TPKorean

Current Events–Specifically NC, Obama and Same Sex Couples May 10, 2012

So the majority of those who have access to social media, read articles, or just normally know whats going on and what people are talking about would know that yesterday began another day of people arguing and standing up for causes, etc.
All of this was due to North Carolina passing a law prohibiting marriage between same-sex couples. This issue has been around for a long time, and every once in a while the argument spikes and it comes up in ranks of attention. unfortunately that’s kind of how news and hot button issues work, they go in cycles, at least that’s how it seems to me. I know there are people out there who are pretty much 24/7 on and for a cause/issue and that’s great, but for some of us who float through and have their opinion it seems things come and go and then something else does the same.

Anyhow, i digress (I’m not the best writer in terms of sticking to my topic) yesterday I saw many tweets and many Facebook posts about this. On my twitter, I am glad to see that almost all the people I follow (whom tweeted about this subject) had the same kind of viewpoints as I did. (Which I am ALL FOR same-sex couples getting married. I’m a optimst and believe in love and all that good stuff (: ) That’s the great thing about Twitter though, you follow the people who YOU find interesting, people like yourself and who have similar tastes. So I felt a lot of support was going out to those who believe in what I believe and it was wonderful and made me happy that so many people can think with a level head and a calm heart and speak about how they feel.

As i mentioned, i also read a lot of Facebook statuses about this issue as well. Not nearly as many ‘supporters’ as my twitter. (unfortunately) I feel that has something to do with the kind of people who I know in real life. Which a large portion (like 75%) have lived in this area (Super-Christian, Christian College, Church environment) Which isn’t a BAD thing by any means, but gives more sway to the religious point of view that is against homosexuality.

One particular status just got me interested, especially because I know this person has strong beliefs (like oh so many people) and he in particular talks a lot about his strong faith and his love for Christ. He even writes sermons I believe. ANYWAYS, his post said:

“Having a change of heart about this whole “Obama” thing. I do not support what Obama was talking about, but I think that Jesus would want us to love ALL sinners no matter what.”

I am very proud of our president for taking a side on this topic. Not sure whether it’s for political gain or not, but if he TRULY believes that we should all have the same rights to marriage, then YAY I am happy he said it!

So this status just got me thinking, and the following comments that people posted just added to that. He doesn’t agree with Obama, but believes we should love all the sinners. And that meant he believed that being ‘Gay’ is a sin. Which is something I have a hard time thinking about because people always quote the Bible and all that and believe that the text is saying specifically that homosexuality is a sin and I just can’t accept that. Also, I saw a very lovely YouTube video that stated (somewhat comically) how I felt about all of this.

Continuing on…..That video (which I will post the link if I can find it!) made an interesting point about how the Bible has been in the hands of man for centuries, and that there is the possibility that it’s not EXACTLY how it was originally. Which is true. I mean not that someone went in there and wrote random stuff, but that translations can differ. WORDING is a big deal, I mean just compare a children’s Bible, they HAVE to use simpler words in order to get the message across. Or they may not put such grotesque imagery into it because well, it’s for children. So the message can come across to people differently, and I think we all need to be conscious of that fact. One version may use a different word, and that has an effect on what the person takes away from the text. Let me try to use an example here:
Say I used the word Happy instead of Ecstatic. Aren’t they kind of the same, but yet don’t they make you think a little differently about what was making me feel ‘happy’ or ‘ecstatic’?
(Not the best example, but my brain is working overtime right now making sure I don’t forget some of the important stuff I wanted to say)

So anyways, back to the FB post. There were comments like “Love the sinner, Hate the sin” and “No sin is bigger than any other in his eyes” then here came a comment that kind-of sparked the issue (but I loved it, he he) “ or……love everyone because everyone sins. because being gay isn’t a sin anyway “
And I got the impression (from the winkey face) that the poster of that comment knew right away how the person felt about that. And that the author of the status has some sort of personal relationship or something with that last commenter. I’m not sure, there was an Lol so maybe its just me, but all of that is kind of…NOT important. (and that’s why I’m not a writer, I don’t focus on the important things here)

To continue on with the purpose of my posting…..

