If you come into this entry with an open heart and mind,
then please continue reading. I've been writing this entry for like 2 months now, even before the Supreme Court passed the new law in favor of marriage equality. And then, after the law passed, I had to go back and tweak it again to make sure it mentioned that the law had actually passed. Now, I think I finally made it reflect exactly what I want to say. So in light of the new marriage equality law, I want to address some questions and common
misconceptions surrounding gay rights and Christianity – at least my
perspective on them. I was raised in the church, and I know a lot about
Christianity and the Bible. So I’m going to attempt to explain this in the best
way possible. Here are some common gay rights/Christianity questions,
statements, and common misconceptions with my responses:
1. Is homosexuality a mental disease? Is it a
random mutation in the brain, or is it hereditary? Is it a personal choice?
I’ve heard of some studies that have been done about a pair of twins, one of
which turned out to be straight, and the other turned out to be gay. Doesn’t
that prove that homosexuality is a choice?
I definitely wouldn’t consider
homosexuality a disease. I mean, that has a negative connotation to it, and I
definitely don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay. And there’s
certainly no medicine you could prescribe to make someone suddenly attracted to
the opposite sex, rather than the same sex. But it’s certainly not a choice.
The lifestyle you choose is certainly your choice, but your feelings of love
for another human being and attraction for a certain type of person is not a
choice any more than feelings of sadness, anger, excitation, and happiness are
a choice. You feel what you feel. If you really want to know if it’s a choice,
ask a gay person. Any gay person will tell you they did not choose this for
themselves. Why would they actively choose to join the most hated group of
people in the country who, up until recently, were denied their equal rights?
If you’re still not convinced, ask yourself if you specifically chose to be
straight. Did you sit down one day and say “Hey, I think I’m going to be
straight?” Or did you just always have those feelings? It’s the same the other
way around too. As far as the study mentioned goes, that is a terrible study
that has had a lot of criticism. The fact that one twin was gay, and the other
was straight, has no bearing on whether or not homosexuality is hereditary or a
choice. This study argues that this proves that homosexuality is not
hereditary, since one twin ended up being straight, and therefore, it must be a
choice. First off, just because it is not hereditary doesn’t mean that it is
not something in the brain that the person has no control over. It just means
that it’s not a trait that can be passed down from one generation to the next.
And even if that trait was only passed down to one twin, that doesn’t at all
mean that it’s not hereditary. Something that is hereditary usually skips a lot
of generations. If one twin is born “normal,” and the other twin is born with
Down Syndrome, does that mean the second twin specifically “chose” to have Down
Syndrome? This is simply not a valid study. If you want a good, interesting
study that has some real bearing, check out
http://uber-facts.com/2013/02/07/studies-show-differences-between-heterosexual-and-homosexual-brains/.
This is a study that literally found some differences between the brains of
heterosexual and homosexual people. The brains of gay men and heterosexual
women appeared the same, with the two halves of the brain being the same size. Conversely,
the brains of gay women and heterosexual men appeared the same, with one of the
two halves being larger than the other half. This, along with many other
studies, is pretty darn clear evidence that sexual orientation is out of our
control. Dr. Qazi Rahman even said “As far as I’m concerned, there is no
argument anymore. If you are gay, you are born gay.” Furthermore, homosexuality
occurs in 100s of species all over the world. Besides, even if it was a choice,
it doesn’t matter. What someone else does with his/her life is no one’s
business but his/her own.
2.
Gay is not natural, so it must be wrong.
First off, as I just mentioned, homosexuality
occurs in 100s of species all over the world. If it happens in animals, then
it’s natural. If the study I just mentioned above shows that human brains have
a different make-up depending on the person’s sexual orientation, then that is
something that naturally occurred when these people were born, and therefore,
it is natural. Second, who says natural = right? Just because something is
different and foreign from what we are used to, doesn’t mean it’s bad, or that
we should fear it. Never fear what you don’t know. We use all kinds of
unnatural products and eat all kinds of unnatural foods, and no one bats an
eye. Do you think Cheetos grow from the ground? No, but they’re DELICIOUS!
3.
Why are you defending them? Are YOU gay?
I don’t have to be just like someone in
order to have compassion for fellow human beings.
4.
The Bible says homosexuality is a sin.
I’ve heard a bunch of arguments to refute
this, or at least to rationalize it, so I hope you guys like to read. First
off, most of the anti-gay Bible verses are in the Old Testament, particularly
Leviticus. Now, whenever I point out some crazy Bible verse that is obviously
outdated or clearly misguided, whatever Christian I’m speaking to always
follows up with something to the effect of “Once Jesus died for our sins, the
Old Testament was rendered null and void, so the New Testament is what we go by
now.” If this is true, then why is Leviticus 18:22 the verse that most
Christians turn to when refuting the idea that homosexuality isn’t a sin?
