Gay Marriage

Update - See section "What the Bible Says"

Chik Wedding

Chik-Fil-A

I'm starting here so we can put this to bed quickly and move on.

Can you believe that the center of the gay marriage universe is a closed-on-Sunday fast food restaurant? It looks like the battle is slowing down, but holy chicken, what a bizarre setting for this issue. 

In case you missed what was said, Mr. Cathy said on a radio interview:

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.' I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about.”

I believe this man is 59 years old and from the south. Why would anyone be surprised by his comments? Further than that, if he believes we are putting ourselves in danger with God, he should say what he said. He genuinely thinks not allowing gay marriage will save us, so I don't see the cause for the uproar.

There are far worse things to do than offend people while trying to help or, in this case, to save them.

That being said, I also know he is dead wrong, and I think I have some worthwhile proof.

The Science of Gay

Apparently the scientific community has other priorities over figuring out what makes people gay. I know I would rather have a cure for cancer, but you would think there would be some fairly conclusive evidence by now. Unfortunately, there really isn't that much. At least not that I have seen (this is where, if you know something I don't, I would love a comment). 

What I have found is enough for me to form a strong opinion. It is fairly accepted that being gay is a physiological state. Meaning, there is more to it than just being attracted to the same sex. This is the chemical makeup of a person. Not all that different from if one of your children is short and heavy, and the other is tall and skinny, they will see and do things differently.

Have you ever watched a person and thought, "Now that guy is gay," and been right? Admit it. You have.

Well guess what, that isn't an act. It is a part of that physiological makeup. That isn't to say all gay people move a certain way, or that no straight people move in that same manner, but it is, on average, conclusive.

There are other things than just how a person moves. Obviously, the way they talk and think is generally considered to be different as well. I just haven't found any scientific evidence to back up exactly why and/or how it relates to homosexuality. It looks conclusive that there is a link, but I am not aware of how many details have been discovered at this point in time. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some, but if not, I would imagine they are coming soon!

The end result, from the studies that have been done, is that being gay is born. It is not an environmental contamination, as was first thought and accepted by many 59 year old southerners (and northerners too) a few years ago.

Ready for a talking point? I'm pretty confident gay is a choice, but I am also confident that it is rarely a choice. In this society, I find it impossible to believe that 100% of gay people were born that way. I would love to hear what you think.

The $3 Bill

What the Bible Says

If you keep reading my blog, you will learn a lot about my thoughts on the Bible and it's meanings. In general, I think of the Bible as a guide to being good, but you will never convince me it is the word of God.

I will post about my reasoning for the above statement at a later date. There is far too much to cover. For now, I will only talk about how it relates to homosexuality and what I believe we can actually take from the good book.

Corinthians 6:9-10 - "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

Apparently the words "homosexual offenders" came from a translation of a Greek word as to no one can agree on the meaning. The word is arsenokoite, if you want to try and figure it out yourself.

So, what many call the word of God was, in fact, translated from another language, by man himself. Was the original Bible written in Greek? No? So this was translated by another man, at least once before, into a Greek word that we don't really understand and then translated to English anyway. How is that the word of God?

Here is something I like even better:

Matthew 18:18 - “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Doesn't that say the choice is ours? I guess if you don't want to see gay people married in heaven, that is the platform against gay marriage on earth.

***

Update: I came across something interesting today. Did you know the Bible is semi-ok with slavery?

Exodus 21:2 - When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he will go free without any payment.

I think that is VERY interesting. Especially when it comes to whether or not we can change marriage laws.

***

What God Might Say

In my imaginary conversations with God, I tried to think about what he might say to us on the issue.

"If gay is wrong, why did I make it possible to be gay? 

You people have figured out that all races of man are equal. How can you not see that ALL people are really the same? 

I don't know why everyone thinks I hate groups of people, but also believe I am all forgiving, but am also trying to deny rights to some, but if you go to church every Sunday and believe in me, that makes you eternally blameless, that I hurt good people and should punish the bad before they die. You've made this much too confusing. 

I don't even remember what I said. The world needed different direction 2000 years ago than it needs today. Why do you think you can't find the original Bible?"

*As a footnote, I do not believe in God as a being, but more as the creator and a surrounding presence. That will also be a post later on, but I am telling you that I do not believe these are God's words or that he literally speaks to me, these were just some words I think he might say to provoke thought. He did, after all, give us brains. I'm going to at least try and use mine.

Conclusion

In order to come to a complete and fair conclusion on any issue, I think you have to consider both sides. I did what I could to argue that if you believe gay is in fact wrong, you should do what you think is right.

Of course, there were a few groups of people that thought very similar things about African Americans, not to mention women and the right to vote. I will stand by my belief that, if those people truly thought they were right, then they did what should be both their civic and Godly duty to pursue making the world a better place.

My problem is, I have a hard time believing any of the aforementioned people truly believe they are right to oppress another group of human beings. I think they are scared, and are/were probably confused by outside influences including, but not limited to, the mob mentality and the church.

In the end my hope is that, if we really talk things through, we can at least begin to erode the confusion that plagues our world and creates these inequalities. We should have learned after we gave women the right to vote, after we integrated African Americans, after we forgave the Japanese for Pearl Harbor (though it would have been better to do that before we nuked them), after we realized physical deformities do not make people monsters, after we realized mentally handicapped people are great people, after we realized that not all Muslims are terrorists, and probably a slew of other people we used to shun and now accept, that gay people should have the same rights as the rest of us. I hope this is the last group we are oppressing, but it isn't a great track record so far.

I hope that, after reading this, you are able to at least consider the following:

 - Anti-gay people are not necessarily trying to be evil. Some are trying to do the right thing. Even though many are probably just scared and/or confused.

 - Science is not too far along on this subject, but it is still fairly conclusive that gay people are born, not molded. Although I do believe some people out there probably did make a choice, they are probably very few, and they should be allowed to make that choice in any case.

 - The Bible is clearly not conclusive in the persecution of gay behavior. Further, if you really trust the Bible, it is clearly written that we are allowed to make the decision here on earth, that we can change the definition of marriage, and God will uphold our decision in heaven.

- Lastly, you should not fully agree with everything I have said, but have an opinion of your own. It doesn't make sense that any one person or one book can speak for God on any issue, so we should all simply do the best we can. 

Like I might say in every post, I believe we should all have our own individual religion, regardless if it is 100% Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist, or just your own. Even if you are 100% confident in your religion, it shouldn't mean you stop thinking about it, or stop trying to improve yourself and your understanding. We should always try to be better people.

Because this can be a sensitive issue, and I have no idea how many people will read and/or comment, if you do want to leave a comment, don't pull any punches, but DO keep them above the belt. Thanks!