Various thoughts swimming in my head this morning; let's start from the top and see what materializes. ^^;
Personally, I'm against gay marriage. I mean, I'm married myself, to a man (I'm a girl). That is still the majority of what the world does and finds acceptable.
I'm sickened by the whole thing... its disgusting.
Same sex couples should not have the right to marry. What they do is not something that they can't control (race or gender). They choose to violate the laws of nature and the human body. There are serious moral and religious issues behind it as well.
Frankly, no state should have the right to make such a decision. It should be a federal decision (and frankly I would be sickened by that to.) Why should any government have the right to meddle in something that has been good and natural since... idk the beginning of our country.
I'm sorry that the two of you see it that way, but thank you for being brave enough contributing with your opinions. :D The two of you went against the opinions of the magority of the forum to make your voices known and for that you got shot down repeatedly with insults.
Getting bashed just for sharing something about yourself stings, huh. You've generally done nothing to any of these people, none of them know who either of you -really- are and just look down on you for your faults. It doesn't feel very good, does it.
For a lot of us gays out there that's the very attitude we encounter on a daily basis. People don't know us. They don't know the simple, little things we do on a daily basis to make to make the people around us smile. They don't care if we give blood, if we donate money to school programs or if we're raising an adorable little kitten with love and affection. Instead we're despised for something as insignificant as being gay. In their eyes, nothing we do will ever be good enough to excuse the very fact that we have the atrocity to love one else of the same gender. I'm not going to go as far to say that the two of you are the same as these people, but can you explain why this is so?
The two of you probably encounter more gay and lesbian people on a daily basis than you're even aware of. What would you do if you were able to tell someone is strait or gay just be looking at them?
- If your child were gay would it make them any less your son?
- If you were saved from a burning building by a gay firefighter would you be any less thankful?
- If you needed a heart transplant and were given the heart of someone who was a homosexual would it make their sacrifice any less important for you?
All of these questions are things that you need to consider carefully. As Livvers quite nicely covered, there's a number of liberties that homosexuals can't have on the very basis of being unable to marry. I understand the the two of you hold your religious beliefs dearly, but you must understand that your way of thinking is doing more harm than good to people who have done nothing wrong to you. This isn't the first time it's happened either.
Did you know that anti-miscegenation laws in America were backed by religious rhetoric? Passages from the Bible including were used to justify the prohibition of interracial marriage. Today it's laughable to think that people believed a white person will go to hell for marrying a black person but that was the mindset of the day. Despite what some will tell you, the Bible should not be taken so literally. The Bible is a collection of stories; little life lessons that one can take with them into life to find happiness. It's when you begin to use these words as law to dictate and control others that
any religion begins to cause more harm than good. If you need an example look no further than Islamic radicals. This is the difference between "good religion" and "bad religion", and it's worth it to be able to know the difference.
I can't force either of you to change your minds, nor word I if given the opportunity. I just hope you'll be willing to give what I've said some thought and perhaps consider opening yourself up a little more to learning about the variety life has to offer. The wonderful thing about humankind is all of the little quirks that set us apart from one another and make us unique. You'll never be able to force your own ideas and morals upon the rest of the world, but why would you when variety keeps life from getting dull?
No offense, but Catholicism is considered one of the weaker Christianity branches. Proof? I am a confirmed Catholic.
Catholics openly accept gays and do not persecute them, but any homosexual actions, which I still disagree with but it's a positive step.
"Real" Christians like Baptist, Protestants, etc are a bit harder to show how they are wrong because their beliefs are MUCH stronger.
I completely agree that Catholicism isn't as "hardcore" as other Christian branches but to say they openly accept gays is going just a bit far. The stance on homosexuality (As well as some other "hot button" issues such as abortion and the Iraq war) can literally be determined a church-to-church basis. The local church in my town holds strictly conservative views while the one a block off of the OSU campus is more on the liberal side. The tendency for a Catholic is to simply drift from church to church until they find one that matches their personal beliefs.