Over the weekend while having a friendly conversation with an acquaintance at the pool, the topic (strangely) of gay marriage came up in the form them asking “Do you support gay marriage because we are against it”. Literally the question popped up with no relevance to any other previous topic in the conversation. For the record, I am not gay nor do I personally have any gay friends or family members. I do find it interesting how polarizing the subject is, especially among my friends, acquaintances and co-workers who regularly attend church. I find it bothersome when arbitrary and inconsistent standards are applied by one group to another.
Today I read this article about the start of legalized same-sex marriages in California. Its a pretty far stretch in the article to conclude that allowing same-sex marriage will lead to the legalization of incest and polygamist marriages. Seems to me multiple wives or husbands appears to already be happening in some states. The restriction close blood relations getting married has more to do with genetic problems associated with reproduction and not much else. But on to the topic of same-sex marriage…..
I’ve attended my share of church services, bible studies and men’s groups to consider myself familiar with the Bible and its teaching/content but I am far from a Biblical scholar. I know some of what the Bible says about homosexuality and other relevant topics, but I am not going to debate in this posting what it does or doesn’t mean/say. I’m more so motivated to ask “Why?”.
Why is it that so many Christians find it okay to pick and choose which parts of the Bible to adhere to and which to interpret, translate or simply ignore?
How often have I heard it said that homosexuality is abhorrent to God and should not be tolerated? It’s not included as 1 of the 10 commandments handed down to Moses, that say we shouldn’t murder, or commit adultery, or covet our neighbors spouse or daughter or material things, and so on. But the biggest argument I’ve heard vocalized amongst the most conservative organizations, that homosexuality is the number 1 issue that God can’t stand.
While no human being is perfect when held to the standard that is the Bible, I am reminded of the story about not pointing out the splinter in our brothers eye before first removing the plank from our own. Something like that which in other words could be interpreted to mean don’t run around pointing out how ’sinful’ someone else is while we’re sinful just the same. Yet its the ever so judgmental lament of Christians in general that decry the immorality of the gay lifestyle and the issue of gay marriage.
Statistically, other moral sins such as adultery (both the physical and mental acts of it) and covetousness seem to be rampent throughout the Christian community. As cited in the CBN.com review for the book My Struggle, Your Struggle: Breaking Free from Habitual Sin:
The statistics are startling. Fifty percent of Christian men and 20 percent of Christian women admit that they are addicted to pornography (Christiannet.com June 07). Fifty-one percent of pastors say cyber porn is a possible temptation; 37 percent say it is a current struggle (Christianity Today Leadership Survey, December 2001). Of Promise Keepers attendees, one of the largest Christian men’s conferences in the U.S., 53 percent admitted to viewing pornography regularly (Internet Filter Review, 2006). Forty million adults in the U.S. regularly visit porn sites on the internet (Internet Filter Review). Forty-seven percent of families say pornography is a problem in their home (Focus on the Family Poll, October 2003).
Last time I checked, most women in the world featured in pornography were pretty much 100% the mother or daughter of a neighbor, in the general sense would imply that some 50% of Christian men are breaking the commandment about coveting. There may be other similar statistics scoring how many of those porn viewers had viewed ‘gay’ porn featuring gay or lesbian acts – but I digress.
Divorce seems to be another moral issue appears to be okay whereas being gay or being gay and allowed to enter into a marital contract is not. According to most statistics, divorce within the Christian community is at best as high as it is within the non-Christian community, which is to say that some 40-50% of marriages end in divorce regardless of religious beliefs (Catholics excepted due to no allowance for divorce). Yet the Bible seems to offer only a couple of pretty narrow allowances for a married couple to divorce. (references http://www.adherents.com/, and http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm).
So on atleast 2 morals related topics, there is some resolution made that being a pornography addict or being a divorcee is more tolerable or forgivable by the Creator than is being gay or being gay and married. Is it because things more prevalent in a society or culture are are more acceptable? Majority rules? The logic may follow given the minority population of the gay community. From all I’ve ever heard or read, sin (much like the law) is pretty much a binary system. Something is either a sin or it’s not. I’ve never come across any listed levels that caveat something as ‘a little sinful’, ‘moderately sinful’, and ‘extremely sinful’.
I think there are biblical and anecdotal references that teach the lesson about not judging others behaviors unless our own selves are 100% in order. Divorce, co-habitation, domestic partnerships for any type of couples have implications on society as a whole. All should be allowed or not uniformly without prejudice to which combination of sexes are involved. But that is only my opinion…..and we all know what they say about opinions……
Tags: christian hypocracy, christian pornography, gay marriage, tolerance
