call it as you see it
I will say this:
The gay marriage debate swirling around Diary Land is one of the most inane things I�ve ever seen in my time here. You guys aren�t debating, you�re just bitching on a soapbox. A debate is an exchange of ideas with the hope of finding truth at the end of a structured, academic and intellectual discussion.
I swear to the God you blaspheme that I am pissed at people saying that Christians believe that, �God hates fags!� This isn�t true, that�s not what our Bible teaches us nor is it what a sound Christian theology would promote.
Christianity is astoundingly liberal and Jesus of Nazareth was hated by the authorities of his day because of he was, and really still is, a radical. You can find something in the Bible to support or oppose anything from slavery to abortion or Pepsi versus Coke.
Jesus wouldn�t hang out with �The Religious Right� people or those like them. Jesus hung out with sinners: prostitutes, the tax collectors, homosexuals, drug addicts, adulterers, murders, people who abused their family, people who abused their bodies, people who sucked.
His message was one of compassion and hope; it was a message of reconciliation in a world broken beyond repair. It still is.
Christianity, true Christianity, provides believers with unconditional love and a grace that is the hallmark of our faith. It�s what makes us special; it�s what sets our faith apart from any other. We don�t earn it through good works or our own righteousness. You don�t find this in Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, The Kabala, Mormonism, Hinduism or any other faith that you can find on this planet. Everywhere else you get what you�ve got because you were good and you worked hard.
Christ offers freely, out of his love and grace, forgiveness of our sins. We don�t work for that. We don�t� get it because we�re good. Parents, why do you take care of your children? Because you love them, you love them when they�re bad and when they�re good. It�s something that could never be earned and could never be taken away. We�re all someone�s children and we�ve all experienced that love that is perfect, it�s what makes Christianity what it is. It is the creator and creation interacting.
What does this mean about Gay Marriage? It means this: the Bible does say that a homosexual lifestyle is sinful, not being a homosexual. Hateful people (both Christian and not) distort that fact to their presumed advantage and ultimate peril. The Bible also prohibits SEVERAL lifestyles and other sexual lifestyles deemed immoral. You don�t have to agree with that but I think if you�re going to disagree with people who hold that opinion you should do them the courtesy of respecting their right to hold that opinion and understand it to better understand your opposition to it.
God doesn�t hate anyone but just like many of our parents he�s disappointed in the way that we act. He�s disappointed that we abuse ourselves and others, that we don�t take care of the gifts he�s given us: His love, our lives, the people around us and his creation.
***Before you leave your note disagreeing with me, please remember I�ve got a theology degree so I am working from a basis of objective as well as faith based knowledge.
