Quote:
Originally Posted by sigmadiva
Let me see if I can explain - the concept stems from the fact that God would not create a sinner on purpose, one from birth. The thought is that we are all born being good and righteous in the eyes of God, free from sin. During life, God gives us the chance to decide how we want to live. Whether we want to be good or bad, right or wrong. Since for some, homosexuality is a sin, then people can not be born gay. It is something they decided to do during their lives.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AGDee
Well, Catholics believe that you born with sin, inherited from Adam and Eve, which is why they baptize you when you are an infant. The only human ever born without sin was Jesus.
Do you think you could make yourself like girls instead of boys? If you always inherently liked boys then that follows that you didn't have a choice.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sigmadiva
Protestants don't believe this. We believe, for the most part, that as a young child, it is your parents responsibility to teach you about church and Jesus Christ. After going to Sunday school, church, and vacation Bible school that around the age 10 - 13, the kid would make the decision to commit his / her life to Christ, and thus decide to get baptized.
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Protestants
do believe that people are born with sin. Most Protestants don't practice infant baptism, however. The perception of western Christians (Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants) was drastically impacted by various people, ideologies and events including Augustine, Aquinas and the Reformation all of which were influenced by Roman law. Before 400 AD, this was not the case. The early church hadn't yet been introduced to the concept of original sin, the belief shared by Catholics, Anglicans and Protestants that mankind inherited the sinful nature and subsequent guilt of Adam and Eve. Prior to that time, sin was viewed as a disruption in our relationship with God. In essence, humans are born with predispositions toward things that would not be natural if we had walked freely with God. These predispositions form who we are (or rather who we think we are), right or wrong.
With that said, I absolutely believe that people are "born" with predispositions toward a great number of things - some of which our society frowns upon, some of which our society embraces - but none of which are natural in the supreme order of life. People are born with a predisposition to be fat, gay, overachievers, cynics...all sorts of things. Walking with God in a world like ours is devastating to the identities we have developed.
Still, as Christians (well, those of us who are), we should
want to preserve the rights of individuals to live as they believe they should. It is God's work, not ours, that draws mankind to Him. As long as people are not committing acts that are universally rejected (murder, rape, etc.), the best way Christians can show compassion to others is to step aside and let God work.
In the case of legalizing gay marriage, what good comes from setting up camp on either side of the issue and tossing grenades at each other?