The Catholic Church Lays Out Its Approach to Trans Folk

[Carolyn Marie]

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/amid-nations-transgender-moment-us-catholics-engage-with-truth-and-charity

 

It's important to know and understand what those opposed to our existence have to say.  It appears from this that the Catholic Church will pity us, scorn us, condescend to us, fight us and "cure" us by showing us how we don't know who we are, but how they do.   It is not our friend.

 

Carolyn Marie

[Jani]

I see we have an elevated status as they discussed "the challenges raised by gender ideology."  

 

This whole thing angers me because I was raised in this church, and hate and division were not part of what I was taught.  Not that I am naive enough to think it hasn't always been present.  

 

“The ‘gender revolution’ is the crisis of our time,” said Hasson. “It’s a direct attack on the idea of who we are. We need to expand on what we’re doing, because it’s so needed.”

I fail to see the attack on them.  Me being myself doesn't affect them being themselves except that it upsets their applecart.   

 

"The religious leaders said gender ideology attacks “a more fundamental precept of our shared existence” than even natural marriage — namely, the reality and distinctiveness of maleness and femaleness."   

This negates the fact that marriage has historically been a legal contract between two families, two people.  Only in the recent few hundred years has religion gotten into the marriage business.  And there have been non-binary people on this earth for as long as there's been recorded times. 

 

I had to stop reading as I found them to be delusional in their statements.   I thought there was only one who would pass judgement?  Apparently not, they all want in on the game.   

 

Why is there enough religion in the world to incite hate and violence, but not enough to instill tolerance?  

 

Jani

[DenimAndLace]

I was perplexed for the longest time as to why all things transgender are such a threat to certain religious sects and require such vehement opposition such as the document mentioned in the OP.   Then one day it struck me like lightening.  If transgender is "real" (biologically, biochemically or psychiatrically) then there's a fundamental flaw in their theology (God did NOT create just two genders).  Religious zealots can't afford to be wrong because they'll lose control of their autobots.  Worse yet, if there's one flaw in the, "Word of Godddd-ah" then a free thinking person might begin to wonder if there are other embedded flaws.  The day is coming when these religious sects will find they have egg on their faces ...yet again!  I pity THEM.

[Jani]

That is one serious issue with any social discrimination story.  The ones in the power position are afraid of losing their power and having their narrative fall apart.

 

Thats a good article Cyndi.  Even as I grew up I could see many religions drifting away from their core values and purpose and straying into the secular world by taking political stands and making political statements.  It always appeared they were taking sides which was counter to the 'love thy neighbor' dictum.   From the article... "In the view of some purist evangelicals, it is precisely that tradition of spreading the good news of salvation through Christ that may be threatened by a preoccupation with conservative social issues and culture wars."

 

Then we get to the root of the situation with statements like this.  ""There is this perception now that evangelicals are fundamentally politically conservative people and that their religion is just a veneer," says Mark Galli, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today."

 

I am totally at a loss as to why these groups are allowed to speak out beyond their purview yet maintain their tax exempt status.  We may be a nation under god, but I alone get to decide who that is in my life, or if I want one.   But thats a different subject altogether.

 

Jani

[Jani]

Thank you Mary.  I'm with you.  

[Timber Wolf]

It never ceases to amaze me how much people who don't know what they're talking about can say.

 

Lots of love,

Timber Wolf?

[Guest]

And of all people to make the opening presentation, they chose an outlier like Walt Heyer?

 

He's turned his personal story of transition regret into a cause, but he's hardly the touchstone for the transgender experience. 

