Some time has passed since people in California, Florida and Arizona voted on banning gay marriage by passing amendments that designate marriage as between one man and one woman. Personally, as I’ve stated before, I don’t care one way or the other about this as long as any wording that would allow gay marriage is clear. While I am a Christian, and I do consider homosexuality to be a sin, I personally do not feel that it is my place or the church’s place to dictate morality for the country. Just as I do not consider it my place to dictate morality, I also do not believe that the inverse should be true either. In Massachusetts, for instance, changes were made to the state’s educational system which instructed teachers to educate children, as young as six, about the “diversity” of same sex marriages. Not long after allowing gay marriage, grade school children suddenly began coming home with books about homosexual families. In Canada a pastor was jailed for speaking out against homosexuality.
While I do understand the homosexual’s desire to be allowed to marry, and the reasons that they give for that desire, I also feel that in giving one group of people rights, we do not remove the rights of another group of people. For instance, I would like to see wording that would guarantee my rights as a parent would not be trampled, should I decide to pull my children out of any “sensitivity” training classes. As a father of two young girls I do not see the need to discuss homosexuality with my daughters at this time in their lives, and I would hope that I would be allowed to have any discussions at a time of my choosing.
As a former Sunday school teacher to teens, the subject of homosexuality often came up and questions on how to react and or interact with homosexuals were asked. I always explained that we should treat everyone, gay or straight with love, and that as Christians it was our duty to love the sinner and hate the sin, but never to confuse the two. As a Bible believing Christian, I do believe homosexuality to be a sin against God, similar to lying, stealing, infidelity or any of the other sins humans are capable of committing. With this in mind my pastor, or those teachers of like faith, would not be doing too good a job as pastors if they were to contradict Biblical teachings in favor of being seen in a more popular light. As a result I would expect that any wording allowing gay marriage would take into account a pastor’s right to free speech and a pastor’s right to freedom of religion. Just as certain people can claim conscientious objector status to avoid going to war, so too should pastors be exempt from any possibility of being charged with a hate crime simply for stating the Bible’s position on homosexuality.
Recently reports of demonstrations and violence have surfaced surrounding proposition 8 in California. Both Christians championing Prop 8 and gay protestors, protesting Prop 8 have come in conflict several times in recent days. Reports have begun to circulate throughout the web of homosexual activists upsetting church services, and some calling for escalated violence on gay blog sites.
All of this leads me to wonder why. Doesn’t it seem a bit hypocritical to think that the way to fight having someone else’s morals imposed on you is to attempt to impose your morals on them? Isn’t it extremely hypocritical for those who complain about gay bashing or targeting by the straight community on gays, to be calling for the targeting of Christians?
In the last few years homosexuals have begun comparing themselves to African Americans, in that they too are stereotyped and discriminated against for who they are. I’ve always found these comparisons to be a stretch, because unlike African Americans, gay people are not “ALWAYS” easily identifiable. The average person does not make up their mind about a gay person within a split second of simply seeing them. In contrast, it is far easier for the average bigot to make a discriminating choice against a person just because their skin is not the right color.
Not having lived through the civil rights movement, I don’t have a viable way to compare the two, but I have noticed that the homosexual struggle has taken on an angrier path than that of the African American struggle. I have watched the struggle take on a mentality of us versus them, straight versus gay, and more importantly Christian versus homosexual. I feel that it is my responsibility to comment on recent events, and recent changes in gay rights. As a Christian, I feel it my responsibility to comment on the fact that we as the church cannot afford to ostracize the homosexual community any more than we can afford to ostracize the atheist community. As Christians it is our duty to speak to everyone in love, and to realize that the only way to change the heart of a person is through prayer and understanding.
It has upset me to no end to see so called “Christians” picket the graves of soldiers to prove a hateful point. It has grieved me to watch these same “Christians” reduce themselves to slinging slurs meant to hurt and tear down rather than words which comfort and inform people about God. I feel it my duty to remind Christians today that our God, though not a sinner, embraced and loved the world enough to die for it, gay and straight alike.
Christians are supposed to reflect God’s love and compassion for mankind rather than turn mankind away. Christians are supposed to be filled with the love of Christ and are called to take the high road, the narrow path, the path which leads all to the Cross. We cannot ever hope to make a difference in the world if we offer it the same hate and anger which consumes it. I’m not saying that we let our own morals take a back seat, or that we allow ourselves to become part of the world, but we are called to live in the world, and yet be separated from it.
Christians in America need to realize that while America was founded on Judeo Christian principals, it is no longer the same country it was 200 years ago. We are now a country made of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, gays, and straights. We cannot hope to impose our morality on them any more than they should ever attempt to impose their morality on us. Like with abortion and other moral issues, it is our job to remind our country that there is a God who loves them, but that they must come to Him on their own accord, and not through force. We need to remember that the war being waged is not a physical war, which can ever be won through intimidation and force, but a spiritual war, which can only be won on a spiritual plane.
