Gays, Rights, and the Bible

I am saddened that many people feel that homosexuality is a sin. But people have the right to believe whatever they want.  What they don't have the right to do, however, is create a law that imposes their religious beliefs legally on another American citizen. As Ron's dad's used to say, "Believe whatever you want, just don't put it on me."  

When it comes to legal rights, we have to get out of the pre-Civil Rights days, and get up to speed here.

So consider me just another voice urging for us to be fair.

I've collected a few media-related ways to convey some of these thoughts. I'll probably add a few more as time goes on. It's my hope that everyone will consider some of these points, although I know that's unlikely. Still, just like I've always taught my kids, you have to stand up for what's right - regardless of what the fallout might be.

First is this video from starting with:

"You're against gay marriage because of your religion? No you're not."

Often, I've heard the argument - within my own family even - that marriage is a biblical covenant. But that's not really true. Marriage is a legal state, that we simply cannot ascribe to some Americans and not others.  Because if you want to think of it as more of a biblical state, and if you didn't watch the video, here are a few problems with this argument:

But this poster above only pertains to the Old Testament. And those who oppose Gay Marriage often cite Paul's letters in the New Testament as to why homosexuality is a sin.

So I went and did some digging around. I found a really well documented piece, What the New Testament Says about Homosexuality,  from the Westar Institute, a non-profit research and educational institute dedicated to the advancement of religious literacy. This piece addresses some of the issues that have arisen because of translations as well as context. I'd really recommend reading the entire article, but one of their conclusions is this:

Jesus never spoke about homosexuality, and we simply have no way of determining what his attitude toward it might have been. Moreover, there is nothing about homosexuality in the Book of Acts, in Hebrews, in Revelation, or in the letters attributed to James, Peter, John, and Jude. Further, homosexuality is not mentioned in ten of the thirteen letters attributed to Paul. It is only in Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, and 1 Timothy 1:8–11 that there may be references to homosexuality.2 The paucity of references to homosexuality in the New Testament suggests that it was not a matter of major concern either for Jesus or for the early Christian movement.

While I typically do not quote so much from anyone else's work, I would like this information to be available here. The Westar Institute goes on to conclude that the New Testament is only referring to certain types of homosexuality:

•  If homosexuality is exploitive, then it is wrong
• If homosexuality is rooted in idolatry, then it is wrong 
• If homosexuality represents a denial of one’s own true nature, then it is wrong
• If homosexuality is an expression of insatiable lust, then it is wrong

But we could say exactly the same thing about heterosexuality, couldn’t we? 

        If homosexuality is not necessarily any of these things, however, then it would appear that the New Testament has nothing to say about it in any direct sense. Speaking specifically of the Pauline letters but in words that are applicable to the New Testament as a whole, the Pauline scholar Victor Paul Furnish puts it as follows: 

"[Paul’s] letters . . . cannot yield any specific answers to the questions being faced in the modern church. Shall practicing homosexuals be admitted to church membership? Shall they be accorded responsibilities within a congregation? Shall they be commissioned to the church’s ministry? The Apostle never asks or answers these questions. . . . On these points there are no proof texts available one way or the other. It is mistaken to invoke Paul’s name in support of any specific position on these matters "

In short, there is nothing in the New Testament that tells us directly whether homosexuality per se is a good thing or a bad thing or simply a fact of life.  
        To be sure, when we consider its overall message, the New Testament may provide some indirect guidance regarding homosexuality. Indeed, it may well be the case that a twenty-first century “Paul” would revise Galatians 3:27–28 to read as follows:

" For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female, there is neither homosexual nor heterosexual; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. "

Back to me again... thanks for reading.

And some of my similar blogposts:

I Don't Understand "Christian" Hate

"I'm Right and You're Evil"

I Don't Understand "Christian" Hate

The Chick-Fil-A Controversy has brought an issue to the forefront for me...again. 

For those who are not aware:

I am Christian.
I am heterosexual.
I have hetero and gay friends - in my friendships, what matters to me is what we have in common.
I am unhappy when Christians create controversial issues from a position of hate.
And then when they try to rationalize their hate-filled positions with the Bible or words from Jesus, of all people, I can no longer sit quietly.

Initially, when I heard about the Chick-Fil-A comment, I just thought it was a dumb business decision. Who would want to alienate ANY paying customer? That just didn't seem smart. But I never considered telling Mr. Cathy that he couldn't say that. At first glance, it looked like his freedom of speech allowed him to stick his foot in his mouth if he was so inclined.

I even disagreed with my daughters who saw this as hate speech against gays. I agreed that he was probably giving some not-so-secret handshake with the "Moral" Majority, but I defended his right to have whatever position he chose. Even if I disagreed.  I had boycotted Cracker Barrel and Exxon for their positions/actions in the past. I would simply add Chick-Fil-A to my list.

Then came Wednesday's "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day." I was shocked. Lines of cars snaked around the parking lot of the local Chick-Fil-A. Politicians made appearances to show support.  They weren't stepping up to say the CEO had a right to his opinion - they were showing support that he was anti-gay.

Reporters stuck microphones in the faces of people who defended their position as one of "family values," "taking a moral stand," and "Christian."

My heart sank. I had given Mr. Cathy the benefit of the doubt, and I was wrong.  His statements were rallying the troops in a show of hate. They were trying to demonstrate that they could bully this small segment of our population - American citizens who happened to be Gay.

Why is that a hard concept to understand? There's nothing Christian about Bullying anyone.

Wayne Self wrote wrote a blogpost to his friends and here's one part, I'd like to share.

How would you feel if KFC came out tomorrow and said they were spending money against equality for Asian Americans, or African Americans, or religious people? Really. Think about it. What would you do? How would you feel? How would you feel if, after their announcement, there was a big increase in KFC sales and I was all over Facebook supporting KFC.

As an American, I'm still a little surprised when I read articles about an entire segment of our citizenry not being given the same rights I have. This map to the side here is from Upworthy.com, and I'm alarmed that someone can think you're gay and fire you - in 2012!  It harkens back to the days of civil rights movements and I can't believe these discussions are still necessary.

And when I turn on the T.V. and hear Christians leading the oppression of gay Americans, I know that's not the Christianity I believe in.
Amanda Marcott's article in Salon.com,  Christianity's Anti-Gay Stand Backfires
warns about the impact this may be having on our younger generations - and it certainly has affected my children.

In my mind, this has just been pushed too far.  Perhaps Christians need reminders about other biblical quotes like...

"If anyone says, I love God, but hates the brothers or sisters, he is a liar...Whoever loves God must also love the brothers and sisters."

"Judge not, lest ye be judged."

'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

The other day I saw the local Episcopal Church had a sign out front that said,

                "Christians Who Hate, Aren't" 

To be honest, I had looked the other way at the onset of this Chick-Fil-A mess, and hoped that it was just the ranting of a homophobic bigot.  I hoped that Love would prevail and words from Jesus himself would take precedence over fear and hatred. And, perhaps it will - but not if I sit quietly. I cannot just hope for the best in people to come through. Not when millions of dollars are being used to fuel hate movements. 

We teach our children not to be bullies and not to stand by and let anyone BE bullied. I think I've stood on the sidelines long enough.

I'm happy to say my daughters learned that message loud and clear.

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And this from my friend, Christine's Facebook Page: