TV's Frink said:
RicOlie_2 said:
^In addition to the above, I don't believe Jews sin when they celebrate Hanukkah, or Muslims sin when they observe the Ramadan fast and they might in fact sin by celebrating a Christian feast if their religion teaches it is wrong to do so.
Then why is it wrong to "practice homosexuality?" What if your religion says you should?
I think it is wrong for a Muslim to kill a non-believer even though it is a religious requirement for them.
I'm not saying that the teachings of one's religion justify any action done in accordance with that religion, but that a person might in fact sin if they think they are doing something wrong (even though it isn't) and do it anyway. On the other hand, someone might do something they believe is right, even though it is wrong, and might therefore not sin. However, this depends on what the action is, and how serious it actually is. Murder is a mortal sin in my religion (with some exceptions in which it may not even be a sin at all), but it could be lessened to a venial sin if the murderer is convinced that it is right. Celebrating a religious festival is a minor form of disobedience to the first commandment for Christians and Jews, and as a more minor offense (it can be serious though as I discussed in a previous post) it can be considered a non-offense if the person is truly ignorant of the fact that it is wrong.
The same applies for homosexuals who engage in homosexual sex acts (and anyone who engages in a sex act outside of marriage). If they are really ignorant of the fact that what they are doing is wrong, then they will only be committing a minor sin, and possibly none at all.
Catholics believe they will be judged far more harshly than others because we believe we have the truth. An analogy of this is that a person who picks up a hundred dollar bill off the ground and pockets it, knowing that it just dropped out of the purse of a woman walking ahead of him is more guilty than a boy who, not having seen the bill fall or knowing any better, picks it up and pockets it.
To use a similar analogy to demonstrate the difference between degrees of seriousness, a man may murder someone, knowing full well how wrong it is and be sentenced to life imprisonment. Another man, hallucinating and insane, could also kill a man but receive a far milder punishment, since he would have more excuse than the first man.
Make sense?