Category: Faith

Duck Dynasty and the Hypocrisy of Tolerance

~ Laura ~ 5 Comments

You’ve probably heard by now: the patriarch of Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family, Phil, made some comments about homosexual people and was suspended from the show because of it.

Here’s the original article. Below are the parts including Phil’s statements about homosexual people/behavior.

On immoral behavior in America:

“Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” he says. Then he paraphrases Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

On loving people:

“We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus—whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ’em out later, you see what I’m saying?”

Now let’s look at what Phil did not say:

1. I hate gay people.

2. Gay people suck.

3. Gay people are sinners.

4. Ew, gay people.

5. Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention that gay people are terrible, horrible, no-good, and very bad?

Despite the fact that Phil did not communicate any of these statements, these are exactly the sentiments that most articles about this issue are conveying. Why? Because if you’re not a gay-rights activist, you’re a gay-hating bigot. Obviously.

You know what? People need to get over that fact that not everyone thinks the same way and has the same opinions.

Especially in the media we’re bombarded with all the things we’re supposed to be tolerant of, with gay marriage/behavior/etc. being one of them. But I think it’s kind of funny how many things the media themselves are not tolerant of:

1. Catholics, Christians, and pretty much any type of religious person

2. People who subscribe to a set of moral standards

3. People who think differently than what society tells you is right

If the media were truly tolerant, a reporter might have said something like “Oh, that’s interesting.” when Phil made him comments. You report it and move on. But that’s not what happened. If A&E were truly tolerant, it wouldn’t even be a possibility in their minds to suspend the head of their most popular show just because he said something they disagree with. But that’s not what happened. If society were truly tolerant, people who don’t believe in gay marriage would not be called bigots and haters. But that’s not what happens.

In a society where we’re constantly told to be tolerant, I find it interesting that A&E responded to this in such an intolerant way. It goes both ways, folks.

 

 

What do you think about the matter? Was Phil rude with what he said? Was A&E justified in their decision? Where do you see Duck Dynasty’s future?

If it makes you happy . . .

~ Laura ~ 6 Comments

It’s almost Thanksgiving, so this should probably be a post about everything I’m thankful for. But it’s not. Because right now I have to say something about this video. It’s short, so give it a quick watch before you read what I have to say:

I’m not surprised by the video at all. It’s actually quite consistent with our society’s perception of bigotry against those in the LGBT community. But here’s what I can’t get over: when people who identify as Catholic like these videos on Facebook, share them, and talk about how we need to be more tolerant of the homosexual lifestyle.

That’s who I’m talking to.

If you’re a Catholic, then here are some things you need to know about gay “marriage”:

1. Gay ‘marriage’ is one of the Church’s 5 non-negotiables. “What are those?” you ask. Something many people have never heard of. They are 5 ethical issues (abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and homosexual ‘marriage’) which the Church requires her members to refrain from supporting under any circumstance. This means: if you are Catholic, you are bound by Church teaching to not support gay ‘marriage’. Here is an audiobook you can listen to for more on these. Here is an article from a gay Catholic who follows Church teaching.

2. The Catholic Church does not hate homosexual people. “NO WAY!” you say. “Prudish Catholics just want gay people to die in a hole because are SINNAHS!” Let me illustrate the Church’s teaching with a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“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.”

Boom bam. Can’t really argue with that one.

3. The Church has a calling for everyone – gay people included – but not necessarily a call to marriage. The Catholic Church stresses each person’s call to holiness (gay people included), which requires different things from different people at different times of their lives. For gay people, their call to holiness requires them to live a celibate lifestyle. Why? Because a Christian marriage is meant to be unitive and procreative. That is impossible with a homosexual couple. That doesn’t mean homosexuals have to go hide in a rock. It just means this:

And finally, I’ve said this before: Loving someone doesn’t mean you’re okay with them doing whatever they want.

Just because the Church is against gay ‘marriage’ does not mean it hates gay people. The Church is serious about the worth of each and every person, regardless of sexual orientation. I know this is hard for some people to stomach, and I get it. I would highly encourage you to do some further reading on the topic and critically examine what the Church really says – not what society says we say.

It breaks my heart to see people who call themselves Catholic confused by this topic everyday. I’m certainly not an expert on this, but I trust the Church enough to follow her. Do you?

 

 

Please share this post with your friends and family – especially the Catholic ones – and tell me what you think below.

Pope Francis: “Flaming Liberal”?

~ Laura ~ 4 Comments

According to the media, Pope Francis is a flaming liberal. Do you need to wipe the coffee off your computer? Good. Use a paper towel. I was laughing too when I read that.

Ever since he was elected earlier this year, people have been throwing around articles talking about how he’s going to change the “rules”. He’s progressive after all, didn’t you know? And a Jesuit. Maybe that’s where it came from originally . . . After the initial hoopla of excited people stopped waiting for him to make  a decree that abortion, gay “marriage” and birth control are A-okay, this interview came out earlier this week. He basically said that we need to steer away from hot button issues like the ones I mentioned, and go to the heart of Christianity: hope and healing.

And then the media reported that he was telling the Church to lay off its conservative values.

