I have spent no small amount of time writing and
rewriting this post because same sex marriage has become another of the many divisive
issues in our country. The public
discourse has become laden with anger and “push back.” My goal here is to help us to see that we
will all benefit from a little tolerance and understanding.
Our society was built on Judeo-Christian values. Most of our people identify themselves as
Christians, and many of these are invested in perpetuating “traditional” values.
Most other faiths teach that marriage is
to be between men and women. However, a
growing number of people want to live “alternative lifestyles,” and they resent
efforts to keep them for doing so. Regardless, most people want to be accepted
for who they are.
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1976) defines a
bigot as, “One obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his own church, party, belief,
or opinion.” From a certain perspective,
when Christians, and other people of faith, site scripture to prove that God
declares homosexuality to be a sin … they are “religious bigots." People who support same sex marriage point
out that scripture was also used to justify slavery, segregation, manifest
destiny, and opposition to interracial marriage.
As a society we generally look down on
obstinance and intolerance. Given our
history of the persecution of minorities, the label of bigot has acquired
additional baggage … that is prejudice, hatred, and malicious intent.
Webster’s defines prejudice as:
1. preconceived
judgment or opinion
2. an
opinion or leaning averse to anything without just grounds or before sufficient
knowledge
3. an
irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a
race, or their supposed characteristics
Some supporters of same sex marriage believe that “religious”
people are homophobic. That is true of a
minority of individual Christians. It is
also true that homosexuality is severely punished in many predominantly Muslim
Middle Eastern countries. True
Christians understand that Jesus of Nazareth loved each one of us enough to die
for us, and He taught us to love others as much as we love ourselves.
Christians do not have the right to force others to live
according to the Holy Bible. American
History generally shows that attempts to legislate morality are doomed to
failure. That does not mean that
Christians must relinquish our rights as American citizens. We have the right to live our lives according
to our beliefs. We have a right to pass
our beliefs on to our children without having those beliefs condemned when they
go to public schools … which we support with our taxes. We have a right to speak freely, and to
advocate for our ideas in the public discourse.
We have the right to vote for candidates who will justly and fairly
legislate and govern in ways that reflect our values. Homosexuals and others who live alternative
lifestyles have these same rights.
- It is unfair, for example, when same sex couples are denied a legally binding relationship that allows for the joint ownership of property and for the surviving partner to inherit property.
- Consequently, a legally binding arrangement should be available to same sex couples.
- Since there is a collective moral responsibility for the actions of our government, we believe that those who object to same sex marriage should not be made to support it by having any form of marriage available to same sex couples that is sanctioned by the government under law.
In striving for social and legal acceptance, the
advocates for same sex marriage seem to have targeted Christian business
people, corporate executives, public officials, and others with legal action,
protest, boycotts, and threats aimed at forcing them to act against their
sincerely held religious beliefs or limiting their right to free speech. As a Christian, I have serious concerns about
recent events where Christians have been subjected to harassment and punitive
action for acting in good faith to live according to what the Holy Bible
teaches us.
If same sex marriages become socially sanctioned,
nationwide, will Christian Ministers, Jewish Rabbis, or Muslim Imams be forced
to preform same sex marriages? Will
persons of faith in the wedding industry be required to participate in same sex
marriages by providing their services when it is contrary to their sincerely
held religious convictions? Will county
and municipal officials be required it issue licenses and permits? I support the First Amendment, which
guarantees American citizens the freedoms of speech and religion. I do not hate anybody. I just think it is un-American to force
people to violate their sincerely held religious convictions.
Recent news reports show that Christians have been
persecuted in states where same sex marriage has been legalized. People have lost their businesses. They have been driven into bankruptcy defending
themselves. Some have been threatened
with jail.
On June 4, 2018, the United States’ Supreme Court ruled
in favor of a Colorado cake decorator named Jack Phillips. The high court found
that Phillips’ sincerely held religious beliefs were not given “neutral and
respectful” consideration when the Colorado Civil Rights Commission punished
him for refusing to decorate a wedding cake for a gay couple. The court found that the Commission’s
treatment of Phillips’ case “has some elements of a clear and impermissible
hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs that motivated his (Phillips’)
objection.” I think that freedom-loving
people can be forgiven if they regard the court’s ruling as a victory for
religious freedom.
Read the court’s finding as you will. To me, what it says is that the Colorado
Civil Rights Commission was prejudiced against Christian beliefs. Progressives in front range cities have gained control of the state government by virtue of urban population growth, and that is one of the reasons why I moved from
Colorado to Idaho.
