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July 14, 2005

Sacred Scriptures

Part II

The other thing which caught my attention was the use of Sacred Scriptures on this '30 days' show.

People throughout the centuries have used the Bible for many different things. For good, or for evil. From doing good for the poor, to killing other people. You can get pretty much anything you want from the Bible, if you interpret it your own way.

Christ was very much aware of this possibility, which is why he gave the world the Magisterium, and more specifically the Papacy. If there was one sole authority in interpreting and telling the world what he truly meant, then this would stop a lot of problems when it comes to people debating as to what the true meaning behind Sacred Scripture is. For example, the Bible tells us to cut off our right arm if it causes us to sin. This can be argued as being literal, if Christ did not give us an authority in this matter, then who would be able to tell us not to cut off our right arm? This is why Christ gave us the Pope, well one of many reasons.

On the show, this guy would go to Gay Christian Services. Obviously the two held differences of opinions. Both interpreted the Bible differently. Who is the authority to say which is right? In the Protestant world there is no such authority, the sole authority is the Bible. This is not an attack on Protestants, just the simple facts.

When questions between what is literal and figurative came up, he was unable to answer. For example, the minister at this Church asked why it is OK for Military Men to murder other human beings to defend the nation when the Bible says no to killing, but yet it isn't ok for her to have sex with her partner because the Bible says it is an abomination. First of all, the military does not murder anyone. Out of self defense of themselves, their fellow soldiers, and their nation they take the life of another human being. Self defense has never been a deliberate murder in cold blood of another human being. The Bible never said that you can not draw blood, but that you can not murder someone. Such as is the case between Cain and Able (although before the Commandments).

In the case of homosexuality, there is nothing in the Bible to even suggest that it was being figurative, but rather, verse after very, and chapter after chapter is very clear that it is not acceptable. Some things are clearly figurative, such as cutting off your arm. Some things are not. It is sometimes easy to figure out what is and is not figurative. Having the Pope helps in this area.

After this, the talk of the Bible sort of stops on the show. I guess I can now reveal what happened for those who do not know. He ended up falling into the trap that everyone deserves the same rights as everyone else because it is not fair. Like Cardinal Ouellet said in his letter, everyone deserves respect and dignity because they are human, not because they gay. Being human does not guarantee the right to marriage, or have children, or drive a care, or own a home. Being human guarantees you the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It guarantees you the right to free speech, and the freedom to worship God as you please. These are the rights you receive for being human. Everyone deserves to be treated equally as human beings, everyone deserves the right to pursue life, to be free, and to live as happy as one can. Being treated equally does not mean social acceptance of your lifestyle. Being treated equally means that you were treated like a human person with human dignity.

The problem seems to be a misunderstanding of equality, and even deeper what does it mean to be human. These countries are rushing into dangerous territory without even thinking about it.

One day the issue might be that we aren't all equal because we all don't make the same wage. Oh yeah, that is an issue already. It is called Socialism. That we are not all the same gender, that we all don't have the talents, that we all don't look a like. None of these are matters of human dignity. If most rational people would just sit down and think about what it means to be equal, then so many issues would disappear. Instead of everyone working to overcome every boundary of so called inequality (this is called Communism BTW), maybe we should rejoice in the fact that we are different (well rejoice in some things). What a boring world this would be if we were all the same, 'equal' in every sense.

Anyway, back to the Bible, I for one am glad I can rely on the Pope to clarify all these things. Otherwise, it would be consistent debating and schisms. Two topics to think about here, but not many people these days seem to do a lot of thinking, just acting. Pax et Bonum (loosely peace and goodness).

God Bless.

Posted by cr3do1 at July 14, 2005 10:58 PM

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