Articles for tag: homosexuality, Kimberly Knight, lesbian

GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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Is “being gay and Christian” okay?

gay and orthodox church

I’m in perfect agreement that not “every jot and tittle must be literally, factually true in order for the whole book, and thus our faith in God to be True.” However, having read this, I was curious to see in what manipulative way the self declared lesbian Kimberly Knight would apply her “enlightened” interpretation of holy scripture in order to convince herself, and other Christians (in this case United Methodists, but I speak for Orthodox Christians), that, as she states, “being gay and Christian” is okay. 1

Let’s look at this statement:

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is stridently critical of the religious authorities of the day and their role as power brokers who draw legalistic, hard-hearted lines delineating who is in and who is out. If you truly worship Jesus the Christ, then you simply cannot live as guardians of the holy of holies. God’s table is open to everyone, everyone, everyone.

Yes, it is true that Jesus came down hard on those who replace God’s word for their own. But the implication here is that the Church (and I mean here the Orthodox Church, the one and only true Church) is at fault, for by erroneously interpreting God’s word, it excludes from the Eucharistic table gays, instead of opening it to everyone.

There is only one Church (and I mean the Orthodox Church) founded by Christ, and the same gospel of salvation should be preached everywhere. The multiplicity of choices is a deception.

I was disappointed, because she offered no “enlightened” arguments. Instead, she simply encourages her likes to break away from their “toxic” community and join some other, more welcome community. Don’t forget, she points out, there are “so many… churches that will love each of us in our wholeness without asking that we lie to ourselves, others and God about who we are and who we love.”

I would like to make two comments. The first one is about the apparent many choices we have. However, there is only one Church (and I mean the Orthodox Church) founded by Christ, and the same gospel of salvation should be preached everywhere. The multiplicity of choices is a deception. Either we are in or we are out. The true Church is the Church that preaches the true gospel.

Instead of abandoning your unnatural relations you decided to join a religious community that accepts you, and others like you, “as you are.” That’s an unhealthy community, which does not follow the word of God.

The second comment is about the perceived “wholeness” of gay people. We have another name for wholeness: holiness. The Apostle Paul speaks about it: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and pursue holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1) The same Apostle had written to the same Christians in Corinth, “Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals … will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 6:9-10)

Turning now to Ms. Kimberly, I would like to ask her (and everyone of the same mind): What kind of people do you think the Apostle refers to in the last two categories? If it is unclear to you, elsewhere he makes it abundantly clear:

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural [sexual] relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another, men committing shameful acts with other men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (Rom. 1:26-27)

So you do not accept what seems to be the clear meaning of the word of God, as it has always been understood by the Church. But instead of abandoning your unnatural relations you decided to join a religious community that accepts you, and others like you, “as you are.” That’s an unhealthy community, which does not follow the word of God.

In a situation similar to yours, the Apostle Paul chastised the community that accepted an unrepentant immoral man among them (1 Cor. 5:9), and sternly commanded them: “Expel from among you that wicked man” (v. 13)—not in order to punish him, but in order to bring him to repentance, as the Apostle and Evangelist John also instructs us to do (see 2 John 10-11).

So who are we? The perfect ones? The sinless ones? Not by any means. We are all sinners, who struggle to live a pure life. That’s what separates us from those “outside”: we are a community of repentant sinners, whereas those outside live in sin and enjoy it, or don’t give a care. So, if you want reconciliation, “repent of your sin” and join a church that will accept you and help you overcome your unnatural passion and live a pure and fulfilling life. If you put your mind into it you can do it, with God’s grace.

  1. Her article appeared here.
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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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The Orthodox Church’s Reaction to Homosexual Marriage

orthodox reaction homosexual marriage

Shortly after the June 26 Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, a friend emailed me an article with her own comment in two short monosyllabic words: “So sad.” My reply was a bit longer: “The world continues its course, and Orthodox Christianity its own. The two are diametrically opposed. There should be no surprise there.” I think we should add a few more thoughts on this important subject.

