Just a quick note. So many are posting on the Supreme Court hearings over gay marriage. Predictably, conservatives are up in arms over the liberals trying to change the definition of marriage establish by God. Statists are pushing to force everyone to recognize same sex marriages equally, even within religious organizations, changing doctrine and beliefs.
Once again, both sides are completely unjustified in their use of force. And when I write “use of force”, I’m referring to the simple concept that you are using violence (or the threat of violence, incarceration, confiscation of property / freedom) in order to accomplish your personal agenda. In other words, without the use of force, others would not voluntarily behave the way you want.
Conservatives have to get past themselves to recognize that sin is not pervasive because our laws aren’t tough enough. The OT Israelites learned how to obey the letter of the law but completely miss the spirit of the law. And time and time again, God chastens the nation for bringing empty or lame sacrifices to the altar, paying lip service to the Lord of Creation. God is not mocked. He looks on the heart of man, not the exterior. Giving homosexuals equal rights in the eyes of the law doesn’t change God’s definition. God’s Word will stand and He is not dependent on man to legislate anything, to speak on His behalf. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
At the other end of the argument are the statists. Just as guilty as conservatives, their agenda is to use force to change religious teachings, private organizations’ rules / beliefs, and family values. Discrimination is a phantom target. Statists think they can pass enough laws to stamp out discrimination and prejudice. But it’s arbitrary at best, a complete waste of time and resources, and hopelessly doomed to fail. You cannot use violence to force a change in beliefs. It’s like putting a gun to someone’s head that hates cabbage because you’re going to convince them that it’s delicious.
Statists scream and shout for “Hate Crime” protections – the extra special punishment handed out for already heinous crimes like murder and rape as if to say, ‘if you murder a straight, white male, it’ll cost you 20 years. But if he’s black and gay, well that will land you in the bonus round and a chance at an extra 20 years.’
The only fair, consistent, and sane policy is to allow men and women to choose their own associations freely. I don’t even know why we allow the government to tell us whether we can be married to him / her / them / it. What’s ridiculous is that we put up with it. When men and women are allowed to choose their associations, yes, that does allow for people to act contrary to what you think is ‘right’. But it’s honest. It’s fair. It’s free.
One of my favorite examples of how to do this gay marriage issue correctly comes from the CEO of Starbucks. Howard Schultz basically told his shareholders that if you don’t agree with the company’s support of legalized same-sex marriage, then sell your stock and don’t buy Starbucks coffee. (http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/25/starbucks-ceo-doubles-down-on-gay-marriage-support-telling-shareholder-to-sell-stake-if-he-doesnt-like-views/)
Now, it’s not perfect, but the message is clear. If you don’t like it, you have a choice. You’re not forced to buy Starbucks coffee or stock. But certainly, we don’t need the state or a mob to force you into buying (or prevent you from buying) anything from Schultz. We should be allowed to make our choices free from the threat of violence.
txfatherofseven 