SHAYNA RODEMAN
Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see people raise the rainbow flag of acceptance. We are becoming a society that openly accepts gay marriage. As a Christian, I would like to inform you that I have many conflicting views on the subject. You see, when America was founded, it was founded upon the idea of freedom. One of those freedoms was freedom of religion.
Why, then, do marriages have to be so religiously oriented? It is entirely possible for people of the same gender to yearn for a marital communion. However, they are denied the right so often because, with few exceptions, only religious leaders are allowed to officiate a wedding ceremony. Does one person really have the authority to tell another person whether they deserve to marry or not? The fact of
the matter is that we are all humans. We are all in the same boat. No one person is truly more important than another. So no one has the authority to say such things. The state has no right to impose its rather Christian- based views upon the law.
I know what you are thinking. “Did this Christian woman really just say that the state and the church should be separated?”
Well, the answer to that would be yes. I did. Marriage is not something that should be so based upon religion that it keeps people who love each other from union. You see, I have this belief that people should not force their religion on others. In my experience, that is the best way to deter someone from God.
I am fully aware that there are a number of people who do not have the same religious beliefs as me. I am also fully aware that this is a situation that I can do nothing about. I cannot change a person’s religion. I also cannot convict people of their sins. I believe that those are things that only God can do.
So why do so many Christians spend so much time belittling homosexuals? I think it is because they are afraid. They are afraid of change. Homosexuality is a taboo. It is a sin. It is therefore a subject that should be kept quiet.
As Nathaniel Hawthorne points out in his famous novel “The Scarlett Letter,” everyone has secret sins
that they are hiding in their lives. The second someone acknowledges this sin openly, it makes people irrevocably uncomfortable.
Whether you, the reader, believe homosexuality is a sin or not, it is a taboo (mostly because people perceive it as a sin). Since homosexuality is a taboo and, therefore, a subject people like to avoid, the openness in which some display this taboo, or the support thereof, can make people very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable, in fact, that a number of so-called Christians will show open disapproval for homosexuality by angrily marching around carrying signs with hateful words such as, “God hates fags.” Words like this sadden my heart deeply. God hates no one. I would like to know what was going through the head of the person who wrote that statement, but I have a feeling I can probably guess — whoever wrote that statement was probably feeling a lot of fear.
So I encourage everyone who reads this article, Christian or not, to rethink the way they treat homosexuals. People live for love; some just go about it in different ways. Hating homosexuality will do nothing but breed more hate. The second Christians start showing love and acceptance to homosexuals is the second we will start to see a wondrous change take place. A change that should not be worthy of fear.