That’s just a shower thought I kind of wanted to throw out there. You know what
else Leviticus says? It gives us permission to own slaves, mandates that women
should be locked up when on their periods, and forbids us from eating
shellfish. Leviticus forbids us from getting tattoos and cutting our hair. It teaches
that it is ok and even necessary to burn people to death and stone them. This
is the same book of the Bible that says homosexuality is an abomination! Is it
just me, or does this sound nuts? And I know that this is the Old Testament and
not to be followed anymore. But a lot of Christians still cite their sources
from this testament, including the most common anti-gay verse of Leviticus
(18:22.) So it seems to me that, if all of these crazy verses are archaic, and
no one follows them anymore, then we shouldn’t follow Leviticus 18:22 anymore
either. One theory is that a lot of teachings of the Bible are, indeed,
archaic. They were written for the times, but this is 2015, and we don’t follow
a lot of these rules anymore. Another theory is that the Bible is a metaphor. I
mean, think about it. In Genesis, the moon is described as “a light in the
sky.” We know the moon is not a light, and if a divine being who knows exactly
what the moon is was explaining the idea of the moon, one would think this divine
being would not call it a “light.” There are tons of examples like this one.
That’s why I think that, when it comes to the Bible, it’s possible we’re
supposed to take all the stories as a metaphor and learn from the lessons
presented. Isn’t that the whole point, anyway? Another thing to focus on is the
words that are printed in red. If you read those, you’ll never read anything
that is judgmental, demeaning, uncompassionate, or accusatory, because these
are words spoken by Jesus himself. And most importantly, you’ll only read about
how you can become a better person, not how you should mandate how other people
live their lives. Remember, first and foremost, the Bible mandates to love one
another as you would love yourself, to never judge someone else, and to live by
example.
On to the next theory! Now, obviously, most
people don’t read Hebrew, so it’s kind of hard to say if you don’t speak the
language, but there are some people who speak both English and Hebrew who have studied
the Bible extensively (or at least certain parts of it,) particularly many
pastors and rabbis. Several of these people I’m referring to, including a
pastor who lives in my hometown, preach that Jesus NEVER mentioned anything
about homosexuality in the original Hebrew teachings of the Bible. According to
Emory University’s Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill, “Sadly, the reality of our
human history is that the texts of Leviticus (and Deuteronomy,) which were
utilized by the teachers and rabbis of the Jewish tradition to condemn homosexuality,
were so employed under a direct and constant danger and THREAT from the
dominant and controlling Christian governmental and ecclesiastical authorities
who needed to have the ‘perceived’ Jewish interpretation of the texts, as
taught by the Jewish rabbinical authorities, to be in accordance with their own
Christian commentaries and teachings on homosexuality and what they believed
(falsely) to be sexual perversion. Thus, they kept a close watch on what the
Jewish rabbis wrote about subjects sensitive to Church dogma.” This is why many
atheists and agnostics do not believe the teachings of the Bible, and why a lot
of people only believe certain teachings from it – Because they believe that
the government at the time had a say in what was written and forced the writers
to write what they wanted written, so as to push their own personal agenda.
It’s also this idea that the Bible is essentially a game of “Telephone,”
because it’s been translated through so many different languages. Not only
could someone make whatever changes they wanted to the teachings during
translation, but translations between languages are often blurred, meaning that
there are often no direct translations, so you just have to do the best you can
when changing a book from one language to another. Anyone who is bilingual
understands this struggle! I speak English and Spanish, and sometimes there’s
just no way to explain what someone said in one of those languages to someone
who only speaks the other language. I mean this is a highly likely scenario, if
you think about it. It’s twisted, and it threatens the very idea of following
the book at all, because how are we to know which part of it was written for a
real reason, and which part of it was warped by governmental authorities or
lost in translation? It puts everyone between a rock and a hard place, but it’s
highly logical that this could have happened. And whether you believe the
original Hebrew texts mention homosexuality or not, this is just one theory. I
mean there’s no way for most of us to know, because we don’t read Hebrew, and
no one was around to understand how the government was back then. I’m just
throwing this out there to make everyone think, but there are other theories.
Now, if you don’t buy this, maybe reading
into some verses will be a bit enlightening. Since I’ve been talking about it
so much, why don’t we talk about Leviticus 18:22 for a minute: “You shall not
lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” Daniel Karslake,
director of The Bible Tells Me So, maintains that the word “abomination” is
derived from the Hebrew word “toe’vah,” which means “contrary to ritual.”