The reaction to this ruling by the Orthodox Church was prompt. On July 2 the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America said in a statement that it “strongly disagrees” with the Supreme Court’s decision. In plain language it stated that, “It is immoral and unjust for our government to establish in law a ‘right’ for two members of the same sex to wed.” “Marriage,” it added, “from its inception, is the lifelong sacramental union of a man and a woman,” and urged the faithful to “remain firm in their Orthodox faith, and to renew their deep reverence for and commitment to marriage as taught by the Church.”1

Earlier on the Moscow Patriarchate had formally severed ties with the Church of Scotland and the United Protestant Church of France. The reason was because the first one had approved to ordain clergy who had entered into same sex civil unions, while the second one had allowed pastors to officiate at same sex “marriages.” She had previously done the same with the Episcopal Church in the US and the Swedish Lutheran Church. “Dialogue with confessions which openly defy the Biblical moral norms is impossible,” the Russian Bishops’ Council said.2

For us Orthodox, marriage is not a legal transaction, as in Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Marriage is a divinely ordained union of a man and a woman. According to holy Scripture (see Gen. 1:26-28 and 2:18-25) God created Adam and Eve in His image, and blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Man and woman became “one flesh,” for which purpose He had created them male and female. Marriage is a holy sacrament, resembling the union of Christ with the Church (see Eph. 5:32) and reflecting the image of the Trinitarian God. In the Church’s view, a homosexual union lies outside God’s plan, and such conduct has always being viewed as constituting a grave sin.

Despite the fact that over 70% of the population of America identifies themselves as Christian, it is not Christian-friendly. As Christians, we are expected to be good citizens, however we also have a moral obligation to remain faithful not only to the truths and dogmas of the Church, but also to the morals and ethos of the gospel. Conflicts are bound to exist, whether we refuse to offer incense to the emperor, bless homosexual unions or offer holy Communion to cohabiting homosexuals. Those who scandalize the assembly of believers are admonished, for their own good, to change course so they can come to their senses and reach the true life.

Legalization of homosexual unions in our country has no bearing on the Church’s firm stand. Faithful Orthodox Christians, to the best of their abilities, commit themselves to live a life in accordance with the Church’s teachings. We are saddened by this turn of events in our country, but our concern is first and foremost with our own faithful, not with the world “out there” (cf. 1 Cor. 5:12). When we fall short we are called to repentance. As a loving mother, the Church always stands by her children, and with her divine teachings and holy sacraments lovingly and compassionately she guides them and leads them to salvation.

  1. http://www.assemblyofbishops.org/news/2015/response-of-assembly-of-bishops-to-obergefell-v.-hodges
  2. https://mospat.ru/en/2015/06/03/news119648/
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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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Dear Mr. Tim Cook: Being Gay is not from God

tim cook being gay from god

Dear Mr. Tim Cook,

I want to congratulate you for your public confession: “I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.” How many people recognize God as the giver of every good thing? But that’s precisely the point: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). God, who is good and perfect, gives only good and perfect gifts.

But not everything we have and everything that exists comes from God. Death does not come from God, nor do cancer and other “bad” things that cause death and suffering. Tsunamis, Ebola, and the destruction they bring do not come from God. So where do they come from? They come from a deviation, a perversion of nature, introduced by sin. As a result what originally did not belong to nature has become “second nature.”

Being gay is such an abnormality. We are not as God created us: “male and female.” We have become LGBTs—some were born while others have become that way: “For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others” (Mt. 19:12a). This truth is hard to accept because our “minds have become darkened” (Rom. 1:21) and “we exchange the truth for a lie.” Case in point: to consider being gay as a gift from God.

The sobering truth is that homosexuality is a “dishonorable passion” (Rom. 1:26). Sinful passions (vices, addictions, inordinate and powerful emotions) should be subdued or reoriented. We all have passions, and are swayed by them, which make us “commit shameful acts” (Rom. 1:27). I was born with a short fuse. My father was that way; many people carry this trait. But this is no excuse. We must control this and other destructive passions that control us.

What, then, must we do? There is a choice: “there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it” (Mt. 19:12b). That’s the choice we have: live a celibate life. But to do it we must be able to accept it.

In sincere love,

Fr. Emmanuel Hatzidakis

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GIVING WITNESS TO THE TRUE CHURCH

Orthodox Christians all over the world have received the unchanging Christian Faith, passed down from the Holy Apostles to their successors, and continue to practice it today in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church – The Orthodox Church.
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“WHO AM I TO JUDGE?” – An Orthodox Understanding of Pope Francis’ remark

In answering a question from a journalist (July 29, 2013), the pope spoke impromptu about homosexual priests, but his words apply equally to everyone: “If a person is gay and seeks the Lord…and has good will…who am I to judge such person?” These words reflect the personal conviction of the pope, and show compassion. What I read in them is: Don’t judge someone who, being a homosexual, struggles with this “tendency” (his term). I will comment on homosexuality and on judging others.

