Hate! That's it! Everyone knows it. Those right wingers, those religious folk who say that gay is evil and homosexual is perverted and all that sort of thing is sin ... just hate-mongers is all. Anti-gay, bigoted, narrow-minded, prejudiced. The list goes on and on. Doggone homophobes! And we all know it. Just ask anyone.
Except, it's not true. And that, as it turns out, is actually the question not being asked. "Is it true?"
On one side there are truth claims. "The Bible says homosexuality is a sin!" "Marriage is defined by God and it is solely a man and a woman." "Homosexual is immoral and it's bad for everyone." Truth claims. On the other side, there are others. "They're born that way; it's perfectly natural." "You're trying to block them from getting their human rights." "There's nothing at all immoral about it." Truth claims. Then come the counter claims. "You're just trying to justify your immorality." "You have an agenda to try to normalize your sin." And, of course, we've heard their responses. "You're haters, homophobes, anti-gay." More truth claims. And no one seems to even ask once, "But ... is it true?"
Here's the question for the "You guys are hateful" folk, for the Southern Poverty Law Group, for those who argue that Chick-Fil-A, the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, every conservative Christian, and anyone else opposed to further altering marriage or convinced that homosexual is not normal, natural, or moral are haters: What if it's true?
What if it is actually true that God considers such acts abominable? What it it really isn't "normal"? What if it really is immoral and, as such, perverted and detrimental to society? (If God actually considers the behavior an abomination, then it cannot be good for a society that embraces such behavior.) What if it really is true?
If it is actually true, then is it accurate to suggest that saying so is hate? If it's really the case, is it immoral to oppose the behavior? Now, I'll agree that it is prejudice to say so, but that's because the term "prejudice" simply means "opinion formed beforehand" and those who, quite correctly in this scenario, get their opinions from the Bible will, consequently, have preconceived notions. In return, those who argue the reverse are equally prejudiced, assuming before the fact that such behavior is perfectly moral. No, "prejudice" is not a factor here.
If it is actually true that the Bible is opposed, that God finds it an abomination, that it's a bad thing, a perversion of God's intentions, then it isn't a matter of hate, bigotry, or homophobia. It's a matter of fact. And it's a point of concern for those engaged in the behavior and those embracing the behavior. But, then, no one is asking, "Is it true?", are they?
2 comments:
Unfortunately, the assumption that it isn't true is put forth as fact, or worse, that it can't be known. I'm referring to claims that we can't know what God's intentions are despite clear revelations of such to which we constantly cite from Scripture.
What's more, to deal with the issue from starting point of this question, "Is it true?", runs the risk that it is indeed true. To face the truth requires either submission to the truth or willfully denying it and becoming a liar. Better to dance around the question than to honestly seek to answer it.
Better? Really? (No, I get it, but ...)
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