One of the most controversial issues in American Society today is the the issue of Gay Marriage. Generally, the media characterizes the debate as Republican vs. Democrat, Conservative vs. Liberal, and Christian vs. Non-Christian. Unfortunately, like most all generalizations, the lines are just not that clear cut…
As a “follower of Jesus Christ”, I tend to be automatically labeled as a “Gay-Hating-Right-Wing-Conservative-Christian”, even though that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Quite candidly, it saddens / angers me to see people who claim to follow the teaching of Jesus Christ (as laid out in the Bible) use (or should I say “misuse”) His teachings to condemn others. Not only does this reflect poorly on all of His followers, but it reflects poorly on Jesus Himself when this is done. The fact is, Jesus Christ came not “to condemn the world, but to save the world” (John 3:17). As such, why is it that the Right-Wing-Conservatives expend so much energy to “condemn” Gay people? Furthermore, why do they condemn them “in the name of Jesus / Religion”?
I believe that the most common argument against homosexuality often comes from the Old Testament of the Bible (the Law before Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross). In Leviticus 18:22 it is clearly stated: “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” Now, though this is a good argument against homosexual activity, Levitcus 19:19 says: “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material”, which is clearly a good argument against people who wear any type of poly-cotton blend clothing. Additionally, Leviticus 19:27 says: “‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard” and Leviticus 19:26 says: “Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.” And so the question arises: “Why do homosexuals need to be condemned and ‘saved’, but ‘beardless, microfiber-wearing, rare-steak-eating’ people are free of persecution?!?!”
Quite candidly, I’m not here to argue that homosexuality is right & acceptable in the eyes of God, but more so that judging, “picking sins”, and condemning our brothers and sisters is wrong & unacceptable in the eyes of Jesus Christ. To date, I have yet to see the verses where Jesus calls all of His followers to condemn homosexuality. However, I have read the following verses from Jesus’ teachings:
Matthew 7:1-2
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Matthew 22:37-39
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
John 8:7
“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (said by Jesus to the crowd who wanted to stone a woman for committing adultery)
Regardless of whether or not you think homosexuality is a sin or not, rest assured that Jesus Christ ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY LOVES Gay People! And you should too… (See Matthew 22:37-39, Matthew 7:1-2, & John 8:7 if you disagree).
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