A little, gleeful response

This post is in response to some comments that were made by an Anonymous reader. I'd like to thank them for their input, and say how much I loved how concisely they were able to articulate their thoughts - this is definitely a skill I lack!


I wanted to respond, but unfortunately it was too long post as a comment, so I have chosen to publish my response here, as well as cite the reader's comments.


You can read the initial post which started it all, here.

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"1. Pushing the boundaries is necessary for growth of culture and society. Sometimes the push isn't elegant. Sometimes it breaks away the very foundations of an individual's beliefs."

Agreed, but there should be some constructive objective to reach. So much of what we see today as far as boundary-pushing goes doesn't seem to have any positive, constructive objective. Rather, it seems to be driven by desires simply to rebel against authority; not to correct any great wrong in society. "I want to do what I want to do, regardless of whether I should."

While pushing boundaries can lead to growth, it can also undermine the social and moral framework and cause society to deteriorate.

"2. Lady Gaga took some effort to understand. What an awesome, honest, imaginative sense of humour she has. Her art parodies life, producing guilty little cathartic pleasures."

Personally, I find Gaga's art seems to rely so much on the controversial and the provocative, and it feels loaded with sexual promiscuity. To me it says that uninhibited use of your body as a sexual image is a way to get ahead in life. I don't know what it says to women as a whole, who rightly feel like their value or success or identity as women shouldn't be tied up in their looks, or how much they're willing to 'put out', and gratify others sexually, even that's only in an image. 


Perhaps you might even agree with me that there's something inappropriate about what she puts forward, if you acknowledge that some of these pleasures are 'guilty'; there must be something there to feel guilty about if you feel that way.

"3. Society has no right to deny the love of any two individuals, regardless of gender. To deny them the right to perform a romantic ritual that most people spend half their life dreaming about is just mean."

This is a complex issue. The feelings and actions of two individuals are what they are, and where they are consensual, mutually understood, and neither party is at risk of harm, then contemporary society as we know it (which respects the rights of the individual) has no real basis on which to intervene. A society which held true to God's principles as set out in the Bible would be different, as it would value God's law above the rights of the individual, however that is not the society in which we live, so let's keep it at that level.

However, I believe society does have a right to govern the people in a manner which is best for their collective wellbeing, even if it's to the dissatisfaction of a particular minority. If that is the case, then society should be able to control legislation to that end. So then, it becomes necessary to look at what we are legalising, and the effects it will have on society, regardless of whether it is considered 'mean'.

I think we underestimate the importance of marriage by referring to it simply as a 'romantic ritual'. Redefining the institution of marriage is restructuring the most basic, functional unit of society, which has existed (or as I believe, was set in place by God) since the time man first walked the Earth. With regard to adoption or having children in same-sex unions, there would no doubt be consequences to the development of a child. How do two women teach a boy how to be a man? How do two men guide their daughter through her first period?

Then, if we were to redefine marriage to be indiscriminate with regard to gender, then why shouldn't we go on to disregard age? Or why limit it to two people? No matter how much you pull the boundaries back, people will always push harder. "Give people an inch and they'll take a foot."

Studies have also shown that infidelity and the brevity of homosexual relationships are significantly greater than in heterosexual marriage (even with divorce rates being what they are). Some of these studies have been conducted by homosexuals, seeking to disprove the idea. They concluded that sexual fidelity appears to be the exception in these relationships, rather than the norm. If marriage were redefined to include relationships of this nature, then adultery and infidelity would become even more 'normalised' in marriage, and this may likely spill over into heterosexual marriage, resulting in even more broken relationships and broken families. In these instances, the losers are the children who are the future of society, and carry with them into adulthood the ideals which they have been exposed to as children.

My point is that those governing society have a responsibility to protect its people, and society as a whole. Not only do they have the right to make these decisions, but they also have the responsibility to make these decisions. I believe that the data (if you look closely enough) supports the government's current attitude, and is in accordance with God's design for people and relationships.


But this is not simply an intellectual debate, as I'm sure you'll agree. Maybe you know people who are caught in the middle; I certainly do as well.


Truth is, there are thousands of people stuck in the middle, torn apart by the endless debate. Friends, family members, and homosexuals themselves. And these people are hurting, not just because of all the yelling, but because of the pain in their own lives. I can give you some alarming statistics examining the health picture in the (male) homosexual community. They appear to highlight that there is something 'not quite right' in all this, and it's resulting in broken people. 


We all need to better-understand God's design and intentions for people, relationships, sex and marriage, and we could debate this until the end of time. But more important than any of that: homosexuals need to understand that God loves each one of them and wants a relationship with them, individually. He wants them to know Him as their Father, and know that He deeply cares for them despite of all the pain that they experience in the world. God loves us all and His way is the best way. We just need to listen to what He has to say and trust Him on it. And in the meantime, we need to love each other and respect each other, and support and encourage each other through all of our hardships and trials.


Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Anon. God bless you, and I'd love to continue any discussion should you wish to do likewise.

Sincerely,
Scotty