first off... holy shit! there are so many terrible and tragic things going on in the world as of lately. i feel like everyday, its something new. today in West, Texas, there was a fertilizer plant that exploded. its a city about an hour and a half from where i am from and have driven through the city numerous of times. watching the news and hearing about all the casualties is just killing me. i hate to hear and see all these events happen. here is a link (warning: turn volume down before watching) to what the explosion looked like and immediately, for some reason i teared up. i can't picture what it would be like to be there to see it or even be near it. its just sad.
today i went to another GSA meeting which was the last one of the semester and there was a guest speaker. the speaker was the head minister of our school (i think that's the title at least). she presented different ideas and viewpoints of what it means to be gay and to be a Christian. i was only able to stay for the first hour though because my MBA Business Ethics class started at 6. and coincidentally, in class tonight, we had a guest speaker who is the associate director of religion at our school who discussed gay marriage and traditional Christianity. so i heard a solid 3 hours tonight of gay talk - though i'm not necessarily complaing.
to me, religion is a very interesting topic. i enjoy talking about it even though i don't even know much about it. i do believe there is something greater out there, yet i don't know what exactly that is - that is for another post though. but as of right now after hearing so many different viewpoints on Christianity and homosexuality, my mind is racing. not with confusion about questioning my own sexuality but with confusion of what others truly think about homosexuality. there are so many conflicting ideas when religion and being gay comes up in the same sentence.
i dont even know where to start. the question or ethical issue of letting gays marry doesn't even seem like it should be a problem at all in my eyes. maybe i might be wrong, but at the basis of our country, isn't there a separation of Church and State? so why should the definition of marriage be defined by the biblical meaning which is between a man and woman. it doesn't seem right that our whole nation is governed by the constitution in which it basis' marriage off the Bible even though all citizens in the US are not Christians and do not follow the Bible.
i don't understand why homosexuality tends to be at the forefront of 'sins' in which people judge others on. within the Bible, there are plenty of other 'sins' that are listed as wrong yet those are not highlighted or get the same weight of attention placed upon them. isn't divorce a sin in the Bible unless the woman commits adultery? i'm not 100% sure if that is true or not but if it is, why should people be allowed to get divorced. there should be a law banning divorce between couples unless the woman commits adultery. it only seems fair to me. if something like that was introduced, that would be a huge uproar within society. celebrities might be the most affected by such a legislation i would think.
something else i don't get about 'marriage' is that people say it is designed so couples can procreate. maybe it's just me, but i honestly do not believe every couple is thinking, "yes, the only reason we should marry is to make a kid." i'm pretty sure a couple can have a kid without tying the knot and also, i know many couples get married but choose to not reproduce. should the couples who don't have kids while being married be forced to resign their marriage license because they are not fulling their duties of procreating. or should women or men who are infertile not be allowed to get married?
there are honestly so many thoughts and opinions that i have about this topic. i cant even illustrate them all by writing them down. and when i do think about this, my mind goes in so many directions that it is hard to keep my thinking straight.
one question that i do have and would possibly like some thoughts on is:
can a person be against gay marriage but be pro-gay or gay friendly?
to me, it doesn't make sense and i feel that if a person is against gay marriage, then they can't be considered gay friendly
4 years ago
Posts
Wow, the video was really quite chilling.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your final question, the "hate the sin not the sinner" spiel is just another way to rationalize homophobia.
-jw
Here's a series of videos by John Corvino if you can stomach more gay talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdb8UC9_fMw&list=PLsolewfmUXE9fkKyw1PQN9UWe4K16zF2c&index=1
Delete-jw
The Texas explosion and the Boston Marathon bombing are only the most recent in a series of tragic events which have transcended the centuries. The difference is that the proliferation of media and almost real time participation in the event, as well as the constant repetition, bring them home to us in a fashion that didn't exist until the replay over and over of President Kennedy's assassination. You may remember watching those planes fly into the Twin Towers literally tens of times on 9/11 and the days after. That took the exposure to a whole new level. When there is a personal point of reference, as for you with the explosion and for me with the bombing, it makes it even worse. We can't emotionally separate ourselves from these occurrences any more, which makes them seem even more horrific and close to home. That is the world we live in and I am not sure we have figured out yet how best to cope. I would submit that prayer is one of the things that can help.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings me to your second topic - religion, being gay and gay marriage. As one who lives very much in the middle of the chemical reaction between them, I would love to share some thoughts with you. However, because to be honest, I have to get into more family detail than I am willing to do even in the "anonymity" of the blog environment, - it really isn't very anonymous - I can't do it here. It would be too long anyhow. So, if you want to hear more, please email me at this screen name at gmail and we will go from there.
I hope your exams all went well!
I wish I knew more about what is going on with the explosion in Texas but, our media has been nonstop with the terrorism in Boston. I feel for the people of West. You can hear the fear in that little boys' voice in the video.
ReplyDeleteAnd man, everything you said about same-sex marriage -- couldn't agree more! You took the words right out of my mouth. My opinion on being against same-sex marriage and being gay friendly is: NO. If a person is gay friendly then they would [or should] naturally support same-sex couples being allowed to marry.