I am FED UP.
Christianity has been a constant struggle with me for a few years now because of personal issues but also because of the mindset of the church. During this presidential election I have heard and seen some of the most awful things - coming from the mouths and pens of...yep, you guessed it...Christians!
Although I do believe in a God and the existence of Jesus, I do not believe that they are worried about our political beliefs and ideologies. Today I was scanning through the radio stations on my way back from M-ville when I ran across old James Dobson's station - Focus on the Family. Needless to say he was discussing the election and also Proposition 8 in California.
About the election he asserted that with an Obama presidency the sanctity of life and marriage would be in jeopardy and in addition prostitution and porn would go ramped. Hm. This is my response:
1) Separation of church and state means just that - so if you want to keep existing as a tax-free entity you need to shut your mouth.
2) Just because some Christians consider abortion murder, some of us do not - so do not claim to speak on behalf of Christians. Some of us actually think about the consequences of forcing women to bring unwanted children into the world cramming our DFCS and social services organizations as well as leading to more poverty, infant/child mortality and actual infanticide.
3) Marriage - legally - is not sacred. Sorry to break it to you but people marry for money, pregnancy, obligation and the like. Half of the marriages in the U.S. now end in divorce. AND, even if it were sacred, the Bible (if you actually read it literally) does not condemn same-sex relations outright. The Leviticus scripture refers to the sin of a penetrator in certain circumstances and certainly not in all of them.
One more thing - why does the marriage of two people who love each other and are not blood related bother you, James Dobson (and others with this view)? Does it interfere with your everyday life? Is it harmful to your person? The answer is no. If Christians out there were more concerned with their own person and the physical needs of their community we would be in much better shape. But, petty evangelicals find it necessary to condemn other behavior rather than using that effort to clothe, feed and serve the needy that are so prevalent in each and every one of our communities, towns, states and countries.
What is sacred is the commitment you make with another person, not the "institution of marriage" - and those commitments we make to other people should be our personal choice, not legislated by a Supreme Court or a state. My marriage, as lovely as it is, would exist with or without the legal documentation because of my commitment to Derek. Why exclude homosexual couples from having the benefits of legal documentation if they are making the same loving, lasting commitment I made?
4) The prostitution and porn claim is absolutely absurd.
On the subject of Proposition 8 Dobson and his guest discussed "The Call" which is an event that has invited evangelicals from California and the rest of the country to gather in a stadium and pray outloud, in unison, for God to have mercy on California. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Homosexual couples should be guaranteed equal rights under the law of our land, regardless of who believes what. It is a civil rights issue. "The Call" is absurd as it would have been in the 1960's to hold a prayer meeting to keep segregation or in the 30's a prayer meeting for God to help uphold the Jim Crowe laws.
I am disturbed on one other issue as well. Let me just say that our founding fathers were not Christians - they were Deists - which means that they believed in a higher power but that that higher power had no control over earthly matters. They were adamant about the separation of church (including doctrine) and state because of the oppression they felt under a diefied monarchy. So, a nation founded on religious freedom is what America is - not a nation founded solely on Christian principles.
Our nation is made up of people from many different religious, ethnic, and gender backgrounds. Christians need to get off of their high horse and realize that WE cannot legislate the morality of those who are non-Christian just because of that fact. Our nation needs to be responsible for our well-being and if the decisions of others - whether it be reproductive decisions or decisions regarding marriage - do not harm you, then stay out of it!
Oh and one more thing.....Christians need to stop being naieve and calling people the "AntiChrist." Not only has Obama been called this by evangelicals but so has Oprah....Oprah people? For real? If you want to know my opinion, and obviously you do if you are still reading....THERE IS NO ANTICHRIST. Revelation will not happen and Satan is not ruling on earth as the leader of our nation. And what makes people think that if an Antichrist were to come to power it would come to power in the U.S.? That is SO ethnocentric!
People - if you are one of the crazy, right-winged, evangelical people out there then here is a piece of my mind:
You are making actual Christians look bad, so please stop. Come into what we non-evangelicals call the "real-world" and see that God is LOVE - not condemnation, God is PEACE - not war with Iraq (or any other nation), God is ACCEPTANCE - of your neighbors even if you do not agree with their decision. And finally, our nation does not depend on your religious beliefs so please stop making them part of my voting process. I would rather vote on issues that actually affect ME and not vote on issues that will just hinder the "pursuit of happiness" others have a right to under our Constitution.
That is not all but I think it is enough for this piece of my mind. The End.
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