Homosexuality

Sexual desire (lust) is a passion, as is anger, jealousy, pride, greed, and the like. Passions are powerful inclinations that take hold of our mind, will power, and senses. Passions control us. They’ve been with us since our birth. They are congenital. We spend a lifetime trying to bring them under control. And we fail. As Christians, however, but even as human beings, we are supposed to overcome our passions and bring them under our rational control. It’s a life-long struggle.

Christians are sinners like everybody else. The difference is that they are penitent sinners. I think this what the pope had in mind.

Sexual drive is innate in us; it is God-given. It is implanted in our fallen constitution for the purpose of the perpetuation of our species. Yet sexual acts and desires need to be harnessed when they tend to overpower us. Homosexual acts are sinful, as are any sexual acts outside of marriage (cf. Heb. 13:4). In 1 Cor 6:9, homosexuals (arsenokeitai) are listed after fornicators (pornoi), adulterers (moihoi), and effeminate (malakoi), while in 1 Tim 1:10 they are placed immediately after adulterers.

According to our Christian faith there is hardly anything orderly and dispassionate in man after the Fall. Everything in us—and in the entire creation—is “out of whack.” Our spiritual struggle is to exercise control over our passions, instead of the other way around. Thus one needs to bring under the control of his reason and willpower his natural but inordinate emotions and inclinations (vices), like overeating, drinking in excess, over-indulging in the pleasures of life, etc.

No matter what our passions are we need to control them. Christians do it with all the means the Church places at their disposal: holy eucharist, confession, prayer, practicing of the virtues, reading the holy scripture and the lives and writings of the Church Fathers, fasting, acts of charity and, most of all, with God’s grace. We need to be aware of our faults, seek spiritual guidance and reorient our life to obey God’s commandments and live a Christ-like life.

With me, controlling the “anger gene” that I inherited from my father has been a huge problem. I have to fight my passion, as a homosexual has to fight his. The Church welcomes and includes in her fold all repentant souls. The emphasis is on repentant, those who have made a commitment to change their life. Christians are sinners like everybody else. The difference is that they are penitent sinners. I think this what the pope had in mind.

Judging

As to, Who am I to judge?, if we understand to judge as to condemn then we do well if we judge no one. I think that what the pope meant to say is, “Do not judge by appearances” (Jn 7:24). One who in his past did homosexual acts may no longer do so, or one who displays a homosexual behavior may not commit homosexual acts. The pope could have suggested to do what the Lord did, who added to the above words, “but judge with right judgment.”

I think that what the pope meant to say is, “Do not judge by appearances” (Jn 7:24).

Indeed he who said, “Let us no more pass judgment on one another” (Rom. 14:13) also said, “is it not those inside the Church whom you are to judge?” (1 Cor 5:12). Judge here does not mean to condemn, to pass judgment, to find fault with, but to admonish, to reprove, to correct. And do so lovingly, not as a judge but as a brother. The Lord Himself set the standard on how to go about correcting our fellow Christian:

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (Mt 18:15:17).

St. Paul also provides a similar rule of how to correct a brother who is causing dissension in the church: “As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him” (Tit 3:10). We do not ignore someone who stirs up the church, someone who scandalizes the brotherhood either with his life and behavior or with his erroneous beliefs. He needs to be checked and corrected for his own good and that of the Christian community.

Writes the Apostle Paul: “But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people” (1 Cor 5:11). Even the Beloved Disciple who urges us to follow the commandment of love (cf. 2 Jn v. 6) admonishes us not to even greet someone who deviates from the faith (cf. 2 Jn vv. 10-11).

Conclusion

In order to maintain a healthy community that struggles to bring wellness to all its members, the Church, and particularly her leaders, are expected to exhibit some “tough love” with someone who is on the verge of losing his soul. In doing so, one does not act out of Pharisaism, but out of genuine Christian love. Again, the pope’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and were not meant to be an ex cathedra definition.

 

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