The author of the status then threw out some scripture. Which I personally hate when people do this because, I do not want to have to take the time to go find that specific verse and read it, If you’re going to throw those out there, include the whole thing. (pet peeve of mine)
These verses included: “ ‎1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Leviticus 18:22
Romans 1:26-27
actually all of Romans 1
 Genesis 19 God destroys Sodom and Gomorah for sexual desires with the same sex.”

So yeah, I’m not a fan of having to go and look those up, and I also had no desire to. But basically I’m going to post the rest of the comments, because that’s the best way to get to the good part. I have to show you the stuff leading up to a certain persons’ comments that just blew my mind with how awesome it was stated. He said how I felt, and did it better! So, Hooray for this person! But I will get to that part here soon, you’ll see!

Author of status: “Still say that being “gay” isn’t a sin?”
“We are all sinners. We all deserve death. God, sending his son Jesus, provided a way that we don’t have to experience death. “Gay” people, deserve death just like the rest of us. But God’s love applies to everyone, for those who trust God a…nd fully surrender to Him Surrender means you “give up.” It means you turn from your sinful ways, and by doing that you give things up. We all still sin, but God continues to forgive us and because he forgives us, it makes us not want to deal in sin anymore.”

This is the part of the Facebook conversation on this post where I decided to toss my little 2 cents in. I was typing this on my phone and just wanted to get how I felt out, but didn’t feel the need to write an hour-long post about it at the time. (cell phones suck when it comes to typing  a lot)

Me: “The Bible has been ‘manipulated’ by man for centuries. Translations differ, one may say that being ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’ is a sin and God doesn’t approve, but who knows really? And even so, say God doesn’t want people to be gay, then why no…t just let them have the freedom to get married. And if that’s a sin, then let God judge them on their judgement day. I don’t think we should make a LAW over all people based on our PERSONAL beliefs or religion. Let’s all just love each other and let love!”

I kind of already went into a bit of an explanation earlier as to what I meant by my post, so hopefully whoever is reading this post remembers that. (I know this is kind of long and drags on, but I never promised it was going to be grand!)

Author of Status: “I’m not out to argue, I just want people to see that Jesus loves everyone, no matter what they do. God’s word is Holy, and is unchanging, his truths will always stay the same. Saying that it’s been “manipulated” for centuries is false, be…cause it hasn’t. When the Canon (Scripture) was written, it was carefully copied word, for word, for centuries. We see proof of this with the “Dead Sea Scrolls” because the main ideas and thoughts written by the original writers, have stayed the same. God said He is going to keep his commandments, and that his word will never change. Thinking that the Bible has changed over the years, is a lack of faith in God and his truths.”

Me: “I didn’t mean to say that I thought the bible was changed, I just didn’t want to type an extremely long comment about that particular part.”
Just realized that this last comment I made sort of seems different than I intended it. But basically my earlier explanation about the differing translations fits in with it.

Author of Status: “It’s fine, I think instead of worrying about Gay-Marriage, we as Christians should be focused on not judging them, and loving them as much as we can. We can love the sinner, but not sin.”
“‎2 Timothy 2:33 “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.” All this is doing is dividing us as CHristians, and preventing us from spreading the Gospel and showing love”

Someone else added a comment to the ever-growing conversation on the status.

commenter: “Pull out your concordance sometime and take a deeper look at those verses you mentioned.  For me I know it brought a new light to those texts that I’d never really considered when just reading the various English translations of the Greek and Hebrew.”

