Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Gay Marriage

It seems that I have received some negative feedback from my previous blog post. I decided it would be best to spend a whole post to explain my position on a controversial and unpopular issue. This is my opinion. It does not necessarily reflect Amber's positions. If she wants to say what she thinks about an issue, she will say.

As you know, gay marriage is one of those hot topic issues that will cause a fight in a public setting in a matter of seconds. Both sides of the issue are attached strongly to their cause. Now, I will say here and now that I am a Christian. My faith lies in the Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There should be no doubt in whom I serve or whom I worship. Most Christians are part of the Religious Right, and most support the already prevalent laws of having gay marriage illegal. I respect my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but this is one issue that I disagree with them on.

Now before I outline why I believe what I believe, I will first clear up a misconception. I do not condone homosexuality. I find gay marriage to be immoral, sinful, and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. With that in mind and being said, I will now dive further into this.

1st) I believe gay marriage should not be illegal because it is unconstitutional. The Constitution protects the right of the common individual and also, it protects the rights of a minority. In this case, homosexuals are the minority. If you read the Constitution, you will find the 9th and 10th amendment in the Bill of Rights. These amendments are important in that they establish rights for the individual that are not directly stated in the Constitution. Most would consider marriage a right. Would you not? So how is it fair that a certain group of people are being denied what we consider a right? Many will combat that simply with that marriage is between a man and a woman. They will also say that marriage is a religious rite. Think about that for a second. If marriage is a religious rite, then why can the government make laws concerning it? The short and simple answer, it can't. There is a separation of church and state, and with that, the government is not allowed to interfere in religious matters. My position is not to force churches to accept gay marriage nor should they have to marry gay couples. That is a church's choice. But the government must provide the same benefits to these unions just like a normal marriage receives for the simple fact that there shouldn't be discrimination. This debate is not a theological debate. It is instead a debate dealing with government and individual liberties.

2nd) Many people believe this will ruin the validity of marriage. They say that marriage is sacred and trying to protect it. I believe marriage is sacred. That is not something I am trying to debate. But are we really going to use homosexuals as a scapegoat? Are we honestly blaming them for ruining the institution of marriage? I have news, for the past few decades, marriage has been made a mockery, not by gay people, but by heterosexuals. Just do your own research. Look at the percentage of divorce rates. One site said that 50% of all marriages in America end in divorce. How does this reflect the bond God meant for man and woman? If you think that's bad enough, just consider how many of these couples are Christians? The same people who preach protecting marriage are part of the people who are blatantly separating what God said can't be separated. A large part of these marriages ended because of infidelity. How does that show this sacred bond? Many marriages that are still intact today, are still unhappy ones. The whole issue is even complicated further with things such as prenups which show that couples do not trust each other. So I ask this, can you honestly tell yourself that it is gay people ruining marriage? Seems to me that both sides are not doing right. I mean, doesn't the Bible describe divorce just like homosexuality?

3rd) I am against gay marriage being illegal for the simple fact that it is ostricizing them from God. How is this you ask? When we outlaw gay marriage, we make them feel as if they are criminals. Not only that, but it's almost as if they are not a real citizen. We have more rights than them, do we not? I hear many times that we are a Christian nation so that means it has to be illegal. Well, if we are a Christian nation, then shouldn't all our laws be based soley on the Bible? If that is the case, then shouldn't all sins be illegal? If all sins are illegal, does that mean we should all be punished? If we all are supposed to be punished, who will judge us? Of course God will judge us, but I am speaking of a human judge in this instance. How can a sinner judge another sinner? Oh wait, you can't. It says in the Bible that we have no right to condemn other sinners. My point that I am making is we are choosing certain sins to make laws, but conveniently leaving other sins out. I mean, shouldn't adultery be illegal? Shouldn't drinking and being drunk be illegal? Shouldn't disrespecting your parents be illegal? This same Bible that condemns homosexuals equally condemns you. Yet, I can name off a whole list of fellow Christians that hate homosexuals. I thought Jesus taught to love all? What makes these Christians better than homosexuals? We are on a slippery slope when we look down upon others. If we want to make a difference and help them with their sexuality, then why don't we try to do it without government intervention? Why don't we reach out to them? And the whole Christian nation point is moot as well. The U.S. does not have an established state religion, which believe me, that is a good thing. In Revolutionary times, the established religion was the Church of England. Many Puritans, part of the founders of our nation, were persecuted for thinking differently from that church. That's why they came to America. They wanted to be able to practice their religion with no government interference.

Hopefully this explanation helped you understand where I am coming from. I believe in treating people equally. I believe that no person is inherently more sinful than another. I respect what you think. I expect for you to respect what I think.

-Colby

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