www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Moscow Mayor Calls Gay Pride Parade Satanic

Abstinence and repentance.

Alexandr

Let me ask this of those who stand aghast at Mayor Lushzkov's stand, would you support a "Wife Beaters" Pride Parade, or a "Thievery Pride" Parade? Sin is sin, and sodomy is amongst the most heinous of sins. There is nothing there to be proud of. The proponents of such flaunting of sin and immorality should look within themselves, and commit themselves to celibacy and repentence.

Alexandr

I thought they were already doing that in NYC.

Dn. Robert

I am interested in this statement from a theological perspective. If sin = sin, can there be a most heinous sin? Can anything be worse or better than sin?

Please note that my question is not so much about homosexuality (please don't respond to this by listing the harm caused by homosexuality -- I think we all know and agree on this point), but about the more fundamental question of a gradation of sins.

If it is agreed that there is a gradation among sins -- than it seems, in my opinion, that according to the Fathers the most heinous of all sins is pride, followed closely by a judgmental spirit. And, thus since most parades involve a lot of preening and public display of personal glory -- perhaps we should ban all parades as being contrary to the true spirit of humility!

It reminds me of the life of St Philaret who told his wife that he was inviting all of the most important people in the city ... and promptly invited all of the beggars and the homeless!

"Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; /29/ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"

If it stands that there are sins that can not be forgiven, it stands that there are different levels of sin. A woman who has had an abortion is frequently denied the right to approach the Sacrament for 10 years, as reflecting the heinousness of her sin, whilst sins accorded to human frailty are not disciplined as such.

Yes pride is the father of all sins. But to be proud of sin, which is the point of the parade, is a double sin.

Alexandr

Of course, as the tradition of interpretation of this passage suggests, this is a difficult passage to understand. The context indicates that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was the sin of accusing Christ of being filled with demons. So the only sin that truly separates us from God for eternity is the failure to recognize God's love and/or to believe that this Love as revealed in Christ is Satanic or demonic. Others have understood this passage to indicate that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the failure to repent of sins.

Either way, the passage when interpreted actually suggests that all sins are the same and possess the same "negative power" -- that is, if they are unconfessed and we remain stubbornly commited to them, each sin has the same capacity to separate us from God and to destroy our ability to receive His forgiveness and love.

Alexandr:
I have no problem with your call to abstinence and repentance (which is based in both Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Church). I also have no problem with Christian opposition to a "Gay Pride" parade. However, I do have a problem with violence and I have a problem with a priest blessing a group of people because they attacked the nightclub.
Ryan

I think that we can all agree on the points of this post.

In Christ,
Alice, Moderator

Ryan, nowhere in the article does it state that the priest blessed the group BECAUSE they attacked the nightclub.

Alexandr

I can't believe this subject still obsesses so many here

But isn't that the point of being Christian, Brian; expounding on someone else's sins so as to draw attention from one's own?

Alexandr:
The article certainly implied that the priest blessed them because of the attack. I don't think it at all unreasonable that one would infer that from the article.
Ryan

I'll stick with the teachings of Apostolic Christianity, and if Modernists believe I do so in order to draw attention from my own sins, I'm prepared to live with it.