According to Karslake, “Leviticus was the holiness code, designed to further
the tribe of the Jewish nation, which is why it didn’t look very kindly on men
having sex with men, since sex was needed for procreation.” And let’s also
remember that this verse is in the Old Testament, which was supposed to have
become null and void after Jesus died. Let’s take an entire story for instance
now: Sodom & Gomorrah, the story of Genesis 19. In the story, God sent two
angels into Sodom, and they met a man named Lot. Lot let them into his home and
fed them and gave them a place to sleep, which is great, but then a bunch of
townspeople tried to gang rape the two angels. Lot wouldn’t let that happen,
which is also great, but he offered up his two virgin daughters for gang rape
instead, which in my eyes, is outrageously terrible too, so it boggles my mind
that, at the end of the story, God spared Lot for being the “good guy,” but
whatever. Anyway, the point is, people love to point fingers at this passage
and say it was all about homosexuality, because the men in the town were trying
to have sex with the angels, who were also men. Talk about a total warp of the
story! This story was about God being disappointed in the townspeople’s
inhospitality and attempted gang RAPE. Nowhere does the story actually mention
that homosexuality was even a concern, but I guess that might depend on which
version of the Bible you read. Let’s also be reminded that this is a story in
the Old Testament. I’ve also heard this verse: Romans 1:26-27 – “For this
reason, God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural
intercourse for unnatural, and in the same way, also the men, giving up natural
intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men
committed shameless acts with men, and received in their own persons, their due
penalty for their error.” Ok, these verses sound pretty bad, and there are quite
a few theories as to what this means. According to Karslake, this verse was
more than likely written to switch Christian focus onto procreation, because
back then, it was needed for survival. However, we currently have 7 billion
people on the planet, when the earth is only intended to hold 1 million people,
so… I’m thinking procreation is no longer a huge issue. And, as for my personal
take on the matter, God obviously isn’t too keen on lusty sex out of wedlock,
so maybe that was what is being referred to here – the fact that these people
were married to someone else, but they decided to have lusty, adulterous sex
with each other. One theory that is really great is that of Mark Sandlin, who
is a Christian who contextualizes the Bible through critical thinking and the
examination of history. We’ll start with the fact that the key word here is
“natural.” The verse says that these people gave up their “natural” intercourse
for “unnatural” intercourse. What’s interesting here is the fact that, as I
mentioned before, this has been translated from another language – and pretty
poorly. The Greek word “physikos” is what was used in the original written text
here. That word is very difficult to translate into English. Essentially, it
doesn’t mean what is “natural” in the world. It is defined as what is “natural”
to oneself, meaning what and who you are and always were. In this case, these
people were always straight, so turning around and doing something that is not
what you are and always were is not being true to yourself, and therefore, it
is wrong. If this theory is correct, then telling someone to commit gay acts
when he/she is straight is wrong, but by the same token, pushing a gay person
to “become” straight is the exact same sin! Because God wants you to be true to
yourself and who you have always been and always will be. If you want more
information on this and other seemingly anti-gay verses in the Bible, check out
this awesome article:
http://www.thegodarticle.com/faith/clobbering-biblical-gay-bashing.
I’m sure, by now, you are all thinking about 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:
“"Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not
deceived. Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate (malakoi) nor abusers of themselves with mankind (arsenokoitai) nor thieves nor
covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom
of God." I have included in this passage the Greek words that were used in
the original version of the Bible. Back in the first century A.D, “malakoi” was
never used to describe gay men or lesbians. Literally, it was meant to describe
heterosexual men who followed the Greek custom of shaving their faces daily.
But the word was typically meant to describe people who were morally weak or
prostitutes. The word “arsenokoitai” was also never defined to mean gay men or
lesbians back in the first century A.D. It was typically meant to either mean
rape, sex with angels or the gods, anal sex with one’s wife, or masturbation.
Maybe these terms have come to define “homosexuals” nowadays, but just like
with English, all languages are forever changing. “Gay” in English used to mean
“happy,” but nowadays, it means “homosexual.” If you want to learn more about
this, check out http://www.gaychristian101.com/Malakoi.html.
Let me be perfectly clear that these are
just many theories. I do think it’s important to critically think when you’re
reading a spiritual book, and especially if it’s a very old book, take into
account that some things that were written that long ago can be archaic,
especially since they were written by human beings that have flaws, just like
you and me. Yes, whenever I say this, Christians always come back at me with
“Well, it may have been written by humans, but God was speaking through them.”
