PLEASE READ TO THE END BEFORE YOU FORM AN OPINION ON THIS ARTICLE!
In the light of the recent legalization of homosexual marriage and the outburst of "Christians" who felt the need to put their two cents in about how they view gay marriage as an outright sin in the eyes of the Judeo Christian God, it seems that of the other bountiful sins that occur in the everyday lives of Americans, not many of these religious people feel the need to voice their opinions. With this in mind, here are a few sins that are present in the everyday lives of most people across the nation, and how they are viewed by the American Christian on Large.
Smoking
1 Corinthians 3:17- "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."
This is one of the most obvious. While the Bible never actually talks straightforwardly about the smoking of tobacco, mostly because tobacco was a plant that was unknown to this part of the world during biblical times, this verse explains that the body is a holy temple unto the Lord and that none should damage this temple intentionally. Smoking does exactly this. The smoke from tobacco greatly increases the chances of death from a number of health problems, including vascular diseases, heart disease, cancer, and the deterioration of the lungs. This is one of the biggest sins in the States, since smoking can be piled in with the use of drugs and alcohol. It would be estimated that this would be as serious a sin as any. And Christians do find this to be a problem. Some Christians do stand up against this kind of bodily abuse, though most times this message is hidden behind the idea of alcohol being the main evil. The bad part of reality is that many Christian adults smoke, whether with the intentions to stop or not. This sin is much more destructive to the physical well being of the American populous by spreading disease through harmful smoke. Maybe now that gay marriage is legalized, the hardcore Christians will stand up against bodily self harm on their Facebook pages. Personally, I'm not betting on it.
Shaving Your Beard
Leviticus 19:27- "Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard."
This one is tricky. In this verse, God spoke to Moses instructing him to tell the masses to let him grow out his beard and sideburns. This was meant to be able to distinguish the early Israelites from other pagan worshiping people in the area who would cut their beards. Israel was supposed to be a kingdom of priest like people, in a religion where even today the priest is required to keep a beard. Many can make an argument that this verse is no longer relevant (prime example of Christians picking and choosing the verses they want to follow) due to the time period that we are in requiring men to shave in order to be seen as a man of stature in society, despite the fact that the Judeo-Christian God is expected to be an unchanging God. God still wants his nation to be priest-like and distinguished from those who do not worship him. So the whole beard thing is still pretty important. Despite this, it is very rare to find people actually bringing up the fact that shaving is a sin, unless it's an angst-filled teen who has just grown his first beard and just doesn't want to shave his peach fuzz. This verse is a mere chapter away from the key verse that is pointed out in the Christian argument against homosexuality (Lev. 20:13). Maybe this will soon be a point that Christians open fire at next?
Tattoos
Leviticus 19: 28- "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."
It's true. Most older Christians view tattoos as strictly taboo. This is a very true statement. Also, it is true that many Christians are tatted up in some way, whether it is to declare their faith by a crucifix or just for fun. However, the hypocrisy of Christians having tattoos is not the biggest point to this. The point is that never in my 19 years on this earth have I ever seen a group of Christians protesting outside of a tattoo parlor. This is because the main Christian population just doesn't care about tattoos. Yet, God put it in his word. Hmm.
In closing, sins come in all shapes and sizes. The persecutions of sin is something that I believe Christians are 110% entitled to by the first amendment. The only thing I hope to see is that people begin to stop being so hypocritical about their lives. We all sin, and many Christians like the smokers do it habitually and do not look for forgiveness. So if you want to go out speak out against a sin like homosexuality, I implore that you also speak out against these sins, and every other sin that you can think of. After you do that, take a look at yourself, see what sins you have committed in the past day, realize everyone sins, and you're not special, and publically apologize to the people you have spoken out against. No one is perfect. I sure am not, but I do not claim to be. My hope is to just get you thinking, not to bash any religion, and promote love to the world! One Love Everyone!
