Not enough sex talk in churches or seminaries, report says

Austin American Statesman ^ | February 12, 2010 | Joshunda Sanders

[ComeUpHigher]

Gender and sexuality have caused divisions in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Same-sex unions are upheld in some churches and not in others; the same is true for gay clergy. While there are more than 3,300 churches that affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender congregants, 57 percent of Protestant clergy hardly ever discuss issues specific to the gay and lesbian community.

But according to "Sexuality and Religion 2020," a report released this week, they probably should.

The report was published by the Westport, Conn.-based Religious Institute, a national interfaith network of more than 5,000 clergy and religious leaders.

On Tuesday, the report's authors described a "disconnect between religion and sexuality in America" and called for churches, synagogues and seminaries to work on narrowing the divide between faith and sex in the next decade.

[TigersEye]

Are they going to do a study to see if there’s enough God talk in brothels and porn palaces?

[ThomasSawyer]

"LGBT persons would be better off joining a church more freindly and accepting of them such as the MCC or Unitarian churches, rather than trying to get get the more conservative traditional-family oriented churches to accept them."

Spiritually, it would be better for them to accept Christ as their personal savior and repent. Christ welcomes all that desire to come to him and repent of their sin. He saved the adultress from stoning, but then told her to go and sin no more. For those who define themselves by their sexual choices, it's not about acceptance of them as a person. It's about acceptance of their sinful lifestyle. They want all Christian churches to discard biblical truths so as to suit their choices regarding sexual activity. However, true bible-based churches will not even discard biblical truths when it comes to heterorsexuals in the case extra-marital heterosexual relations.

[newguy357]

You should attend my parish here in Hollywood. Every other mass they make everyone feel guilty because we dont have “gay friends’ and that we should ‘have gay masses”.

No offense, but...why do you still go to this church? People really need to be willing to vote with their feet when it comes to this godlessness.

[max americana]

I agree, but it’s within walking distance. The only truly conservative church I know of is 30 minutes away.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

"LGBT persons would be better off joining a church more freindly and accepting of them such as the MCC or Unitarian churches, rather than trying to get get the more conservative traditional-family oriented churches to accept them."

Spiritually, it would be better for them to accept Christ as their personal savior and repent. Christ welcomes all that desire to come to him and repent of their sin. He saved the adultress from stoning, but then told her to go and sin no more. For those who define themselves by their sexual choices, it's not about acceptance of them as a person. It's about acceptance of their sinful lifestyle. They want all Christian churches to discard biblical truths so as to suit their choices regarding sexual activity. However, true bible-based churches will not even discard biblical truths when it comes to heterosexuals in the case extra-marital heterosexual relations.

I really don't mean to argue which religious view is correct. What I was referring to is that once people have their set beliefs that they will not budge on - such as that God loves and accepts all people whether gay or straight (in he case of gays who attend gay-friendly churches), it is better to respect others' differences of opinion and stick to a church that reflects one's beliefs rather than trying to change other people's churches.

Some gays / LBGT people seem to be at war with conservative Christianity due to deep-seated issues over having been bullied and beaten up and gotten no sympathy for it when they were a young person, and now they are hyper-sensitive and out to even the score against larger "straight" society.

The gay lobby groups (HRC, for example) make a lot money in the way of donations feeding into this wanting to get back at straight society by getting in their faces and getting laws passed that the people who hate them will have to obey or be in violation of the law.

The psychologically healthier approach I think would be to just let what happened in the past go, don't get upset knowing that you cannot make everyone love and accept you, and find a safe space with accepting people to worship and hang out with.

[anton]

Not enough in church, too much in seminaries.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

No offense, but...why do you still go to this church? People really need to be willing to vote with their feet when it comes to this godlessness.

I agree, but it’s within walking distance. The only truly conservative church I know of is 30 minutes away.

I don't mean to sound mean here, but you should know that the people who want to change a church (some people would even go so far as to call it "taking over a church") to be more "gay-friendly" rely on people just like yourself doing exactly what you are doing.

Think about it - the truly conservative church is not seeing you among the people in attendance and is not receiving your offerings, whilst the church that has the gay masses is.

