"A healthy pluralism is needed. We don't want to force everyone into the same world. Uniformity is different from unity. Unity means pluralism, with everyone respecting how others think, and among all of us, creating a unity that is greater than just my way of thinking."-- Archbishop Oscar Romero, May 29, 1977
9 comments:
Please show me where Apb Romero approved of homosexual "marriages." This quote, in context, refers to the polychrome nature of catholicity--not moral relativism.
Anonymous, where do you find homosexual marriages being referred to as immoral in Scripture?
Show me where Jesus said He didn't die for us too. He died for all, and all who name Him as Lord are saved in spite of the radical right fundamentalists of any denomination who are so bent on legalism that they forget, no, they deny His grace and God's all-emcompassing love.
well that does not mean you can do just anything your heart desires does it cyclerev+?
This is a wonderful quote and very applicable to the current situation. Thank you. I hope that we can stay forcused on this "ploychrome nature of Catholicity" that includes gays and lesbians and all of the marginalized throughout this struggle for true unity.
Look, orthodox Christianity has always taught the concept of sexual intimacy as appropriate only between a man and woman married to one another. So it's not as if all heterosexual feel welcome in Church, either! There are plenty of militant anti-marriage/"if it feels good, do it" casual sex heterosexuals who don't feel welcome in the Church. And there are people who think incest is fine, and polygamy and polyandry, and even bestiality - all who feel unwelcome in the Church. Some people even think that hands can be used to murder
bad" people, then that's a proper use of hands. Well, orthodoxy says all these people are loved by God anyway, even though they disappoint God by choosing to behave against God's will. If that makes anyone feel unwelcome, it is that person's problem - not the problem of Christianity.
Big difference, "anonymous", between prescribing an appropriate relationship for heterosexuals and prohibiting an appropriate relationship between homosexuals, don't you think?
And it's not a matter of "if it feels good, do it" as much as it's a matter of "if it's disgusting, don't."
I think, anonymous, that you are right about "moral relativism". That does allow us to do whatever we want when we want to do it. But to get intellectual, pluralism is different, and allows for God to work with different people in different ways travelling on different roads at different times. I believe it is really a different way of saying that the Spirit is always at work revealing more of God to us through time, more of how big God really is. If that weren't possible, wouldn't we still have slaves? Wouldn't we keep women silent in church? Wouldn't we prevent inter-racial marriages? Or, anonymous, or those things "absolute" as well, as allowed for in Scripture? Of course not, for the Spirit has shown us that God is too big for these things.
And the wonderful thing about pluralism is that it allows unity, as this wonderful quote shows us. We don't all have to be on the same road, in the same place, at the same time. Its ok for you to be where you are, travelling with God where God has you, and for me to be travelling on the road where I am with God where God has me. But we can still be unified. It only requires faith and trust that God is big enough for all of us. And, you can even be "absolutist" about that if you want. There is plenty of Scripture to back that up.
It is not a Christ-like way of thinking about God, this "you travel your road, and I'll travel mine" idea. It is simply ungrounded, unpersuasive "wouldn't it be nice if it were so?" thinking, and there is no scripture to be found supporting the notion that Jesus expressed or advocated such weak theology. Furthermore, such pluralist theology is not the Christian faith that inspired martyrs to be put to death rather than recant their faith, brought emperors to their knees, built hospitals for the poor, and abolished slavery in predominantly Christian societies, just to mention a few historical developments that were due to the strength and discipline of Christianity.
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