Benedict XVI

[jorvik]

Ian
I agree with you about what you say about parenting, who is to say that two same sex homosexuals cannot bring up a child as well as many heterosexual couples, look at all the criminal druggy types who serve up abues on their kids...and turn out criminals ...............but that is not the issue, christianity is generally opposed to homosexuality...so I guess that you could always go and inventanother religion...I mean that is what the Catholics did .............the 37th festal letter set out what the Catholic church would believe, they got rid of all the gnostic Gospels, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Phillip , the book of Jubilees etc.they then re-arranged the new testement....historically it is back to front, the oldest document being the letters of Paul ( Paul lived a hundred years after Christ.and never met him ).the Gospels date a couple of hundred years after that.and it is believed that Mathew Mark and Luke all derive from the same source.Whereas John comes from another Source.

Ben, The catholic church has wiped out just about every group through history who disagreed with their doctrines...and they called it Heresy ( a wrong interpretation of the Bible....as opposed to Blasphemy)..and it all started at about the time that the Gnostic gospels were lost
first the Bogomills and Paulacians then the Cathars in Southern France.......this was the "Last Crusade" and it was against French Christians in Southern France who believed a different interpretation of the bible, they were systematically murderd, men women and children.it was from this group in the 13th century that the catholics took the Confession, the "Consolamentum" .just as in Earlier years when a Brothet and sister where ruling together in Byzantium ( the remaining Christian part of the old Roman empire in constantinople).somebody argued that a woman shouldn't rule because women were unclean ( after all Eve had led Adam astray )..........they then argued that Mary was the "Mother of God" and so Mary was then raised to a cult status that she had never had before .......the only historical witness to Jesus was Josephus
http://members.aol.com/FLJOSEPHUS/home.htm

he had heard of but never met him

[Mills75]

respect all opinions here and it's a good discussion.I have to say i'm not one to buy into the minority thing as I feel Italians who came to Ellis Island long ago were also minorities and went through some struggles in this country as every race and gender did but they raised kids fine and I really feel it's about getting to where you need to be like Italians and Irish and other minorities at one time or another did and not making excuses for why you're not allowed or why you can't seem to get there.who knows I just never liked the arguement of someone saying oh I can't get there cause i'm held back or those people won't let me and I don't buy into that and never will.

It's the same as the crime arguement and if you look at Appalachia where people are very poor or the depression both are cases of very little crime and wrongdoing in spite of the peoples circumstances.even though they are poor and have nothing in both cases wow hardly any crime in these two situations..proves to me it's not where you're from or what you got but who you really are and what you do when the chips are down.

I believe the church will do more than fine and as Bill said if it's not what you believe in then there are many religions and churches and beliefs to choose from.I've chosen mine and it's the Catholic church that I'm proud to believe in.I think it will work the will of God and not the opinions of man.

[benzocaine]

The Catholic church has cerainly toned it down since the dark ages. I personally have only a few problems with it.. which I'll keep to myself due to the respect and admirtation I have for my catholic friends.

Like Bill said.. It is what it is.

Oh.. and Bill, PM for you if you are reading this.

[jorvik]

History, social mores ,customs and traditions have no real place in Spirituality..it is important , I believe, to seperate them and to see them for what they are, and not to put too much credence or importance on them.
Hence my points about Mary and the confession.they have noting to do with christianity........in the case of Mary she has become deified and treated as a god herself

[Redbeard]

Raising a child could be compared to preparing a healthy diet. You are what you eat, and children are, for the most part, what they are fed.
In regards to the ideal situation for a child to be brought up in, it would consist of, like a healthy diet, those things that would add to and sustain the health of the child.
This includes physical health, mental health, and spiritual health.
Let's say for instance, that a child was being raised by two very loving homosexual men or women. The child may be recieving much love, and be very well cared for, but would also be recieving a distorted world view, thereby disrupting a proper diet of spiritual and mental nutrition.
Another example might be a child that unfortunatly finds himself in the hands of close-minded liberal left wing God haters who distort historical facts and feed him endless lines of relativism and anything goes philisophical slop.
A child needs a mother and a father who are God fearing, mentaly balanced contributers to society. This is the ideal situation, but not always the case. We human beings have to play the hand we are dealt.
In conclusion, I believe a good parent constitutes one who is concerned with the best interests of the child. No parent is perfect, but every parent should try to be.