Maybe consider going once a month to the church that is further away and saving up your donations to give to them instead?

[Elsie]

 

 

What is your church doing to help the male to stay true?

 

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"All of this should be conveyed without having priesthood leaders focus upon intimate matters which are a part of husband and wife relationships. Skillful interviewing and counseling can occur without discussion of clinical details by placing firm responsibility on individual members of the Church to put their lives in order before exercising the privilege of entering a house of the Lord. The First Presidency has interpreted oral sex as constituting an unnatural, impure, or unholy practice. If a person is engaged in a practice which troubles him enough to ask about it, he should discontinue it."
- Official Declaration of the First Presidency of the Church, January 5th, 1982

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"Prophets anciently and today condemn masturbation. It induces feelings of guilt and shame. It is detrimental to spirituality. It indicates slavery to the flesh, not that mastery of it and the growth toward godhood which is the object of our mortal life. Our modern prophet has indicated that no young man should be called on a mission who is not free from this practice. What is more, it too often leads to grievous sin, even to that sin against nature, homosexuality. For, done in private, it evolves often into mutual masturbation-practiced with another person of the same sex and thence into total homosexuality...."
- Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, Pages 77-79, 81-82

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"Among the most common sexual sins our young people commit are necking and petting. Not only do these improper relations often lead to fornication, [unwed] pregnancy, and abortions - all ugly sins - but in and of themselves they are pernicious evils, and it is often difficult for youth to distinguish where one ends and another begins. They awaken lust and stir evil thoughts and sex desires. They are but parts of the whole family of related sins and indiscretions. Almost like twins, 'petting' and fornication are alike."
- Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, page 65

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"Also far-reaching is the effect of the loss of chastity. Once given or taken or stolen it can never be regained. Even in a forced contact such as rape or incest, the injured one is greatly outraged. If she has not cooperated and contributed to the foul deed, she is of course in a more favorable position. There is no condemnation where there is no voluntary participation. It is better to die in defending one's virtue than to live having lost it without a struggle."
- Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, page 196

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"And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth." (Genesis 4:9-14.) That was true of murder. It is also true of illicit sex, which, of course, includes all petting, fornication, adultery, homosexual acts, and all other perversions. The Lord may say to offenders, as He did to Cain, "What hast thou done?" The children thus conceived make damning charges against you; the companions who have been frustrated and violated condemn you; the body that has been defiled cries out against you; the spirit which has been dwarfed convicts you. You will have difficulty throughout the ages in totally forgiving yourself."
-Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, "Love Versus Lust", BYU Speech January 5, 1965. Often-used quote still used today in LDS seminary classes.

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"I do not find in the Bible the modern terms "petting" nor "homosexuality," yet I found numerous scriptures which forbade such acts under by whatever names they might be called. I could not find the term "homosexuality," but I did find numerous places where the Lord condemned such a practice with such vigor that even the death penalty was assessed."
- Apostle Spencer W. Kimball, "Love Versus Lust", BYU Speech January 5, 1965

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"If adultery or fornication justified the death penalty in the old days, and still in Christ's day, is the sin any less today because the laws of the land do not assess the death penalty for it? Is the act less grievous? There must be a washing, a purging, a changing of attitudes, a correcting of appraisals, a strengthening toward self-mastery. There must be many prayers, and volumes of tears. There must be an inner conviction giving to the sin its full diabolical weight. There must be increased devotion and much thought and study. And this takes energy and time and often is accompanied with sore embarrassment, heavy deprivations and deep trials, even if indeed one is not excommunicated from the Church, losing all spiritual blessings."
-Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, Page 155

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"How like the mistletoe is immorality. The killer plant starts with a sticky sweet berry. Little indiscretions are the berries -- indiscretions like sex thoughts sex discussions, passionate kissing, pornography. The leaves and little twigs are masturbation and necking and such, growing with every exercise. The full-grown plant is petting and sex looseness. It confounds, frustrates, and destroys like the parasite if it is not cut out and destroyed, for, in time it robs the tree, bleeds its life, and leaves it barren and dry; and, strangely enough, the parasite dies with its host."
- Apostle Spencer W. Kimball, General Conference Address, April 1, 1967.

