A topic that has been on everyone's minds lately is that of same sex marriage. I have realized that there is a great divide in the Christian church on this topic, and as a Christian I have found it very hard to take a side-- until now.
Before, this would be a topic I would not dare touch with a ten foot pole. It is perhaps the most sensitive issue at the present moment. But as I have thought long and hard about this, there are many different thoughts and opinions that I cannot help but share. To start off, let me clarify; I am a supporter of Same Sex Marriage.
It has taken me a long time to arrive at this conclusion, but when it comes down to it, I do not see how I can call myself a follower of Christ and support a law that strips my brothers and sisters of their rights to marry one another. Now before you call me a heretic, let me share with you the reasons for my supporting homosexual marriage.
I constantly hear from both conservatives and liberals that in order to resolve this issue, we must first define what love is. If that is the case, then there are plenty of straight couples who should not be allowed to marry. And this is a dangerous route to take anyways. Who can define love? Is it an emotion? A state of mind? No one knows. This is not an issue of love. It is an issue of discrimination.
I am a huge fan of films, and one of the most tragic time periods in American history that has paved the way for countless movies is the Civil Rights Movement.
Most of these films are very similar in structure. You have the persecuted black person who is being denied some sort of dream of theirs. After a multitude of trials they come out on top. Now, what is always interesting to me about these films are the white people. Most of them are portrayed as racist chauvinists. But there is always the one white character in every movie who befriends the black character and helps them make a stand for their civil rights.
The movie producers do this for a reason; so that us white folks don't feel shitty when we are watching these movies. So that there is a character for us to relate with. So that we can watch this white character and say to ourselves, "If I was alive back then, this is exactly how I would treat black people."
Sometimes I even want another civil rights movement to occur so that I can prove that I would stand up for the rights of the oppressed. And that is when it hit me.
We watch these movies thinking that we are the one white guy that makes a difference in that black guy's life. But in reality we are just like the rest of the racist scumbags. Racism and Sexism are still alive, though they are not as strong as they once were. No, nowadays the real battle does not exist based on what color your skin is or what genitalia you have. It is based on who you choose to love.
I myself am ashamed of the careless jokes I have made in the past about this topic. And from what I have seen, most of the Christians I know have taken on the role of the ignorant, racist bastard who spits on the oppressed 'in the name of the lord'. As artist Macklemore puts it, "We paraphrase a book written two thousand years ago" just to prove our point.
Don't you see that if Jesus were alive today, he wouldn't hate gay people any more than he hates any of his other children. If Jesus really loves Porn Stars, then he definitely loves homosexuals.
You might say, "Adam, we are not claiming that Jesus hates homosexuals, we are saying that he doesn't support what they are doing."
Then I have two things to say in response; Firstly, you may not be saying that Jesus hates homosexuals, but it sure as hell sounds like it. When you refuse to allow them to take part in one of the most sacred vows spoken under the love of our God, it sounds like you hate them. And as representatives of Jesus Christ, when you hate homosexuals, they have every right to assume that Jesus hates them too.
Secondly, how dare anyone judge another human being for their sins. Whether or not Homosexuality is a sin, all of God's children are equal in His eyes. Would you treat a man addicted to pornography with the same harsh bitterness?
When we strip away the rights of homosexuals, we are forgetting the second greatest commandment of Christ; "Love your neighbor as yourself."
I don't care how many Bible verses you throw at me which support the ban on Gay Marriage, this is the verse I will keep closest to my heart.
I have some initial thoughts after i read this post, i don't mean to be disresepectful, and quite honeslty my thoughts aren't to well planned out, this is just what came to mind, but i suppose this would be my refute to your argument. just because you disagree with what someone is doing or how they are living their lives does not mean that you hate that person. although it is a cliche saying "hate the sin, and not the sinner" i think it applies perfectly into this situation. I do not approve of gay marriage, however, this does not automatically cast me into a group of hateless heartless people. i think you bring up a good point when you say that marriage is a holy idea of God's love. "When you refuse to allow them to take part in one of the most sacred vows spoken under the love of our God," however, i must say that i disagree with the point that you are trying to get across. IF marriage IS holy, then does it not follow that marriage must have rules that have to be followed in order for it to be kept it a sacred? And if that is true, wouldn't one of those rules be that it must be between a man and a woman because homosexuality is looked upon by God as a sin? therefore how can an unholy union form a God reflecting holy love? I also want to suggest that God calls us to be the light of the world,and if we fail to follow the moral laws that God has given us, than we are failing to show God's love to anyone. Proverbs tells us to "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter". And if we are to do this, we must recognize that sin leads us towards death, and that we must help to prevent our borthers from further sinning. secondly is it not Jesus who told the prostitue to "Go and sin no more"? If God is able to love others, yet also tell them to not continue sinning, should we as christians not also have that same power? for the Holy Spirit does live in us. i do not agree with supporting gay marriage, but i do agree that Christians are casting too much judgement and hatred towards the gay community. If my friend was sturggling with gay behaivors i would give him just as much love and support as i would a friend who was sturggling with pornogrophy. thats my two cents at least, it seems reasonable to me.
ReplyDeleteRomans 2:13(NIV)
ReplyDelete13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
To suggest that you don't care what verses someone throws at you may be a bit too bold...