Author of Status: “You might be right Will, but the Bible is still very adamant that homosexuality is a sin just like everything else, and sin cannot be in the presence of God.”
Then he also posted a YouTube video. [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwmUNqrirO4]

My Favorite commenter: “ 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolators, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy…etc.” Doesn’t say anything about homose…xuality. I think you assume that if one is gay, they are having gay sex. That is false. Gay people have the capacity to love another man just as perfectly and wholly as you have the ability to love another woman. Being gay does not imply sexual immorality. Also, if you quote Corinthians, I have to throw the head coverings verse at you, Corinthians 11, in which the writer tells us to “maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.” Pretty straightforward? “For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair…” Woops. I’ll get the razor.

Leviticus 19:19 – You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials. (look at your shirt, chances are you’re wearing a polyester/cotton blend). Same book. Same old dusty book of Israelite laws that people still pick and choose ammunition from as they please.

Romans 1:26 – “men committed shameless acts with men”, the context being the previous verse, “therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” Man or woman can degrade their bodies, living as a creature rather than human, regardless of orientation. Love isn’t a degradation of the body, lust is. That’s what this verse talks about. And just for future reference “all of Romans 1″ is incorrect. A significant chunk of that deals with thanksgiving and salutation, the power of the gospel, and persistence of general sin.

The Sodom and Gomorrah story has to do with violence against a guest, violence against an unwilling person. That’s rape, not homosexuality. Also, Ezekiel 16:49 says this, “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had prie, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.”

 So no, I don’t think being gay is a sin. In fact, I think that calling gay people sinners because they are gay is like calling someone a sinner because they are white or black or have blue eyes or curly hair. Being gay isn’t a choice; it’s not something you can turn off. And being gay isn’t a lifestyle, anymore than being heterosexual is. It’s an orientation. In fact, the American Psychological Association condemns discrimination against homosexuality as detracting to mental health, and states clearly that being gay is not unusual or even a sin. “No, lesbian, gay, and bisexual orientations are not disorders. Research has found no inherent association between any of these sexual orientations and psychopathology. Both heterosexual behavior and homosexual behavior are normal aspects of human sexuality. Both have been documented in many different cultures and historical eras. Despite the persistence of stereotypes that portray lesbian, gay, and bisexual people as disturbed, several decades of research and clinical experience have led all mainstream medical and mental health organizations in this country to conclude that these orientations represent normal forms of human experience. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual relationships are normal forms of human bonding.”

Dr. LaSala writing for Psychology Today even said that trying to “pray the gay away” leads to emotional trauma. “It is not uncommon for survivors of these programs to wind up permanently emotional scarred and at times, even suicidal.”

So there ya go. I agree, loving someone regardless of whether or not we think they’re sinning or not is important, but we aren’t to judge the sins of another. And I especially don’t think that we should actively reach into the personal lives of others and tell them who they can and can’t marry because of a few contexual verses in a book that certainly not everyone in America believes in, and that we certainly would be conceited to assume matters to most people.”

“TL;DR verses are contextual and dusty and sometimes outdated, we can read into them and make them mean what we want. being gay isn’t wrong, and calling it so hurts people.”

“And as a person, I find it really offensive to hear that people call gay people, some of whom are my friends, sinful. They don’t do drugs, or have sex, or go to gay bars, or any of that. To say that they aren’t choosing God because they’re gay is really offensive. Not to mention that video is made by CBN, and that in itself should warrant some caution.”

Okay! Phew! That was very long but if you’re like me, then you would also have found it interesting. I love seeing people talk about what they think and also do it intelligently (such as the person that I favorited in this conversation)
There were more comments posted after this, but i think that this is enough to cover my bases. It just baffles me sometimes that we all can’t see all the different sides of things. I understand where people are coming from, but i don’t see how any of that is a basis for making a LAW for everyone. America is supposed to be a place of freedom and was FOUNDED because people wanted a place that was free from religious prosecution. Hopefully one day, people will stop hurting each other with restrictive laws.

HERE is that YouTube video that I thought was awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KLMYaF_Xa8&sns=fb