 

 http://waltheyer.com

[Charlize]

The maintenance of the status quo is so often the focus of society.  Some churches continue to think they are the arbitrators of that status quo. ( In the past the world was flat.)  Today it is somehow unfortunately focused on us.  I can't hold a grudge against a church holding on to it's control and source of revenue by putting others down.  I don't want to go there but simply being myself and accepting that as a reality seems to be a major threat.  I was raised in a christian tradition and still find what has been written of Christ's words as being a beautiful goal for myself as an individual and for mankind as a whole.  I hope i'm learning how to turn my other cheek when i turn around and show my backside to this proclamation.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[MarcieMarie12]

After reading that, I am reminded why I left the Catholic church. The made up term of gender ideology and their lack of understanding of what one's transition entails and how different transpeople all are. I thought about responding in the discussion area but it would be a waste of time. Also, way to stick to the gender binary....and they completely disregard intersex conditions.

[VickySGV]

Parable -- An elderly woman and her grandson were on the campus of a prestigious university with a world renowned school of theology.  The grandmother and grandson wandered into the Library which was large beyond belief with many hundreds of thousands of books.  A librarian welcomed them and asked what they were interested in seeing.  The little boy spoke up first "I want to see the books about God".  The librarian pointed the boy over to the SCIENCE wing with a large smile on the librarian's face. The boy attempted to run happily toward those books to be held back in a tight grip by the grandmother. The grandmother was highly indignant and almost shouted to the librarian that the grandson meant the Theology wing where the famous theologians met and studied.  The librarian looked back at the woman, sniffed,  and told her that the Theology books were not about God, but were about MEN who argued with each other in the dark about God and never looked out on the world to see God.

 

I see this as a point in the entire religious push back to us.  They see Men's ideas, but not the full scope of creation.

[MarcieMarie12]

I did eventually respond--though I could have pointed out more than I did, and they actually did let my comment go through unaltered.

[Guest Rachel Gia]

Just another way of shrinking their already shrinking island.

The idea that anyone can speak for God is delusional.

Rachel

[Kalyan]

I think it's sad, cuz if we think about it, Jesus came to teach us 'peace and love' somehow. And a lot of stuff in the Bible is kind of opposed to that idea of love

I knew a very good christian guy who said

"even if I don't exactly think it's right, I mean it's my problem, not to be like that. But I'm no one to tell you you're wrong, you never hurt anyone, so I just accept you as you are" (well, about gay and lesbian people. Don't know about trans)

 

I'm not christian myself, but I think that 'loving' aspect of christianity was a good thing, and there are only few people who seem to really get it

[Jani]

7 hours ago, Kalyan said:

I think that 'loving' aspect of christianity was a good thing, and there are only few people who seem to really get it

This is correct.  In fact there is a loving aspect to many religions as well as a discriminatory side.  All religions seem to possess a contradictory streak.   Remember that religions were created to explain things in life that people and science hadn't evolved enough to understand.   Some have argued that they have outlived their usefulness.  

 

Jani 

[jae bear]

I love how the Catholic church is always changing and revising their stance, funny how God's word is unchanging! As for the Adam and Eve topic, Adam was alone initially and may not have been precisely what we would consider manly, there may have been more going on there than the Bible tells us. Adam did have a 'rib' removed to create Eve, I wonder if it is possible that Adam had some womanly attributes removed to create Eve, thereby separating the sexes to a degree and having each perform their own unique roll in the process of procreation and life. At the end of the day I have found nothing to substantiate any sins based upon gender, I only find that we are all children of God. I think God is concerned with all his children, and does not place importance on whether they are male or female... Jesus what often ridiculed for addressing women in the same manner as men, placing equal importance upon both genders. Jesus also hung out with the sinners, frequented wild parties and was considered by the religion of the time to be a dangerous thinker, or rabble rousser that instigated trouble against God, the reality here is that he was only causing trouble for their church, which is a loose definition for business as that church was without a doubt more interested in the production of monetary profit than the saving of souls.

Hugs,

Jae

[BrandiBri]

The words of a Baptist pastor who talked to numerous transgender people, as well as family and friends of transgenders ring true: "the church of Jesus Christ is more widely known for what it is against than who God is for."   

https://baptistnews.com/article/painful-lessons-from-a-pastors-viral-transgender-post/