Today I want to touch on a prickly subject. The subject is homosexuality, and more specifically, homosexual marriage laws. It is entirely possible that my words will make me sound confused, at odds with the scriptures. The topic is one that I wrestle with and perhaps care more about than most men would dare confess in public (but that never stopped me before). The subject matter at hand is one that is constantly in the news - modern culture and politics view this as a hot button issue. It was not too long ago when a presidential election was decided, in part, on the issue of "Family Values". There is a constant battle between the homosexual community and the straight community about laws relating to same sex "unions" (egad, we can't use the word "marriage"). California passed a law allowing these unions to take place with the assurance that they would be legally respected and recognized. After less than six months, the law was overturned. I know the one side will bring the issue back, followed by a counterattack from the other side, and on it goes. What are folks so afraid of, so threatened by, that they would go at the other side with such ferocity? When I try to talk to people about the subject, I tend to see only open hostility and hatred. I don't get the feeling that the battle raging has anything to do with religion or religious beliefs. It has to do with differences. All of us divide the world into "us" and "them". We tend to believe that our ways are the norm, and anything else, anything different, is unnatural, and must be done away with. Personally, I do not think about this issue along the usual path. On the one hand I have the word of the Bible: "Don't have sex with a man as one does with a woman. That is abhorrent." (Leviticus 18:22). On the other hand I feel for people who have found love, true love. This is a gift that comes along so very rarely. I feel the anguish, pain, and conflict for those people who have found their sole mate and the world wants to extinguish them. Is there no middle ground here? Does my sympathy signal tacit allegiance with the them's against the us's?
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Family Values
Today I want to touch on a prickly subject. The subject is homosexuality, and more specifically, homosexual marriage laws. It is entirely possible that my words will make me sound confused, at odds with the scriptures. The topic is one that I wrestle with and perhaps care more about than most men would dare confess in public (but that never stopped me before). The subject matter at hand is one that is constantly in the news - modern culture and politics view this as a hot button issue. It was not too long ago when a presidential election was decided, in part, on the issue of "Family Values". There is a constant battle between the homosexual community and the straight community about laws relating to same sex "unions" (egad, we can't use the word "marriage"). California passed a law allowing these unions to take place with the assurance that they would be legally respected and recognized. After less than six months, the law was overturned. I know the one side will bring the issue back, followed by a counterattack from the other side, and on it goes. What are folks so afraid of, so threatened by, that they would go at the other side with such ferocity? When I try to talk to people about the subject, I tend to see only open hostility and hatred. I don't get the feeling that the battle raging has anything to do with religion or religious beliefs. It has to do with differences. All of us divide the world into "us" and "them". We tend to believe that our ways are the norm, and anything else, anything different, is unnatural, and must be done away with. Personally, I do not think about this issue along the usual path. On the one hand I have the word of the Bible: "Don't have sex with a man as one does with a woman. That is abhorrent." (Leviticus 18:22). On the other hand I feel for people who have found love, true love. This is a gift that comes along so very rarely. I feel the anguish, pain, and conflict for those people who have found their sole mate and the world wants to extinguish them. Is there no middle ground here? Does my sympathy signal tacit allegiance with the them's against the us's?
