Controversy

Since I enjoy blogging about societal issues, I figure I'll blog about one that has been coming up a lot lately in the news and in everyone's daily conversations-gay marriage. Today the supreme court will hear arguments of whether the government should withhold federal benefits to same sex married couples.

Here's my two cents on the matter. The sex of the person, or whom they are married to should NOT determine the benefits they receive. It should be the status of the person, and the value they withhold in society, not if they like men or women. I would rather a same sexed couple who works hard, pays their taxes and contributes to society to gain benefits over a straight couple who is on welfare, doesn't work, dabbles in illegal activities etc.

Who one loves should not determine their status in this country and what they receive. All legal citizens of the United States should have the same rights as anyone else. I have been raised in a protestant, evangelical church my whole life. The church does not believe in same sex marriage. Of course since many of my facebook friends are my fellow church goers, my news feed is blown up with their opinions. One comment I found absolutely wonderful in "hitting the nail on the head" was a childhood friend of mine who attended church with me and now identifies himself as a homosexual. Another friend of ours posted a status about the fact it doesn't matter what side we are for on the issue, it's only causing greater division. In response to someone saying the bible calls homosexuality an abomination in the eyes of the lord he said this
"Leviticus contains laws for stoning, eating shrimp, raising sheep, selling your daughters, touching women on their periods, all of which were cultural and had to be repented by sacrifice. If you believe that Jesus died on the cross and created a true new testament and religion, then you would believe that his sacrifice denounced the cultural ways of Judaism, which would be called Christianity under the new laws.The reference to it in Romans was not something God or Jesus said, it was a letter to the romans on how to live more purely for god. At the time pagan temples were incredibly common in Rome, and one of the practices of pagan worship was to have religious prostitutes. Back then, women were not allowed to hold any ranking in the house of god, so all of the prostitutes were men. That reference is not referring to the love between men, but it's telling them not to enter pagan temples and take part in their practices."

The issue will forever be controversial, but if the only argument you have for not supporting gay marriage is that the bible says it is wrong, take a seat. This issue can be argued both sides with biblical evidence. The more Christians are going to preach that gay marriage is evil, the more no one is going to want to give their Jesus a chance. As someone once said "don't judge someone because they sin differently than you." As Jesus said to the adulteress I say to people opposing this issue "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."