Thursday, March 28, 2013

Traditional Marriage Debate

-LGBT people are not ignorant.

-Supporters of traditional marriage are not ignorant.

-LGBT supporters are not stupid.

-Traditional marriage supporters are not stupid.

-We all get our bias from our values and when people do not live within our values, in this society, we think the other is both stupid and ignorant. 

-Everyone has feelings. 

-The prefix anti- cannot be trusted. Christians (in general) do not hate gays because they are “anti-gay marriage.” Many LGBT do not hate Jesus or the Bible.

-Christians have failed to love others as they should.

-Christians are hypocrites in the general sense of the word. We try to be perfect, be we aren’t, nor must we be to be Christians. That is the point of being a Christian. We don’t have to be perfect because we know someone who was perfect so that we don’t have to be. But most of us have honest intentions to try to live as Jesus would. 

-Christians are scared that our rights will be taken away. If gay-marriage is legalized, the next step for legislation (in our eyes) will be to close down or take away tax-exempt status for churches who will not perform these weddings because it is against their personal convictions. Things like this are already happening in school Bible clubs.

-In a Christian view of history, homosexuality has been a sign of a decrease in morality. In one Bible story, God destroyed a city in which it was the main sin. The book of Romans clearly shows the depravity of a society in which homosexuality is prevalent and the end result is that God gives that people over to themselves. God’s hand has been on the USA in its history and Christians do not want his hand of blessing taken away. (Not that this vote will be a determining factor, but is only a sign of where this country is morally). 

-Divisiveness is killing America

-Media cannot be trusted.

-This is a serious issue for LGBT because it is their identity as a human being.

-This is a serious issue for Christians because they feel their religious liberty is at stake and they do not want that liberty revoked. 

-The point of me writing this is so that when you do make your posts or statements or whatever we can be considerate of the other side. No matter how strong you feel, the solution to your problem is not going to come by hateful, inconsiderate speech. 

5 comments:

Rebekah's Daughter said...

Many LGBT do not hate Jesus or the Bible.

So true. I'm T, and I love the Bible, love Jesus, and try my imperfect best to follow him.

Is that so weird, or so impossible? Why is it that, as soon as I come out as trans, so many other Christians shun me, condemn me, and refuse to even have a conversation?

If sometimes being Christian in this culture seems lonely, try being Christian and trans.

David and Sarah Carrel said...

Rebekah's daughter, you are loved by God and should be loved by other Christians. I like your thought "Is that so weird, or so impossible" because it sums it up pretty much. Many Christians, such as I, do not know exactly how to react to people like you, and so we often just ignore. And that is wrong. There should definitely be love and conversation. And we are all imperfect and in need of Jesus. Thanks for visiting the blog. May your following of Jesus be just as He intended it to be!

Rebekah's Daughter said...

Thanks, David. The question for me, is how do I even start a conversation with Christians? I sit on LGBT panels sometimes at a local university, and when I come out as Christian, the other panelists look at me like I'm crazy. But at least I can open a conversation with them. I have several friends who are gay and atheist, and I can talk with them, and even though they think I'm crazy for it, they just accept my religion as a quirk or eccentricity. With Christians, though, the whole "love the sinner, hate the sin" thing just feels like straight-up "hate the whole person" - even to me, who would really like to be on their side.

With Christians, though, I can't even open a conversation. As soon as I come out as trans, it's like I've exposed myself as some horrible, perverted freak who hates God and chooses to live a "blatant lifestyle of sin" that cannot be tolerated - and any hope of conversation is gone. They won't talk to me at all. I'm judged, condemned, and on the way to the executioner, and any plea for mercy is to be ignored. So how do I open a conversation with Christians? Lately one of my favorite Bible passages has become Matt. 5:11-12. It's a great comfort.

An example is the website GotQuestions.org. Their pages about trans people are full of mistakes, but when I tried to talk to them about it, as soon as I came out as trans they stopped replying to my emails and questions. "If the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?" I think there are a lot of Christians who just don't want to hear the truth.

Have you read "You Lost Me," by David Kinnaman? It breaks my heart, but I think the Christian movement is killing itself in America by its brutal treatment of LGBT people.

David and Sarah Carrel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rebekah's Daughter said...

I got it, thanks. I'll write to you soon.