I find it rather humorous that the media still thinks Pope Francis is some sort of king or president who could sweep in and change what the Church is all about. They only report things that they can misinterpret (ie. “Who am I to judge?”) and take them totally out of context. He thinks mercy and Jesus-lovin’ are super important? Well, hello! Apparently that means abortion, gay “marriage” and birth control are okay! Whoohoo!

Cue the celebration from NARAL (one of the most pro-abortion organizations out there):

Courtesy of their Facebook page

I honestly did start laughing when I read through the comments on that picture. People started talking about pigs flying and hell freezing over because holy cow, look what Pope Francis did! And I’m like:

Pope Francis didn’t just change the Church. This is old, good news.

He made a beautiful point, though. And it challenged me. After all, I talk about abortion a LOT. The pro-life movement is pretty much my life, and people who see that sometimes think I’m crazy. Obsessed perhaps? I prefer the term highly passionate. I had to sit down and think about it:

Of course life is important. We wouldn’t be here if we were all aborted. And we should fight to stop abortion. But if you think about it, the world already knows what the Church teaches. The might think we’re crazy. But they know we’re against abortion, birth control, and gay “marriage”. By urging us to find a new balance, Pope Francis is challenging us to engage the world in a new way. I think it fits well with Benedictine’s theme of the year to “Be the Light”.

We are the light and salt of the earth, after all, and I think many Catholics have lost that. We go to Mass because we’re supposed to, right? Hopefully we learn the basics and receive first communion and so forth. But do we really appreciate how flippin’ awesome our Church is?!?!?!

We educate, feed, and medically treat more people than any other organization. We are responsible for the education system. We have beast saints who have dedicated their lives to God as an example for the rest of us. We are the only ones with the sacrament of reconciliation through which the lost are led back to Christ.

There are so many beautiful things about our faith that we have lost in the battle for hot button issues.

Personally, I’ve grown to appreciate my faith so much more since coming to Benedictine. Students here are on FAYAH (aka fire) for God. It’s beautiful. It’s inspiring. Being here makes we want to become more holy and learn more about Catholicism. The theme last year (Be courageous, be faithful, be strong) and this year (Be the light) remind me that while abortion is important, it is our eternal salvation – and the battle to shine the light on people’s souls – that is most important. You can’t be pro-life without believing that life is sacred. And how do you know life is sacred? By recognizing your own worth and beauty first. That’s what the Church is all about. We’ve got to start somewhere.

It’s time to get back to the foundation of our faith like Pope Francis said. Jesus is the heart of our faith, and it’s time to show the world that we are more than people who are against abortion. We are the Easter people: the light and salt of the earth. We are here for a purpose. We are here to touch lives, inspire conversion, and be a witness to the beauty of God.

Catholics in the media – Dolan edition

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

Did you see this video of Cardinal Dolan on the Colbert Report this week? I love to see Catholics out there in the world – even on weird shows. It is a testament to the fact that we’re not hermits who pray all day. Whoohoo! Cardinal Dolan did quite a good job of staying true to Catholic teaching while still enjoying a few good laughs. Enjoy the video!

You can find the book they talked about here: Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis or over here. It’s #1 in the “Catholic Popes” section of Amazon 🙂

FYI: This post contains an affiliate link. If you ever click-through to Amazon from my blog, I will receive pennies from the purchase you make. Thank you!

Same Love? More like the same call.

~ Laura ~ 9 Comments

One really popular song going around right now is Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. Have you heard it?

I had heard of it, but had neglected to really listen to it. And since the radio is broken in the car I drive, I didn’t hear it from there. After being reminded of it recently, I decided to look it up and see what it was all about.

Oh boy.

I’m not one to sit down and over-analyze song lyrics, but after listening to this, I was disappointed in the Catholic people I know who are jamming to it and gushing over its message.

Why?

This song is basically saying that the love of a gay couple is the same love as all the other love in the world (by comparing it to a mother’s love) and how we just need to let them love each other. But it’s also quite the anti-Catholic and anti-conservative-people song by mocking many of our sentiments. It uses the standard “Catholics hate gay people” mantra to get that point across.

“The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision, And you can be cured with some treatment and religion”

“When I was at church they taught me something else, If you preach hate at the service those words aren’t anointed, That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned”

“And a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all, But it’s a d**n good place to start, No law is gonna change us, We have to change us”

“I might not be the same, but that’s not important, No freedom till we’re equal, d**n right I support it”

The problem?

A quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen seemed rather appropriate here:

“There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church….As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.”

You see, the Catholic Church doesn’t actually hate gay people. If it did, I would have a problem with it. Tons of people would. We’re told to love one another and so forth, so that just wouldn’t make sense to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.

But guess what?

Loving someone doesn’t mean you’re okay with them doing whatever they want.

Why do parents stop their kids from reaching into the cookie jar for a 5th time? Because it’s not good for them.

What the church teaches is that we were made to love and be loved. Vocations such as marriage are ways to love each other on earth, and to become closer to God. Giving in to human appetites does not help that. The church calls single to people to lives of chastity. The church calls homosexual people to chastity. And guess what? The church even calls married couples to chastity.

Discrimination 101.

You see, by truly loving homosexual people, the Church calls them to live their lives in an ordered approach to their attractions. But it isn’t any different than the call of single people to be abstinent until marriage. And it isn’t different than the call of married couples to remain faithful to their spouse.

It’s not the same love, but it’s all the same call.