Well, since humans are flawed, they can twist things, whether they’re being
told what to write or not. They have a choice to write down specifically what
is said, or to tweak it a little bit to make it reflect their own views. And
you never know, some crazy tyrant could’ve been hovering over the people who
wrote these passages and forced them to write what they did. Or the writers
themselves could be those tyrants, writing what they want, and pretending it
was God’s words they were writing. I know you have faith, and that’s how, in
your mind, you know that the Bible speaks the truth. But the fact is, when it
comes right down to it, you were not there, so you really don’t know what
happened. And if you believe the Bible is true, and that everything that is in
it was written by God through man, then that’s great. I’m not really trying to
argue about the integrity of the book. But the fact that we eat shellfish today,
we don’t lock up women when they’re menstruating, we are allowed to touch pig
skin and eat pig now, and we don’t stone children for talking back to their
parents, means that some things in the Bible are archaic and/or the Bible
should be taken as a metaphor – as a guideline for how to live your life. And
I’ll never discount the idea that it might just boil down to how each
individual interprets the Bible. And if that’s true, then DEFINITELY you should
just use the Bible as a guideline for your own life, rather than for someone
else’s life, because their interpretation of the Bible might be different than
yours. I don’t know what the right answer is here. These are just theories –
I’ll be the first to admit that. But the point is, no one can know the absolute
truth, at least not while we’re on earth. So believe what you want to. You have
that right. But don’t impose those beliefs on other people who don’t directly
come to you for that information. If you read the red words in the Bible, those
are what Jesus specifically said. The most important things he specifically
said were to love, accept, and not judge. So just practice that, and stop
worrying about other things. Worry about your own life, and live by example.
The way other people live their lives is none of anyone else’s business, unless
they ask for help or advice.
If I had to pick one thing that I thought
was going on, I’d say that people wrote the Bible according to the agenda they
wanted to push at the time, whether they were influenced by God to do so or
not. Homosexuality wasn’t a huge thing in Bible times, and there were a lot of
narrow-minded people back then. If it was uncommon or different, then people
feared it. If it threatened their survival, meaning it didn’t yield children to
surpass their parents, then it was looked down upon. On the rare occasions that
people showed their homosexuality to the public, it was looked at as a sexual
act. And everyone knows how the Bible makes anything about sex into a bad
thing, unless it’s being used to create a child. But today, things are
different. We know it’s not just sexual. We know that it ends in two people who
fall in love with each other and decide to spend the rest of their lives
together. That is why things should change, and people should open their minds.
5.
I don’t buy any of what you just said. The Bible
says it’s wrong to be gay, point blank.
You know what else people used to say the
Bible was against? Black people. Interracial relationships/marriage. Women’s
rights. Christians used to push pretty much everything that this country has,
at some point or another, deemed to be archaic and wrong with the world. It’s
really easy to point fingers and say something is wrong when there’s literally
zero chance you’ll ever fall into that category.
6.
I don’t agree with the gay agenda.
I don’t really know what this is supposed
to mean. I mean the “gay agenda” was to push the U.S. government to allow ALL
human beings the same rights. That’s it. No one is trying to force everyone
else to be gay. No one is trying to force everyone else to enter into a gay
marriage. We just want everyone to be treated equally in the eyes of the law.
Is that too much to ask? You would think that would come as common sense to a
country founded on the premise of “freedom & equality for all.” It’s just
like this idea that gay adoption is a bad idea? Why? Gay parents are not going
to adopt children and try to turn them gay. It’s not possible to do that
anyway. If straight parents can raise gay children, then gay parents can raise
straight children. You might say you simply don’t want children to be raised
thinking that homosexuality is perfectly fine. Guess what. Plenty of straight
parents raise their kids to believe it’s ok to be gay. I was raised to love
& accept everyone, no matter what, and guess what. My parents are straight!
And anyway, the way people raise their children is their own business. As long
as they’re not raising their kids to become serial killers or something crazy
like that, I see nothing wrong with it. Besides, studies have shown that
children stand just as high of a chance of becoming good members of society
when raised by gay parents, as compared with straight parents. There are so
many gay people out there who want children and would love them unconditionally
and treat them well. Why deny them that right, based on something so
superficial? Furthermore, there are children living on the streets, in ghastly
foster homes, and in poor orphanages. They have no one to love them, give them
their due attention, and truly care for them. They have no sense of family, and
they have no support system to fall back on. Once they reach the age of 18, the
state releases them, and they have no one on their side – no help from anyone.
How is that fair to those children when there are loving families out there
that are fighting to try to take them in? There are so many people on this
planet, and an overwhelming number of them are children that need loving homes.
Give them those loving homes! Do it for the children. Children who grow up without
family units and parents who love them are more likely to end up becoming
delinquents as teens and/or adults. This pretty much ensures they will be uneducated
and in poverty when the state sets them free at the age of 18. All of this
equals to less education and more poverty, crime, suffering, mental illness,
suicide, and sometimes even homicide… Give these children a loving home. If
fixing all of these issues is the “gay agenda,” then you should be proud to
push it.
