Crossed The Tiber

An Evangelical Converts to Catholicism

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Location: Pennsylvania, United States

I was born into the Catholic faith. At 14, I was "born again" and found Jesus personally but lost His Church. After thirty years as an evangelical protestant, I have come full circle to find that He has been there all the time, in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I wish others to find the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith as I have found.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Evangelical Seminary Approves LGBT Club for Students.

Having been an evangelical Christian most of my life before my reversion to Catholicism, I was well acquainted with Fuller Theological Seminary. I had friends who attended there so the news that they were allowing a LGBT club on campus was a surprise. I would not have been surprised if this was an Anglican seminary, but a conservative bible-based seminary? See the story here.
   I hate to say this but I suspect this is just the beginning of the downfall of the evangelical movement in the US. 80 years ago, all mainline Protestant denominations caved on allowing contraception(when all denom. forbade it before this) and 40 years later, they allowed abortion. Now even the evangelicals who were the biblically-conservative Protestants are re-writing morality to accomodate the times. Eventually, what Church will be left to uphold moral absolutes? The Ancient One that has never caved regarding moral issues from the beginning.

Chastity and homosexuality from the Catholic Catechism

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This post is a distortion of what is really going on:

http://www.fuller.edu/About-Fuller/News-and-Events/News/2013/Mark-Labberton-s-Response-to-Recent-AP-Article.aspx

July 19, 2013 5:01 PM  
Blogger Russ Rentler, M.D. said...

Dear Anon: I disagree:

Here is what the founder of the group says; "It quickly became apparent to me that I was going to be OK and that I wasn't going to have to forsake my faith for my sexuality."

So clearly, they have a gentleman who is not going to change his sexuality who is now approved and accepted as leader of a LGBT group on the seminary campus. I think it would be much less an issue if the leader came out and said, this is a group of people come together to support those with same sex attraction, and we will abide by our faith's teachings. He didn't say this. In no time , the seminary will likely re-evaluate their view of same sex relationships. This is the first step.

July 19, 2013 7:00 PM  

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