Posted on 05/19/2012 9:33:10 AM PDT by ReformationFan
On Tuesday afternoon, CNN ran an article on its Belief Blog by Catholic priest (sort of) Daniel Helminiak entitled “My Take: What the Bible really says about homosexuality.” The article is amazing for including so many bad arguments in so little space. A quick trip through the piece will show you what I mean. Helminiak’s writing will be in bold and then my response will follow.
(Excerpt) Read more at thegospelcoalition.org ...
EXCELLENT. THANK YOU.
Ugh. That “priest” should be defrocked.
I’m going to have to bookmark that article, it’s long, but I need to read it. Thanks for posting.
Helminiak should look at the older testament to see what G-d says about homos. I think that he probably understands greek, but not Hebrew, which was the language of 90% of the Bible. He certainly doesn’t understand Judiasm.
If I were his wife, I might start checking his voice mails and private emails.
Bookmark for later.
In this article Helminiak is babbling idiotic arguments, making up things as he goes. It makes refuting his arguments one by one a waste of time. No matter what anyone says, like a smart aleck youth, he simply babbles another lie of his own choosing, relevant or not, forcing the other person to go on a long errand of analysis to refute his statement. The smart aleck just keeps repeating this process.
So if a supposed man of God writes some dissertation that’s a thousand pages of babble all to conclude that sodomy is not a sin, they would have done just as well for themselves to make their lie one sentence long. A sin is a sin, a lie is a lie. Debating it all day long does not change God’s law.
If we do not cherry pick New Testement verses in order to twist it’s meaning for our own purposes, but if we instead read an entire book at once, or at the very least enough of a chapter to take the verse in context if this is necessary to understand the verse, the consistency of the New Testament and Old Testament moral law are complete and most sufficiently salient.
Leviticus 18:22
“Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”
Matthew 5:17
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
Romans 1
“1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;
10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;
12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.
13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”
The filthy, sinful and empty logic that humanists are enslaved by is necessary for them to avoid the simple truth that is plain as the nose on one’s face. Reading the whole passage from Romans 1 above makes it clear to anyone not bent on denying the truth that Paul’s message is one which does not condone immorality but condemns it.
Ping!
As for the so-called priest Helminiak: it would be more accurate to call him --- in the practical sense, if not canonically--- an "ex-priest," since in 1995, Helminiak submitted to the Vatican a formal resignation from active ministry. It is clear that for at least the past 20 years he has not considered himself to be a teacher of Catholic doctrine. That should have been noted.
What Helminiak says about sexuality is refuted by the Holy Scriptures, the prophets of Israel, the Fathers of the Church, the Sacramental theology of Marriage, all Catholic penitential manuals and moral philosophy from the Didache to our own day. He can go to his computer, look up The Catechism of the Catholic Church, type in a keyword and find out in 3 mouse-clicks that he is wrong, and exactly WHY he is wrong.
He has no excuse.
Kevin DeYoung should send Helminiak a thank you note. It is rare in any debate that someone lobs in so many soft pitches. I generally avoid name-calling but there is no escaping the conclusion that Daniel Helminiak is a complete moron.
Why would anyone even be checking out CNN.....Communist News Network?
Along with the Bible go to the source of truth -- not CNN!
Tagline
I just saw someone post that in bold letters somewhere!
Actually Matthew used pais while Luke used the term doulos but this is the type of studied ignorance necessary to defend immorality.
Pais has a wide range of meanings, boy, servant, etc. and which one is meant depends upon the context. In fact a form of pais was used in Mark 5:39 of the young girl Jesus resurrected.
Men are evil wanting to sin. Men will do anything to justify their sin. Other men will rationalize and justify the sins of others so that they too can sin. No one seeks for God, no, not one.
Is it any wonder Adam’s race is under God’s wrath. “Christians” who try to compromise better realize what they are doing. The sons of God were swept away as well as the others in the Great Flood.
This is an excellent rebuttal. The exegetical material is sound and accurate. This essay needs to enjoy a vast readership, especially among the homosexual community.
Catholic priest (sort of)
what does that mean?
Actually, Catholics usually approach marriage by stressing Jesus sayings about marriage being a man leaving his parents to cling to his wife and they are one flesh. Then the church usually goes on to define marriage as mirroring the love of God for the church.
Mark 10 1-12
Although gay sex was common in pagans, he doesn’t mention it because all the Jews that he was talking to were horrified by those customs. Heck, even the good Romans were repelled by it, blaming the practice on those good for nothing Greeks.
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