7.
I can’t believe gay marriage just became legal
in my country. What’s next? Bestiality? Child molestation? Polygamy?
This is the worst argument ever. It’s full
of too much ignorance, so let me go ahead and shoot this down really quickly
without getting too far into it. Every time you want to determine if something
is “wrong” or a “sin,” at least in the eyes of the law, try to locate a victim.
That’s your best bet of making an educated opinion on whether or not the law
should allow it. With bestiality, the victim is the animal that is being RAPED,
because he/she can not give consent. With child molestation, the victim is the
child who is being RAPED and can not give consent. With homosexuality, there is
no victim. This occurs between two consenting adults. Comparing homosexuality
to bestiality or child molestation is deplorable. It’s apples vs. oranges. It’s
comparing consensual sex to RAPE. It’s the same with polygamy, which the Bible
encourages and praises men for having many wives and concubines in many
passages, as this occurs between several consenting adults. You may not think
homosexuality or polygamy is right for you, and that’s fine, but if there is no
direct victim, then there is no crime, and people should have the right to do
as they please when it comes to the law. It is none of anyone’s business what
people do behind closed doors, and just because one religion is supposedly
against it, (which, in this case, the Bible is clearly not against polygamy
anyway,) doesn’t mean lawmakers should ban it country-wide.
8.
My Bible supports traditional marriage, so
that’s what I support in the eyes of the law.
Since there is Separation of Church &
State, we definitely need to keep in mind that there is a difference between
what you personally believe to be wrong vs. what should be illegal. I realize
this is in an opinion, but I think it’s a pretty common one, and it’s backed up
by the Separation of Church & State. Just because one person’s religion
says something is wrong doesn’t mean it should be illegal. Church and politics
have no place in each other’s lives. As long as it’s not infringing on someone
else’s rights, it should be legal. If there is no direct victim, then in most
situations, it should be legal. That’s what makes this country so incredible –
We’re all free to do as we please, as long as no one else is victimized by our
actions. (Of course, if there is a high risk of a lot of people turning into
victims indirectly, a lot of people argue certain things should be made
illegal.) But in the case of gay rights, 2 consenting adults are not hurting
anyone by loving each other and being united for the rest of their lives. They
have both given consent, and what they do behind closed doors is no one’s
business, especially when it comes to politics. No one should be denied their equal
rights, no matter who believes it’s wrong, as long as there is no direct
victim. You might argue that the victim is the person who is gay, but everyone
has a right to do with their own bodies and minds as they please, as long as it
only directly affects themselves. Think of it like this: No one is rallying to make
divorce or infidelity illegal. Christians definitely believe both of those
things are wrong, but should they be illegal? Of course not. If someone wants
to do one of those things, that is their choice and right to do with their own
lives as they please, no matter how wrong other people think it is. If gay
marriage is illegal, then divorce and infidelity should be too. Do you now see
why people for marriage equality see this as a ridiculous argument?
9.
Marriage = Between a man & a woman, because
the Bible says so. Period.
Nowhere in the Bible is an exact definition
of “marriage” specifically spelled out. Not only this, but it is clear that the
Bible condones all kinds of different relationships, including polygamy and
forcing a rape victim to marry her own attacker. So I don’t really know where
people are getting this whole “definition of marriage” thing from. The
definition of marriage that I found online is “Marriage, also called matrimony
or wedlock, is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract
between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between
them and their children, and between them and their in-laws.” Nowhere in that
definition is the mention of gender. But besides that, marriage is something
that has been happening for thousands of years, long before Bible times, and it
happens all over the world, in countless different religions and cultures. The
definition and view of “marriage” has been constantly changing throughout the
years and across different cultures. Everyone’s view of marriage is different.
If Christians believe that marriage is a Christian institution, then I don’t
see why they have an issue with two men getting married, but they don’t have an
issue with two Muslims getting married or two atheists getting married, etc.
Anyway, it’s not a Christian institution. It’s been around since way before
Bible times. Besides this, people have been destroying the definition of
“traditional marriage” forever, all over the world, by getting divorces,
committing adultery, and not procreating. So why, all of a sudden, is it the
gays who are supposedly destroying this definition of “traditional marriage?”
It seems like straight people have been doing a great job of that all by
themselves, but no one is quite as outraged about that as they are about this
new marriage equality law!
10.
Why can’t gay people just be happy with having
the right to a civil union? Why do they have to intrude on straight people’s
turf and change the definition of traditional marriage?
