Not too long ago, I delivered my opinion on a boneheaded Marine who may have passed out Christian-themed coins in Fallujah. Now I'm going to say some things that might get some of my fellow Christians just a little more pissed.
Let's talk about gay marriage and all that sort of thing.
I personally am not too concerned about this issue, and I don't think it should be a serious issue in the general election.
But I do think that there is no reason that the secular institution of marriage should be available to gays and lesbians. Who issues marriage licenses? Not churches, that's for sure. Legal marriages happen, in fact, when the couple who are marrying sign the government-issued marriage license. The only reason most weddings are in churches is tradition.
There was a story on NPR this morning that brought this to my mind. It was talking about how religious groups across the country have been losing fairly consistently to homosexual couples.
I heard that and I thought, "That's good."
[Apoplexy] That's good? Tell us why, please.
Certainly. The reason that I say that is good is that, my religious convictions aside, I want people to have equal opportunity. I don't particularly like or approve of homosexuality, but that's no reason to force people to follow my beliefs.
But doesn't Leviticus 18:22 say, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."?
Surely. But doesn't Leviticus also lay down the procedures for sacrifices and the basis of the kosher diet? Now, I don't know about you, but I can't think of the last time I saw a sacrifice of that sort in my church. Or been forbidden from eating something because Leviticus said not to. And if we're going to have a Duel of Bible Verses, try these on for size:
Acts 10:14- "'Do not call impure what God has made clean.'"
Matthew 7:1-5- "'Do not judge, or you will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.'"
But it's wrong!
[Snort] Of course you are absolutely perfect in all of your habits.
That's not what I'm saying! Why shouldn't churches be able to follow their beliefs? Why should we override millennia of tradition just to accommodate homosexuals?
Let me give you a different example of tradition. For over three centuries, it was traditional for Southern plantation owners to use African slaves to farm their land. For decades after that, it was traditional for blacks to be systematically marginalized, in the South and around the country. Just because it's traditional doesn't make it right. I'm sure the Canaanites would have said the same thing about their gods before Israel conquered them.
But what about the Free Exercise Clause? I have an unlimited right to practice my religion!
Just because the Free Exercise Clause exists, doesn't mean that you have an unlimited right to practice your religion. If you're saying that the First Amendment confers an unlimited right to practice your religious beliefs, maybe you should talk to the members of the FLDS. In the American legal system, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and acts of Congress take precedence over everything but the Constitution. If your religious beliefs conflict with the secular law, the secular law wins. And that is as it should be. Think about it. Certain extreme sects of Islam tell their followers, "Kill all infidels." If religion had an unlimited license, members of those sects could justify their murders of non-Muslims by citing the Free Exercise Clause. Or the FLDS and other assorted polygamists would be justified in having more than one wife. Just like you can't say anything you want, even though the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. All rights have limits. And that's a good thing.
This is unfair infringement of our rights!
Who ever said life was fair? What verse in the Bible promises you that life will be fair? Is it fair to discriminate against homosexuals by denying them access to some of our most universal institutions, like the army and marriage? And how far is too far in this? Should we follow the letter of the Law and stone homosexuals? Or should we (which is to say, we Christians) embrace our brothers and sisters whether or not they are "normal"? What is "normal"? Check out this Twilight Zone episode, I think it illustrates the question rather well.
I don't find this support for gay marriage incompatible with my belief in Christ. Why do you?
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