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| Religious freedom is a right not a choice. |
A 2011 UCLA School of Law research study, which was derived from information from four national and two
state-level population-based surveys, indicates that 3.5% of the
entire adult population of the United States identified themselves as
being lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
It would appear that such a large
majority of U. S. citizens would have some influence on laws and
issues that adversely affect the Christian lifestyle and the manner
in which we exercise our faith and beliefs. But this is certainly not
true when we approach the subject of homosexuality or marriage
between people of the same gender.
The Torah's view of homosexuality
I am not familiar with quoting verse
from the Torah, so I will include comments made on The Torah Web Foundation website:
"This verse prohibits the most immoral forms of behavior - idolatry, incest, adultery, bloodshed, male and female homosexual activity and bestiality. The prohibition against male homosexual behavior is repeated in Vayikra 18:22. Prohibited homosexual activity includes any non-platonic physical contact; even yichud (seclusion) with someone of the same gender is forbidden for homosexually active individuals."
"Our sages said, what were they (i.e. Mitzriyim) accustomed to doing? Men married men and women married women…" Similarly, the Mitzrayim of today's galus seeks to legitimize and mainstream the abominable practice (toeiva) of homosexuality. Frighteningly, we who live here are not only practically affected, but also axiologically and ideationally infected. Not only our behavior but our very Weltanschauung has been compromised and contaminated."
For those of you not of the Jewish faith, "Weltanschauung"
can be defined as - " a comprehensive conception or image of
the universe and of humanity's relation to it."
Mormons Belief on Homosexuality
You will find at whatmormonsbelieve.org
a clear statement on the Mormon's view of homosexuality:
"The Mormon Church is firm on its position condemning homosexuality as sinful behavior. "
The information on this website goes on
to explain how many gay Mormons have changed their sexual orientation
and ceased to choose the gay lifestyle. The Mormon Church does not
accept biological determination for the same-sex attraction.
In 1995, The Mormon Church issued a
world proclamation which stated, in part:
"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. "
Other Christian views of homosexuality and marriage
To begin to understand what the Holy
Bible is trying to teach us about homosexuality, we must start in the
book of Genesis (the beginning). Here's what we find:
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." - Genesis 1:27 (KJV)
The term "in his own image" is repeated to help us understand that the very first people on earth were created pure and free from sin. They were also different - male and female.God explains His expected relationship between a man and a woman this way:
"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." - Genesis 2:24 (KJV)Many Christians feel that this verse sanctified the very first marriage between a man and a woman. It is for this reason that Christians believe that allowing same gender marriage will not only violate their belief system, but also the sanctity of the entire marriage institution.
For Adam and Eve to "Be fruitful and multiply", they obviously would require sexual desires and sexual interests, which at this point, were reserved for a man and a woman. I don't understand how that issue could be debated; there was no one else.
The book of Genesis doesn't speak of the word "homosexual", simply because the word hadn't been invented yet. It does however include terms like - "natural affection", "natural use of a woman", "against nature", and "abusers of themselves with mankind".
In the book of Romans, we find:
"For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet." Romans 1:26-27 (KJV)
We can find references to
homosexuality and unnatural affections in the books of Timothy,
Matthew, John, and Jude. Probably the most dramatic proof of how
Jesus felt about homosexuality can be found in the book of Luke,
where we find:
Jesus is trying to prepare his disciples for His death and His return. He is describing situations He will find upon His return and the consequences for these actions. He describes men and women working in the fields and other circumstances, but He is very specific in saying "two men in one bed". He could have said "two men in a boat" or "two men in a cave", but He chose a situation where two men had chosen a homosexual lifestyle. These men would have a choice - repent of their sin and enjoy paradise or continue to live a homosexual lifestyle and die."I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left." - Luke 17:34
Stepping outside Christianity for a moment
"And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, "Do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you with from among the worlds?(80)Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people."(81) Al-Araf80-81
"Do you approach males among the worlds(165).And leave what your Lord has created for you as mates? But you are a people transgressing."(166) Ash-Shura 25:165-166
"Do you indeed approach men with desire instead of women? Rather, you are a people behaving ignorantly."[Al-Naml27:55][3]
"And the two who commit it among you, dishonor them both. But if they repent and correct themselves, leave them alone. Indeed, Allah is ever Accepting of repentance and Merciful." Quran 4:16
So, why are we even discussing same gender marriage?
