The recent news of Kim Davis “standing up for her rights” was one that sparked a debate in this country. Davis, a Kentucky clerk, refused to grant a marriage license to any same-sex couples due to personal religious reasons. Absolutely no one was telling Davis that she was no longer allowed to believe or practice her religion. Yet, she felt she was utterly wronged when her personal Christian beliefs were no longer allowed to dictate the decisions of others in America. Her point of view was absolutely ludicrous to me, but then came the support of Davis. Then came the Facebook statuses warning people of the godless future that we all face. Basically, get ready to burn in hell.
It was at that moment, that I then realized, this was not the first time I had seen statements like this. The quote shown below is an actual comment left on social media after the revelation of Caitlin Jenner.
“As a Christian I am losing more of my rights to believe what I do as Bruce Jenner gains more of his rights ‘being him/herself.’”
This quote may make perfect sense to some as they stand on their holy pedestal, wave their righteous Bible and demand that everyone in the land go back to church, while others bury their face far into the palm of their hand as they attempt to comprehend the ignorance behind the statement.
To those religious people, this is what I say. I can love you as a best friend. I can respect you as an individual. I can spend my life with you. But I cannot condone your lifestyle. Does that sound familiar? It should, because this is what every Christian seems to say when the topic of same-sex marriage and transgender individuals are brought up. Well, now that the tables are turned, allow me to explain the reasoning behind my mentality with three simple points.
1. You can not cherry pick Bible scripture
Normal human beings will usually do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. It is a simple as that. If you do not believe this is true and believe that humans are “born sinners,” then you have little faith in the human race. You will further than be admitting that the only reason you do what you consider to be right is simply because someone else is telling you to do so.
This conclusion, however, is actually true. What is considered a sin is determined through the Bible. Whether it is actually right or wrong is deemed irrelevant. This may seem like an outlandish statement at first, but some examples may demonstrate this point. Slavery was said to be okay in the Bible, but it is clearly not the right thing to do. In addition to this, in Peter 3:1-2, it states that wives should be subordinate to their husband and obey them. Call me a feminist if you must, but that does not sound very righteous to me.
Therefore, if the Bible condones certain things regardless of their righteousness, is it then not fair to say that the sins in the Bible may not actually be warranted either? You can not simply say that a novel written by your creator is absolutely correct and then contradict yourself by only deeming some passages as truthful. In which case, if homosexuality is a sin, please do not participate in it. However, please do not participate in any of the following actions either, because they are all sins as well, according to the Bible, and all sins are equal in the eyes of the Lord.
- Do not braid your hair, wear gold, pearls or other costly garments Timothy 2:9
- Do not get divorced even if your partner has lied and/or cheated 1 Corinthians 7:10–11
- Do not get remarried Mark 10:11–12
- If you are a woman, do not speak in church 1 Corinthians 14:34
- Do not have sex before marriage
The ones above are just a few sins that the new testament discusses, but the Old Testament features much crazier ones like do not get tattoos, haircuts, eat shrimp or wear an article of clothing made of two or more fabrics. In fact, most of the passages against homosexuality are found in the Old Testament.
The moral of the story is, if an individual truly believes that homosexuality and being transgender is a sin, then that individual must acknowledge that the items listed above are sins as well.
2. America is a Democracy, not a Theocracy
Remember that separation of Church and State thing? Remember that time when they decided that religion should have no place in government? It may be a vague memory to some because religion still lingers around the white house. Obama still speaks of God in many of his speeches, religion is embedded in our currency and Fox news felt it was appropriate to ask the Republican candidates how their presidential campaign aligns with God’s plan for them.
Because of this, same-sex marriage may be one of the few major cases where the Supreme Court has ruled against Christian mentality. That, and slavery. So, worrying about your religion’s preservation may be a natural reaction after living in a society that was once filled with people who share the same mentality as you. However, this sense of feeling alone in your mentality or feeling as though your opinions is not being valued, is a very small depiction of how homosexual and transgender individuals feel or have felt.
The difference is that homosexuals and transgender individuals feel this way because some rights were/are restricted to them. Christians feel this way because their mentality does not seem to be allowed to dictate the way other people want to live their life anymore. This mentality was never meant to rule over the land, so it has to be okay and accepted when a government ruling does not coincide with your religious beliefs. Notice that the words “does not coincide” were used as opposed to “infringe upon” or “restrict” in regards to religious beliefs.
3. You cannot tell others how to live THEIR life based on YOUR personal religion
This is a self explanatory statement, but I will expand on it for those who do not seem to understand it. If I am a vegetarian, it would not be warranted for me to enter a restaurant and steal everyone’s meaty dinners because I believe it is not right for them to be consuming animals.
I can protest the restaurant all I want. I can speak my mind about it from now until the sun goes down. I can even encourage someone to become a vegetarian, but I cannot shove a salad down their throat.
I also cannot enact a law that says only salads are even allowed to be eaten, because the reality of the matter is that people like hamburgers and hotdogs. Even if that troubles me to no end, I have to accept the fact that I have not yet come up with a device that can control everybody’s mind.
Therefore, if you ever feel the urge to infringe upon someone else’s rights, use these three points beforehand. Realize that there are other sins in the Bible that you never protest, so why protest this one so much? Realize that religion does not and should not be involved in government decisions, because if Saudi Arabia has taught us anything, it’s that religion does not belong in government. Lastly, stay humble and remind yourself that most likely, no one has ever attempted to restrict you in regards to sexuality or gender identity, so give the same courtesy to others.