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[trisham]

Well said, lj.

[circlecity]

"Mark Driscoll, a very conservative Calvinist preacher at a Seattle megachurch has done a recent sermon series on marital love and the Song of Solomon."

Driscoll's Sermons on Song of Soloman were totally wacked out. I lost all respect for him upon hearing them. They told us much more about Driscoll than about the scripture at hand. Anything to fill the pews and keep that money coming. MacArthur has a series of videos showing just how far off the mark Driscoll was with those sermons.

[svcw]

Or as my hubby is fond of saying, "And God made sex, and it was is VERY good!" ;o)

Fixed it for you.

[svcw]

It is your place of worship, but why are you still there?

[Future Snake Eater]

I agree, but it’s within walking distance. The only truly conservative church I know of is 30 minutes away.

You can't be serious...

[little jeremiah]

So I guess it’s okay now.

[ThomasSawyer]

"I really don't mean to argue which religious view is correct. What I was referring to is that once people have their set beliefs that they will not budge on - such as that God loves and accepts all people whether gay or straight (in he case of gays who attend gay-friendly churches), it is better to respect others' differences of opinion and stick to a church that reflects one's beliefs rather than trying to change other people's churches. Some gays / LBGT people seem to be at war with conservative Christianity due to deep-seated issues over having been bullied and beaten up and gotten no sympathy for it when they were a young person, and now they are hyper-sensitive and out to even the score against larger "straight" society. The gay lobby groups (HRC, for example) make a lot money in the way of donations feeding into this wanting to get back at straight society by getting in their faces and getting laws passed that the people who hate them will have to obey or be in violation of the law. The psychologically healthier approach I think would be to just let what happened in the past go, don't get upset knowing that you cannot make everyone love and accept you, and find a safe space with accepting people to worship and hang out with."

I don't know that you and I are much in disagreement. I just think we're approaching this in two different ways. A point I am trying to make is that it's not about welcoming them and acceptance of them as a person. I have never been to a church where you had to check in at the front door with someone to make sure you were holy enough to enter in. If that were the case, a lot of us wouldn't have made it past the front door. Yet the militant LGBT groups attempt to set up this straw man that churches aren't welcoming to them as if there is some litmus test to prevent them from walking through the front door, sitting in a pew, and receiving the word of God. As a result, hurches that have traded in the true gospel for a socially acceptable gospel go right along and hang the rainbow banner (a symbol of a promise from God which the LGBT groups have chosen to defile) saying "All Are Welcome" as if to say 'we're not like all those hateful and intolerant conservative Christian churches'. The truth is, it's not the churches that are unwelcoming to LGBT person's but LGBT person's who are unwelcoming to the Word of God.

[ElkGroveDan]

You should attend my parish here in Hollywood.

You have a new Bishop on the way, chosen by the Holy See. Let's see how things go after he settles in. (...and we have one of those parishes in Sacramento too.)

[max americana]

>>Maybe consider going once a month to the church that is further away and saving up your donations to give to them instead?

True. No matter how much they plead for “pledges” and donations in this recession, it has stayed the same for 3 years now LOL.

I cant stop giving my measly donations because I figured I’m giving to God, not to the parish.

The most recent time I did NOT give my $$$ for mass when a LESBIAN was giving her speech about her gay son, which turned into a lecture, not a sermon. I went out, found a bum across the street and gave it to him.

[manc]

any decent church should not be accepting of any kind of mental perverted illness except to help them and see their ways back into normal society.

the homosexuals have gone after the church and the military as those two institutions have stood for morals and tradition, a back bone of this country.
the pervs hate it and thus they go after them, they know they can’t win so they join it trying to make others believe their crap
it’s like on here wiht some perverts who come on and try to make others think they’re normal

they’re not and what they do to each other is not normal

[Elsie]

SEX!

It SURE gets our attention; eh!?

[Elsie]

Driscoll's Sermons on Song of Soloman were totally wacked out.

I guess I'll have to take YOUR word for it, but I WOULD like to look at any evidence you might have.