Trying to reach an unchurched young adult daughter

[ProdigalGander]

I am not sure if my thread belongs here because my daughter is 27. She is married and works as a teacher at a well-regarded charter school here in town.

She was raised Catholic but does not currently attend any church. I am nominally Catholic but am struggling with whether to continue in the wake of the horrific sex abuse scandals and my own divorce. I currently am dating a lady who is not Catholic and have been attending her large Evangelical church with her. I can't see going through the Catholic Church's annulment process (where I would basically be forced to lie and claim that my marriage never existed) if she and I decide that we want to get married.

My girlfriend's church had a weekend recently where they had printed out invitations to come to a particular service and gave us each one, asking us to pass it on to someone else. Since I thought my daughter might like this church I gave it to her.

She was open to attending, but told me some of her reasons for walking away from the Catholic Church which disturbed me. It seems in the school where she teaches there are quite a few teenagers who have come out as gay. And a few transgenders. (personally I think that any doctor who would give transgender treatments to a teen is violating his Hippocratic Oath, but I digress). She said that the Catholic Church's teaching against these lifestyles was mean and hurtful to her students, and she did not want to be a part of any church that would do this.

I am sure that a lot of this is being driven by her very close personal attachment to her students. And I would certainly not advocate that anyone should be mean or unkind or uncaring towards someone who is gay or transgendered. But the simple fact of the matter is that the Bible teaches that these lifestyles are not acceptable to God, and thus pretty much ANY Christian church she might attend that is worth its salt is going to offend her at the same level.

This has left me with a real conundrum. How do I get her to understand that a church standing up for traditional Biblical values is not waging an attack on her kids? That we can love fellow sinners but not endorse the sin?

 

[Dave G.]

We are living in a time if not the time spoken of where it states in 2 Timothy 4 " they will not endure sound doctrine". The scripture speaks of even within the church,never mind the lost.

We all have family members in the same boat, my heart goes out to you. All you can do is pray and live your life so that it shines the light and if a word can be spoken in season then be ready when the Holy Spirit says Go.

These things are beyond us and the war rages within principalities and spirits,not in flesh and blood. The most amazing thing is we haven't seen anything yet, it's going to get worse. Keep your eyes looking up though, the HS does still move.

 

[hedrick]

I am sure that a lot of this is being driven by her very close personal attachment to her students.

Right. My observation is that people changing from rejecting to accepting gays is largely driven by getting to know them, and finding out that traditional concepts about them are wrong.

What we know about young Christians suggests that this isn't going to reverse itself. Are you more interested in helping her accept Christ or reject homosexuality?

 

[ProdigalGander]

I'm not sure I understand your question. I certainly want her to accept Christ. And that would involve attending a church which preaches sound Biblical doctrine. And sound Biblical doctrine rejects the practice of homosexuality (not homosexuals as people)