Rainbow flags are everywhere in social media. Every state but Louisiana is issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Those favoring gay marriage are rejoicing, and those who don't; those who have the audacity to support traditional sexual morality, are reviled as being "hateful" or "intolerant" or "judgmental". We are called "homophobic", a word that means we fear same. With all due respect, I disagree. That's right, I disagree; I don't hate and I don't fear.
There have been pages and pages written by people far more authoritative and erudite than I am so I'll save you the time it would take to read my explanation of why homosexual activity is wrong. If you need a reference, check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Suffice to say, this is not a new position, it is not one born out of hate for those who are different and it does not condemn anyone for any inborn traits (though it may condemn behaviors those inborn traits make you more likely than average to engage in).
It seems that the greatest sin of our age is "intolerance" or "judging"; but that's only if you support traditional notions of sexual morality. I'm not called judgmental or intolerant for saying it is wrong to rob a bank, to use racial epitaphs even in private conversations, or to gossip or to rape someone or to (at least right now) have sex with minors. "Everyone" knows those things are wrong, so I'm not considered judgmental if I say they are wrong, teach my children they are wrong and choose not to associate with people who openly engage in those behaviors. Frankly, I'm more interested in what God believes is right and wrong than I am in what "everyone" or the US Supreme Court believes is right or wrong, and I'll trust the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church over the majority opinion on facebook any day.
I saw a meme floating around facebook even before the Supreme Court ruling saying that the "love the sinner" approach is wrong because it requires me to see someone as a sinner and that Jesus said to take care of the plank in my eye before worrying about the splinter in yours. I daresay that everyone reading this is a sinner, as is the writer. I also would venture to say that I have readers who engage in behavior that I, if asked to judge, would say is sinful, but which they do not consider to be sinful--and that's the thing, we ARE supposed to decide, to judge if you would, whether actions are sinful or not, and we are to avoid those that are. Sometimes that may mean avoiding certain sinners--I would never leave my kids alone with someone I strongly suspected of child molestation. Sometimes that means counseling them about the error of their ways (but that requires a relationship that I don't have with the overwhelming majority of people in the world), and sometimes it means praying for them, while loving them letting God handle the rest.
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