We have passed the torch to a younger generation where some seem to find little value in the sanctity of marriage and oftentimes have difficulty in attaching themselves to any particular form of religious belief. They seem to thrive on trying new ideas just to see if they will work or to take certain actions just because a court of law says they can.
I think we can all agree that a sexual attraction between people of the same gender is not a natural affection. We must also agree that the marriage of two people of the same gender is unlike anything we've ever seen before in our society. As long as we can agree on these two points, we have some basis on which to begin a dialogue.
Are we predestined to be homosexual or is it a choice?
Dr. Francis S. Collins, one of the
world’s leading scientists who works at the cutting edge of DNA
research, had this to say:
". . . There is an inescapable component of heritability to many human behavioral traits."
However, he adds:
". . . for virtually none of them, is heredity ever close to predictive."
There seems to be no legitimate
evidence that same gender attraction is in any way biologically
induced. Even if someone feels they have this type of evidence, why
is there no research being done to find a way to stop or reverse any
abnormalities, like any other medical condition? If it is really a
part of who people are, how can people choose to change as evidenced
by The Mormon Church? How can a man marry a woman, have children,
then profess to be a homosexual? The fact that sexual orientation
is not constant for many individuals, but can change over time
suggests that at least part of sexual orientation is actually sexual
preference.
How will same gender marriage affect the "Freedom of Religion"
The First Amendment to the U. S.
Constitutions says this:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."It is also important to take a look at the "Preamble" to our Constitution:
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general , and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
One of the main
goals of the Convention, then, was to ensure the federal government
had powers to squash rebellion and to smooth tensions between states.
I'm not sure this nation has ever known "domestic tranquility".
This one issue has caused more division and rebellion that any other
issue in our history and it doesn't even involve race, national
origin, or bloodlines.
If laws are made to recognize a
marriage between two people of the same gender, it will denounce and
change the entire Christian belief system. It could possibly place
the Holy Bible, The Torah, and The Book of Mormons on trial.
Christian business owners will be
forced to employ same gender spouses and provide equal benefits of
employment. Christians will no longer be permitted to share their
teachings of Christianity in a public setting. The First Amendment
will be a moot point.
Same gender marriage will destroy a
Christian's normal way of life. It will tell the world that the
Christian belief system is wrong and hostile. It will deny every
Christian the right to practice their religion as provided for in the
U. S. Constitution.
If marriage between same gender people
is allowed, it will be culturally accepted by future generations.
Our children and grand children will view our generation as bigots
and believe our teachings were false.
This issue is not even about
compassion, love, or commitment, it's about money. Every man and
woman in the United States already has the right to marry and own
property. Some are trying to take a group of people and make an
exception just because they think they can.
Every Christian who takes their faith
and beliefs seriously loves all people. We do not hate people who
have declared themselves to be homosexual. We all have times when we
love a person, but don't agree with their actions.
Homosexual behavior is a sin and there
is no way to read any Christian book of faith and come to any other
conclusion. If Jesus were on earth today, homosexuals would be one
of the groups He would be ministering to. He would be calling them
into a personal relationship with Him and out of their life of sinful
behavior.
A lot of time and money is being invested in this issue. Attorneys are getting wealthy, people are being guided by misdirected compassion, communities and states are becoming more divided and our children are becoming more confused about everything. This issue could be easily resolved with just a little common sense. Picture a nation where all marriages were between people of the same gender. How would it even survive?
A lot of time and money is being invested in this issue. Attorneys are getting wealthy, people are being guided by misdirected compassion, communities and states are becoming more divided and our children are becoming more confused about everything. This issue could be easily resolved with just a little common sense. Picture a nation where all marriages were between people of the same gender. How would it even survive?
It has been proven that people can
change from this lifestyle and instead of making laws to condone or
promote it, we should be looking at ways we can help change it.
Some people say this is a delicate
subject, but is it really? If you are a Christian, are you willing
and ready to defend your faith in a court of law? If you aren't a
Christian, if a person can change their affection toward the same
gender, why would they want to remain a homosexual?
I appreciate and respect differing points of view of this subject and would like to hear what you have to say. Please leave your comments below. Also, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest.
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