Friday, August 17, 2012
Same Sex Marriage
An addition to my beliefs about homosexual marriage
I am not sure that I can express my beliefs clearly enough, and I am very sure that I would have a difficult time defending them at a theological convocation, but I will give it a try. Interpreting the Bible as either the Word of God solely, or The Word of God plus additions or subtractions by others seems to be the problem.
There is a core of beliefs in Christianity one finds that synchronizes with our society today, but there are Bible passages that do not synchronize at all. I believe four of them refer to homosexuality explicitly. The challenge any Christian faces is whether to take the Bible literally, every word, or to find that core belief system that speaks to morality, humanity, spirituality and lifetime guidance, and to simply ignore the asyncronous parts, just as most of us ignore the worship of snakes that certain passages refer to, or those that defile homosexuality. In the end, one has to decide what to believe for himself, and not be fettered by the inconsistences of the Bible, the teachings of clerics, the pontifications of ministers, or the clamorings of the many groups involved–for and against homosexuality and equal marriage.
As you know, Christianity is not a monolithic belief system, and even within each of the many sects there are substantial differences of opinion as to what is right and what is wrong, some being rather trivial, but some are very substantial; equal marriage is one of those. My own belief, which has evolved over the past years, is that we should allow equal marriage throughout the nation. God will sort it out later if it turns out to be wrong. At the same time, I see this issue as very polarizing and fraught with deep religious anger for many, many people, which is distressing.
That is why in an earlier comment of mine I expressed the idea of a two-step process that might be less threatening: 1) Employ civil unions from the government, nominally state governments; and then 2) Have a religious marriage ceremony by a willing minister. Some time later, these two steps could be combined into one as acceptance becomes the norm.
I am not sure that I can express my beliefs clearly enough, and I am very sure that I would have a difficult time defending them at a theological convocation, but I will give it a try. Interpreting the Bible as either the Word of God solely, or The Word of God plus additions or subtractions by others seems to be the problem.
There is a core of beliefs in Christianity one finds that synchronizes with our society today, but there are Bible passages that do not synchronize at all. I believe four of them refer to homosexuality explicitly. The challenge any Christian faces is whether to take the Bible literally, every word, or to find that core belief system that speaks to morality, humanity, spirituality and lifetime guidance, and to simply ignore the asyncronous parts, just as most of us ignore the worship of snakes that certain passages refer to, or those that defile homosexuality. In the end, one has to decide what to believe for himself, and not be fettered by the inconsistences of the Bible, the teachings of clerics, the pontifications of ministers, or the clamorings of the many groups involved–for and against homosexuality and equal marriage.
As you know, Christianity is not a monolithic belief system, and even within each of the many sects there are substantial differences of opinion as to what is right and what is wrong, some being rather trivial, but some are very substantial; equal marriage is one of those. My own belief, which has evolved over the past years, is that we should allow equal marriage throughout the nation. God will sort it out later if it turns out to be wrong. At the same time, I see this issue as very polarizing and fraught with deep religious anger for many, many people, which is distressing.
That is why in an earlier comment of mine I expressed the idea of a two-step process that might be less threatening: 1) Employ civil unions from the government, nominally state governments; and then 2) Have a religious marriage ceremony by a willing minister. Some time later, these two steps could be combined into one as acceptance becomes the norm.
Labels: Same Sex Marriage
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