In some places, like Illinois, civil unions
provide couples with the same rights as married couples, but that’s not so for
most places. Most places don’t allow couples in civil unions to have the same
rights and benefits as married couples. But provided that every place was like
Illinois, I don’t think gay couples would really have an issue with calling
their union a “civil union” rather than a “marriage,” except it seems to be a
bit demeaning, as if gay couples aren’t good enough for their union to be
recognized as the same as that of everyone else. But I don’t think anyone
should discount it as a compromise option.
11.
How can I feel like my marriage is worth
anything when other people are ruining the definition of marriage that I
believe to be true?
I have never found anywhere in the Bible
where Jesus actually lays out exactly what the definition of marriage is.
Furthermore, according to Iowa scholars Hector Avalo, Robert R. Cargill, and
Kenneth Atkinson wrote in an op-ed on the subject that “the Bible’s definition
of marriage can be confusing and contradictory…A primary example of this is the
religious book’s stance on polygamy, a practice that was embraced by prominent
biblical figures Abraham and David…Various Bible passages mention not only
traditional monogamy, but also self-induced castration and celibacy, as well as
the practice of wedding rape victims to their rapists.” According to Iowa University
Professor Robert R. Cargill, one of the authors of this op-ed, “it is obvious
to scholars (and some religious leaders) that the Bible endorses a wide range
of relationships.” You can read more about this in the op-ed I’m referring to,
“Biblical Marriage Not Defined Simply as One Man, One Woman: Iowa Religious
Scholars’ Op-Ed.” Now, of course, something that was very important back then
was procreation. So a lot of people back in Bible times seemed to push that on
their people, but that was for the simple need to survive. That is not an issue
now that we have 7 times the number of people on this planet than we need.
Now, despite all of this, a lot of
Christians still believe that the Bible’s definition of traditional marriage is
the uniting of one man to one woman for the purpose of being together for the
rest of their lives and procreating together, as they raise their children in a
household with both a mother and a father. Now, if that’s the only kind of
marriage you feel your holy book embraces, then that’s fine. And I understand
if you believe that the institution of marriage should never have been “taken
away” from the church and made into a state institution. But the fact is, it IS
a state institution, run by the government of whichever country you live in.
This has happened all over the world, not just in the U.S. And really, the
concept of marriage that we have now that the state has overtaken is completely
different than this original, “traditional” concept of marriage the church
holds to be proper. As for the church, marriage simply involves, as I said
before, a man and a woman who are united for life with the intention of
procreating together and raising their children with one mother and one father.
Marriage run by the state is completely different. It encompasses so much more,
including human marital rights. What makes these two institutions different is
the idea that the state has to make sure that everyone has their due human
rights when they are united, including social security, medical benefits, tax
exemptions, etc. These benefits are not provided by the church when the church
marries a man and a woman - and rightly so, because these are STATE
institutions, rights, and benefits. That is why the state started to
“overtake,” if you will, the institution of marriage – so that they could allow
married couples to have these governmental benefits. This is SECULAR marriage,
rather than the Christian “traditional” marriage. The two are completely
different concepts. So if you are a Christian, then you can rest assured that
your “traditional” marriage institution has been untouched. You can have your
wedding in a church and have your preacher marry you, and then the state will
provide you with your due governmental rights and benefits as a married couple.
As for gay couples, as well as straight couples who do not intend to procreate,
(or whichever other couples you don’t believe the Bible recognizes to qualify
for “traditional marriage,”) they don’t have to be married in a church by a
preacher if that is against the church. They can be married by any ordained
minister or even a judge, and they can hold the wedding on a beach or in a
courthouse. They don’t have to have any affiliation with your “traditional”
marriage concept, as they can stay completely separate, but that way, everyone
has the same governmental rights when it comes to marriage, and the government
can maintain its policy of Separation of Church & State. Now everyone wins!
You can read more about this in the article “Same Sex Marriage is Not the Same
as Christian Marriage; Here’s Why” by Jordan M. Holmes.
12.
Great. Now that gay people can get married, I
will have to see them everywhere – making out on park benches, holding hands while
walking down the street, etc. Now homosexuality will be prevalent in the
community. Kids will have to be around it!
It’s like some people think that, now that
gay marriage is legal, there will be more gay people in the world all of a
sudden. People who were gay before this new law was passed were still on the
streets. If they were ever public about their sexualities and relationships,
then they were already making out on park benches and holding hands while
walking down the street before this new law passed. If this was happening,
which I almost never see anyway, then homosexuality was already prevalent in
the community. Kids were already at risk of seeing such things. Just because
now these people are legally allowed to sign a piece of paper stating that they
will be bound to each other for the rest of their lives, doesn’t mean
homosexuality will be any more prevalent in your community. Whatever you were
seeing in your community before this law was passed is what you’ll continue to
see. Gay people have always had the right to make out on park benches and hold
hands while walking down the street. Maybe a better thing to say would be “I
don’t want to see ANYONE making out on park benches, because that’s not
something I’m interested in seeing.” Because, really, who wants to see that in
public, whether it’s between straight people or gay people? But remember, if
you have the right to be public about your relationship, then so do gay people.