So what is the answer? Do we just give up and allow gay marriage, or do we continue in the same hateful, destructive path we’re on now? Who’s to say that either of these is the only options before us? What ever happened to compromise? Can we not allow for civil unions, and give the homosexual community the same rights afforded to straight people, while retaining our rights as parents and Christians to worship as we please? Is it so difficult to find a happy medium where everyone will get at least some of what they want? All I know for sure is that the civil rights movement almost tore this country apart, and we as a country cannot bear yet another polarized struggle, meant to divide instead of unite.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
It’s time for Unity
A few years ago the pastor of my church felt called to start a new ministry. A committee was selected to find a new pastor among various applicants. Within a few months of searching and interviewing, as well as having each guest speak at our church, the decision was narrowed down to three people. Our pastor seemed to prefer one man over the others because of his character.
This new potential pastor was strong willed, and extremely outspoken. He had a clear vision, and a drive to accomplish changes very quickly. The current pastor, while himself a strong willed person, was a very quiet person, who had more of a grandfatherly way of leading. The potential pastor was brought before the congregation, and we were asked to vote on him. After all was said and done, he received the two-thirds vote required to ask him to be our pastor, but he did not want to go into a church without the majority of the people behind him. Our pastor requested that anyone who would be willing to stand behind him as our new pastor should stand and say so. This time over 90% of the church stood up, as a show of support, and the new pastor was elected.
There were several people who were not happy with this outcome. Some were upset enough to leave during the show of support. Some felt that this new pastor was too outspoken, too set in his own way to see anyone else’s opinions as having any merit. After more than 30 years under the same pastor, the church I attended had changed overnight. Within a few months grumblings started to emerge about all sorts of things, some silly, some not so much. Some of the older congregation complained that the music was too loud, or too modern. Some said that the new pastor was too eager to rapidly change things, and showed concern for the direction of the church. Some clashed with the new pastor’s straight forward demeanor and his perceived lack of people skills.
Little by little the church that had become my second home seemed foreign to me. People who I had grown to love, as dearly as my own family, were suddenly absent. Events that had become a staple at our church were cancelled and some were not replaced. Overall the music portion of the service had gotten better. With his hip new contemporary style, the new music director led the church in praise and worship that always left me wanting more. The preaching was a bit different, based more on a series of teachings than on the topical teachings of the old pastor. All in all the church had been revamped, retooled to fit a different era and a totally different congregation.
My old church ended up undergoing what I term a church split. Although not in the strictest definition of the term, my church had split between those who supported the changes and those who didn’t. Some left because the changes were too drastic to change with, and some left because of personal reasons, but in effect the church shrank to about ½ of it’s original size.
I say this because today we stand on the threshold of yet another potential split, and changes, which could decide our future as a country one way or another. Change is part of life and part of the natural order of things. Seasons change, climates change, political parties change, and yes governments change. Change can be good or bad depending on the factors of said change, but change is inevitable. I do business in a rapidly, and sometimes chaotically changing industry. My job as a software developer requires that I constantly update my knowledge, and change both my approach to a problem, as well as the tools I used to address a problem. Those who do not change are subject to either be left behind grumbling or worse yet left unemployed without an updated skill.
I write this in the hopes that we as a people can put aside our differences and support the man who has been elected by the people to lead us. Both John McCain, who I didn’t vote for, and Barack Obama addressed this in last night’s speeches. One man conceding that his brand of change was not what America had been seeking, and the other celebrating that his ideas for our country had become so widely embraced as to see through the difference of race that once separated this country. Right now this country is going to have to unite and rebuild if we’re really going to change anything other than the occupant of the White House. Right now this country is going to have to pull together like never before to make sure that we make changes to the things that need changing, and embrace those that do not.
I too have changed quite a bit during this election, from someone who ardently opposed Barack Obama’s plan for the future, to someone who sees the merit in his dream for our country. I only hope that we as a people can look beyond the lines that divide us and strive to find the common ground we all share. I pray that God give President Elect Obama the wisdom to lead and the ability to change that which plagues us. I pray that together we can make a difference, and mold this country into something that will make us all that much prouder to occupy it. A country in which Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Atheists can raise our children with the knowledge that our rights and beliefs are neither belittled nor trampled upon.
