is not borne of love does not hold true.
Vikram, I will tread carefully here, especially since I am not Roman Catholic, but I think the Pope must simply articulate the teachings of the Bible; Church doctrine can change, and social conventions can change, but the Bible is the "controlling document." And the Pope must not be in the business of setting social policies. He must simply "argue" the Biblical doctrines. Now that I have said that, I will go on to say that I do not know what the Bible says about homosexuality. Well, I know something about what the Hebrew scriptures say, but I know nothing specific about such matters in the New Testament, the Christians' guide. Perhaps someone else will have more to say.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Church might want to consider what Thomas Aquinas had to say about the natural law. If I remember correctly, it is something to the effect that while the natural law itself may not change , our perception and understanding of it most definitely can change. I think the Church's uncompromising view of abortion is correct, because it is matter of life and death that is at issue. But modes of living should perhaps be considered more in the context of changing circumstance.
ReplyDeleteHi RT, I am not sure I agree with the idea of interpreting social contracts through the prism of religious texts, because those texts belonged to their time. What I do know is that the Bible stands for kindness towards felllow man, and the argument against gay clergy and gay marriage kills the spirit of the text. The idea that a family consisting of a husband and wife is the only social structure wirth perserving does not hold water in my view, because the basic premise of that institution is love. And love can exist between two people of any orientation. I remember reading a piece that Frank linked to -- a wonderful piece -- that spoke about why the Church should bless homosexual unions because the homosexual realisation for any individual sprang from love for the same gender. Sex comes later, and so the idea that the Church should not bless something that is not borne of love does not hold true.
ReplyDelete