And if you, personally, don’t want your children to be around that, then by all
means, don’t go back to that park where that gay couple is constantly making
out on a park bench. Personally, I’d like my future kids to be around all kinds
of different people when they are growing up, in hopes that they will become
members of society who accept, tolerate, and love all kinds of people, whether
they are different or not. Sheltering them and keeping them in a little bubble
would only make them feel like their lifestyle is the only one that is right,
cause them to be selfish, and turn them into judgmental adults. While I’d
rather them not see ANYONE making out on a park bench, I went them to grow up
embracing the differences of people in the world around them.
13.
It seems like, these days, everyone is all about
rights for everyone, except rights for Christians. I feel like, now that SCOTUS
decided gay people should be allowed to take over my people’s institution of
marriage, my rights are being taken away, and I’m now being oppressed.
I’ve heard a few people say things like
this on Facebook. Look around you. You still have the same rights you’ve always
had. It’s just that, now, so does everyone else. You are only oppressed if the
government takes away your right to marry whoever you want – like how gay
people have been treated up until now. You still have the right to practice
whichever religion you choose, and you still have the right to marry whoever
you choose. No one is questioning whether or not you should be able to marry
who you want. No one is forcing you to become gay or marry someone of the same
sex. And no one is forcing you to stop practicing your religion of choice. Things
might not be going your way at this point in time, but you will be ok.
14.
What if I want to challenge the idea of
Separation of Church & State? I want a White House under God! I want my
country and its government to serve the Lord.
There’s a simple reason that Separation of
Church & State exists, and that’s not only to maintain freedom of religion,
but also freedom FROM religion. If you want your government to serve your God,
well, that’s a theocracy you’re wanting. That’s exactly what many countries in
the Middle East and Asia have, except they impose other religions on their
citizens, rather than Christianity. This causes no one in these countries to be
able to practice their own religion (unless it’s the one the government was
founded under,) they don’t have rights against religious persecution, and they
can sometimes even be jailed if found to be going against the state’s imposed
religion. Be thankful we have Separation of Church & State. It’s what keeps
you able to go on practicing the religion you practice without having to worry
about being persecuted for it. It’s part of what makes everyone free. It’s what
makes this country a big melting pot of different cultures and religions.
Imagine if an Islamic man overtook the White House and imposed a nationwide
religion of Islam. You now have to practice Islam, and if you don’t, or if you
practice a different religion, you can be persecuted for it. Would you like
that? Ok, no one else would like that if the roles were reversed either.
Furthermore, it’s not just a matter of respect; it’s a matter of covering your
own butt. Projected around 2050, Christianity won’t be the most popular
religion in the U.S. anymore. If Christians start imposing their religion on
the entire nation right now, then you’ll be complaining when a new religion
becomes more popular here, and they decide to overtake the government and
impose their religion on the whole nation. If you don’t want it done to you in
the future, then it’s a good idea to NOT try to force your religion on other
people right now. This country was founded on the premise that everyone is free
to do as they please, with religion being separated from the government, since
religion is a personal matter, and government is a state matter. It is our
government’s job to make sure everyone is equal and free, and if we impose a
nationwide religion, that’s not very fair to everyone in the nation that is NOT
a Christian, and you shouldn’t want to impose that on anyone. Of course you may
hope they convert to your religion, but you shouldn’t try to force anyone to do
that. That’s actually probably more likely to backfire on you, and people would
probably hate Christianity even more than a lot of people already do. Embrace
that our nation is a melting pot of different cultures and religions. The U.S.
is supposed to be a safe haven where oppressed people from other countries can
escape (legally, of course) and find refuge, knowing that they can finally be
free. They are not free if religion runs the government. No one is. You have
your right to practice whichever religion you would like to practice. Allow
other people that same courtesy.
15.
I’m so upset at what this world is turning into and
allowing to take place. You know the rapture must be near, since there’s so
much sin in the world these days.
Look, God has a lot on his plate, being
all-knowing and running the universe and everything. I highly doubt he cares if
the United States is now allowing gay people to get married. That would be a
pretty silly reason to destroy the world. But even if he did care at all about
people doing something that doesn’t have any bearing on other people’s lives, I
would think he would delight in his children loving each other and sharing
their entire lives with each other.