I ended up leaving the church about two years into its change, not because I was disenfranchised with its teachings, but because both it and I had changed in opposite directions. As an American citizen I do not see leaving as an option, nor should any true patriot. This country was founded on the principal of rule by the people for the people, which means that its up to us to make the changes needed to unite us, and if for some reason we find that the government we’ve elected does not fit our needs it is up to us to mold it in ways that will meet our needs. The one thing I’ve learned from all of this is that we ALL have a say, and we can all make a difference, its simply a matter of trying.
I will continue to post, now that the elections are over, and I will continue to let my voice be heard. I may not always agree with our future President, and I will voice my opinion when I feel the need, but I will support the man that I, through my vote, helped to elect. May God bless America, and the freedoms we’ve fought so hard to achieve.
This new potential pastor was strong willed, and extremely outspoken. He had a clear vision, and a drive to accomplish changes very quickly. The current pastor, while himself a strong willed person, was a very quiet person, who had more of a grandfatherly way of leading. The potential pastor was brought before the congregation, and we were asked to vote on him. After all was said and done, he received the two-thirds vote required to ask him to be our pastor, but he did not want to go into a church without the majority of the people behind him. Our pastor requested that anyone who would be willing to stand behind him as our new pastor should stand and say so. This time over 90% of the church stood up, as a show of support, and the new pastor was elected.
There were several people who were not happy with this outcome. Some were upset enough to leave during the show of support. Some felt that this new pastor was too outspoken, too set in his own way to see anyone else’s opinions as having any merit. After more than 30 years under the same pastor, the church I attended had changed overnight. Within a few months grumblings started to emerge about all sorts of things, some silly, some not so much. Some of the older congregation complained that the music was too loud, or too modern. Some said that the new pastor was too eager to rapidly change things, and showed concern for the direction of the church. Some clashed with the new pastor’s straight forward demeanor and his perceived lack of people skills.
Little by little the church that had become my second home seemed foreign to me. People who I had grown to love, as dearly as my own family, were suddenly absent. Events that had become a staple at our church were cancelled and some were not replaced. Overall the music portion of the service had gotten better. With his hip new contemporary style, the new music director led the church in praise and worship that always left me wanting more. The preaching was a bit different, based more on a series of teachings than on the topical teachings of the old pastor. All in all the church had been revamped, retooled to fit a different era and a totally different congregation.
My old church ended up undergoing what I term a church split. Although not in the strictest definition of the term, my church had split between those who supported the changes and those who didn’t. Some left because the changes were too drastic to change with, and some left because of personal reasons, but in effect the church shrank to about ½ of it’s original size.
I say this because today we stand on the threshold of yet another potential split, and changes, which could decide our future as a country one way or another. Change is part of life and part of the natural order of things. Seasons change, climates change, political parties change, and yes governments change. Change can be good or bad depending on the factors of said change, but change is inevitable. I do business in a rapidly, and sometimes chaotically changing industry. My job as a software developer requires that I constantly update my knowledge, and change both my approach to a problem, as well as the tools I used to address a problem. Those who do not change are subject to either be left behind grumbling or worse yet left unemployed without an updated skill.
I write this in the hopes that we as a people can put aside our differences and support the man who has been elected by the people to lead us. Both John McCain, who I didn’t vote for, and Barack Obama addressed this in last night’s speeches. One man conceding that his brand of change was not what America had been seeking, and the other celebrating that his ideas for our country had become so widely embraced as to see through the difference of race that once separated this country. Right now this country is going to have to unite and rebuild if we’re really going to change anything other than the occupant of the White House. Right now this country is going to have to pull together like never before to make sure that we make changes to the things that need changing, and embrace those that do not.
I too have changed quite a bit during this election, from someone who ardently opposed Barack Obama’s plan for the future, to someone who sees the merit in his dream for our country. I only hope that we as a people can look beyond the lines that divide us and strive to find the common ground we all share. I pray that God give President Elect Obama the wisdom to lead and the ability to change that which plagues us. I pray that together we can make a difference, and mold this country into something that will make us all that much prouder to occupy it. A country in which Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Atheists can raise our children with the knowledge that our rights and beliefs are neither belittled nor trampled upon.
I ended up leaving the church about two years into its change, not because I was disenfranchised with its teachings, but because both it and I had changed in opposite directions. As an American citizen I do not see leaving as an option, nor should any true patriot. This country was founded on the principal of rule by the people for the people, which means that its up to us to make the changes needed to unite us, and if for some reason we find that the government we’ve elected does not fit our needs it is up to us to mold it in ways that will meet our needs. The one thing I’ve learned from all of this is that we ALL have a say, and we can all make a difference, its simply a matter of trying.
I will continue to post, now that the elections are over, and I will continue to let my voice be heard. I may not always agree with our future President, and I will voice my opinion when I feel the need, but I will support the man that I, through my vote, helped to elect. May God bless America, and the freedoms we’ve fought so hard to achieve.
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