Homosexuality Destabilizing Society

Here are some of my favorite parts from this recent article:

"....The Vatican newspaper said on Tuesday that homosexuality risked 'destabilizing people and society', had no social or moral value and could never match the importance of the relationship between a man and a woman...."

"...It (homosexuality) does not represent a social value and even less so a moral virtue that could add to the civilization of sexuality,' Anatrella said. 'It could even be seen as a destabilizing reality for people and for society...."

"....In no case is this form of sexuality a sexual alternative, or even less, a reality that is equivalent to that which is shared by a man and a woman engaged in matrimonial life...."

"...It said homosexuality was 'a sexual tendency and not an identity' and repeated the Church's stand against allowing gays to marry or to adopt children. It also called homosexuality 'an incomplete and immature part of human sexuality'...."

So anyway, I had dinner tonight with some new friends and had a wonderful time. Two were a lesbian couple who have been together for about five years or so. (This was a different couple than the ones with a daughter that I mentioned in "A Night With The Ladies".) One of them has a beautiful 12 year old daughter - I got to see the wallet photos =) - and it was great to see how proud she was of her little girl. She was conceived through artificial insemination....

...which as a side note, i'm told that single women cannot do that anymore in Utah - not even heterosexual single women wanting a child.

So they told me the story of how their little girl had previously not been doing so well in school but now she's been showing incredible improvement. Their daughter has been getting A+ 's and she's got a 4.0 grade point average now. She's doing extremely well and the couple are very very proud of their daughter.

One day, the little girl walked up and decided to "come out" to her lesbian mom. As i'm told the story, the daughter says, "Mom. Is it okay that I like boys?" My friend was holding back the laughter and tried her best to keep a straight face as she responded, "Of course it is! As long as the boy treats you well, respects you, is a kind and loving person, and loves Jesus. It's absolutely okay for you to like any person you want!" The girl was happy to hear it. She's also not allowed to date until she's 16 years old. Ha! Afterwards, my friend ran into the other room to burst out in laughter. How funny is that?

It's funny (actually no, it's stupid) to hear sometimes the assumptions from ignorant people who say that gay parents will influence their children to be gay also. I have friends, some gay and some straight, who have gay parents and all say that they were completely free to be attracted to whomever they happened to be attracted to.

During dinner, they told me another story about the time they visited a church in Arizona. Before that, some elderly friends had told them that the next time they were in Arizona they should visit the church that they attend. My friends took them up on the offer and when they were in the state, they looked up the church and decided to go.

It turned out to be one of those 5 services on Sunday mega-churches with thousands of people. They recount the story as hearing the pastor excitedly and energetically tell the congregation that they no longer have to be alone. He preached to those who have been wounded by the church and that they are welcome at this church. He said that even if he has to come down off this pulpit and carry you on his back, he'll "walk with you". He even physically came down from the pulpit and picked up a man on his shoulders and carried him up the stage. And so he had an altar-call for anyone who had ever been wounded or hurt by a church. My friends came forward and were very moved. For two years they thought well of what they witnessed.

Two years later, they found out the rest of the story. The next day after this sermon and spectacular show of grace, questions were asked about who invited the lesbians to church. When it was discovered that my friends' friends had invited them, the heterosexual elderly couple were banned from ever attending the church again. When they tried to come back, they were identified and refused entry into the parking lot. This was a church of thousands.

More of the dinner conversation revolved around favorite worship songs, crazy family stories, work being done to help the community, and how awesome Jesus is. All four of us at this table, all gay or lesbian, held hands to pray for a blessing over the meal, a blessing for the restaurant we were in, and a blessing for our friendship. It was quite a strategy session for how we could continue to destabilize our society.