Imagine, for a moment, that I founded a religion called "Tenedorism." Imagine that one of the tenets of this religion was the being black is morally wrong. I offer no reason for this other than "God said so." Imagine that I took it upon my self to "fix" peoples' blackness. That best way to solve blackness would, of course, paint people white. Imagine if I decided to, and set up organizations to, go around dumping white paint on black people. Imagine if I used the threat of eternal hellfire to force people into covering their race up with white paint.
Would that be okay?
No.
The most insightful among my readers (assuming, of course, my viewership is plural) will have realized I wasn't just making crap up. It was a metaphor for Christianity and gay people. Whenever you discuss gay rights, a Christian who stands against it will almost invariably say "Oh, I have no problem with gay people as long as they don't perform 'homosexual acts.'" They think this is a moderate position. Of course, it is when you compare it to traditional Christian treatment of gay people, execution. When compared with human decency, this position is untenable.
Because asking gay people to not do anything to act on their sexuality is like painting black people white. You are asking them never to love. THAT IS NOT OKAY. No institution or person is in ANY position to tell people that. Outside the flimsy justification of Jehovah, there is nothing that can make being gay wrong. As long as you are not harming anyone, nobody needs to tell you how to love.
I am not gay, and statistically speaking you are not gay. But all it takes to realize that the denial of anyone's rights because of your religious beliefs is wrong, is a simple thought experiment. Imagine is I asked you never to love. Imagine that your desire to love, the same desires that are in every human being, made you unworthy of a job, degree, marriage, or a life.
All it requires it the acceptance of a simple fact: Gay people are people too. The Churches make their hatred of gay people easy by demonizing them. They create an us vs. them mentality. Gay people, at the most basic level, deserve the same rights, including their ability to act on their sexual feelings.* No religion, not your's, not mine, not Rick Santorum's, can take our rights away. The only question before us is whether or not we will continue our hatred and persecution of Gay people because of an ancient prejudice, or whether we will accept the basic fact that all humans are equal.
*Assuming that acting on their feelings does not result in the harm of another person.
Would that be okay?
No.
The most insightful among my readers (assuming, of course, my viewership is plural) will have realized I wasn't just making crap up. It was a metaphor for Christianity and gay people. Whenever you discuss gay rights, a Christian who stands against it will almost invariably say "Oh, I have no problem with gay people as long as they don't perform 'homosexual acts.'" They think this is a moderate position. Of course, it is when you compare it to traditional Christian treatment of gay people, execution. When compared with human decency, this position is untenable.
Because asking gay people to not do anything to act on their sexuality is like painting black people white. You are asking them never to love. THAT IS NOT OKAY. No institution or person is in ANY position to tell people that. Outside the flimsy justification of Jehovah, there is nothing that can make being gay wrong. As long as you are not harming anyone, nobody needs to tell you how to love.
I am not gay, and statistically speaking you are not gay. But all it takes to realize that the denial of anyone's rights because of your religious beliefs is wrong, is a simple thought experiment. Imagine is I asked you never to love. Imagine that your desire to love, the same desires that are in every human being, made you unworthy of a job, degree, marriage, or a life.
All it requires it the acceptance of a simple fact: Gay people are people too. The Churches make their hatred of gay people easy by demonizing them. They create an us vs. them mentality. Gay people, at the most basic level, deserve the same rights, including their ability to act on their sexual feelings.* No religion, not your's, not mine, not Rick Santorum's, can take our rights away. The only question before us is whether or not we will continue our hatred and persecution of Gay people because of an ancient prejudice, or whether we will accept the basic fact that all humans are equal.
*Assuming that acting on their feelings does not result in the harm of another person.
RSS Feed