16.
Why does it matter? I mean everyone can believe
what they want, and everyone can say what they want about homosexuality. I mean
we have the freedom of speech, so if I think it’s wrong to be gay, then I have
every right to say it and protest gay marriage if I want.
You’re right, you do have that right. But
the freedom of speech is not a freedom from consequences of your speech. Freedom
of speech means you can say what you want, and no one can haul you off to jail
for it. It doesn’t mean people can’t challenge what you say or hate you for the
hatred you spew. So take a minute to think about what you’re saying and who it
may affect. Think of what such hatred and judgment might do to someone who
might be listening. This hatred, judgment, fear, and disapproval that people
spread toward gay people causes some extreme violence toward them. School kids are bullied. Families
take things to the extreme and disown their children. Some fathers abuse their gay sons, in attempt to either discipline them
for being gay or turn them straight. Hate crimes occur against gay people. They are beaten and murdered. They commit suicide, (and in rare cases, some
have committed homicide,) because of self-loathing created within themselves by
people who refuse to accept them and continuously make them feel less than
human – like they have done something wrong. But they can’t change this about
themselves. Essentially, they’re being told that everything about them is
wrong, and they can’t even change it! They might be able to change their
lifestyle, meaning refrain from being true to themselves, and force themselves
to date people of the opposite sex, but those feelings will never go away. Even
if they try and say that they’ve changed, simply because they want to be
accepted in the church or by God, those feelings never leave. Maybe they can
change their lifestyle, but the feelings don’t go away, and oppressing those
feelings and urges, because the people in your life tell you they’re wrong, can
really take a toll on someone’s self-esteem and self-worth. The burden of
living a lie causes so much pain and self-loathing. I can’t imagine what it’s
like, and no one should have to. If we would just stop perpetuating this
hatred, judgment, fear, disapproval, etc, maybe people would learn to love and
accept themselves for who they are, and maybe other people would learn to love
and accept others for who they are. It’s all about making the world a happier
place filled with love and acceptance!
Look, I think it’s obvious the stance I take
here. But I’m not trying to convince anyone that their beliefs are wrong, or that
the Bible is not to be trusted, or that their religion is a hoax. I don’t care
what anyone’s personal beliefs are, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of
everyone obtaining equal rights. Plus, I thought it might be interesting to
offer up some new, interesting perspectives that might make you guys think, as
well possibly open you guys up a little bit to the idea of simply accepting
other people for who they are. I know that, after SCOTUS passed this new law
allowing gay couples to marry, I saw a few people on my Facebook post some not
so tasteful things about it online. I understand if you’re not happy with it,
and you want to post your views about it, and that’s fine. Everyone has their
own opinion. But one post that I saw, in particular, was deplorable. I am so
ashamed to say that the person who made that post was a family member. Granted,
I’ve only met her once or twice in my life and haven’t seen her since I was
probably 13 years old, so we’re not close, but still… I can’t believe she’s
apart of my (distant) family. She made a post ranting about how gay people are
“wrong and sick.” It was outrageous. There was so much judgment and so much
hatred in that post, and I simply don’t think that’s right. I couldn’t stand to
look at something like that or be in contact with someone who would openly bash
gay people over the internet, clearly not caring whose feelings she might be
crushing, so I deleted her from my friends list. Furthermore, she blamed it all
on God! She said that God laid that on her heart to share with her Facebook
friends, and if she hadn’t done it, it would’ve been wrong. My dad politely
reminded her that “that wasn’t God, darling.” I’ll remind you all that it is
BLASPHEMY to blame God for your selfish Facebook rants about how other people
are “wrong and sick.” These are human beings who deserve respect, whether you
agree with their lifestyles or not. THAT is my problem here, and THAT is why I
wanted to clear some things up and plead with you guys to please keep it civil.
Respect EVERYONE – whether you agree with them or not. If you believe in God,
then surely you know we are ALL God’s children, and if you slam another human
being, you are slamming another one of God’s children, so you might as well be
slamming him.
Finally, I'd like to congratulate all of my LGBTQ+ friends who are now much more equal in the eyes of the law now! I can't tell you how happy I am about this incredible leap forward, and I am so grateful to have been able to experience June 26, 2015 - a truly historic day in U.S. history.
For a huge wake-up video that will open your eyes to the reality of growing up different, check out this video that shows how it would be like if roles were reversed, and it were "normal" to be gay and "wrong" to be straight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOJgDW0gPI.
A 2D design I made for my 2D design class my freshman year of college.
The point is, Jesus himself never actually said anything about gay people. It was all in the stories of the Bible - in the archaic laws that HUMAN BEINGS wrote in the Bible.
