Besides a few comments and minor debates on the recent SCOTUS decision; I have been pretty quiet so far. This is not because I do not have anything to say or because I am silently waving a white flag of surrender to the issue. It is because I wanted to wait for some of the immediate backlash and celebration to calm down a bit and also to prayerfully consider what I want to say before I put it out for the public to see.

It is no secret that I am conservative when it comes to religion and politics. So in this post, I want to share my thoughts from both my religious and political perspective. I feel that they go hand in hand but I know that there are some who are conservative politically but are not religious and who are religious but are not conservative politically.

I also am aware that there are extremists on both sides of the issue. The media is quick to paint the picture that all Christians are like the extremists. There are people who claim to be Christians who are hateful (bully, shame, kill) towards homosexuals, different races, people who perform and have abortions, etc. Extremists are the minority and do not reflect how most Christians behave and/or believe.

I have Christian friends and family on both sides of the issue. I have friends and family who live the homosexual lifestyle. I love them all whether we agree or disagree on this issue or others.

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Here are my thoughts from a political perspective…

• This ruling is more about government control than marriage equality. The constitution was written to limit government control of the people. Through this ruling, the federal government has gained more control.
  • The four dissenting judges were trying to prevent government control and protect religious freedom. Top 10 Quotes from Dissenting Judges…
  • By making this a federal issue, the state’s power was undermined. This could have big consequences on many issues.

• People consistently call for separation of church and state and the 1st Amendment as an argument for why government should pass equal rights to marriage. However, this is not an accurate portrayal of the 1st amendment and the concept of separation of church and state. 
  • The first amendment does not say anything about separation of church and state (nor does any other part of the Constitution). It is about freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom to peaceably assemble.
  • Separation of church and state comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson which underscored the 1st amendment as condemning the government interfering with people’s religious practices. This ruling has the potential to undermine religious freedom.
  • People keep shouting “separation of church and state” (out of context) but it seems to only be one-sided. The government should uphold the 1st amendment as it was intended to be upheld.

• Thomas Jefferson said “The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.”
  • The first amendment has nothing to do with marriage. However, if someone has beliefs that are based in religion (such as that marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman—which is believed by at least 3 major religions practiced in the USA: Christianity, Islam, & Judaism) the government cannot force them to violate their beliefs.
  • Yet, businesses have already been forced to provide services for ceremonies that they are religiously opposed to (or pay the consequences of losing their businesses). This could also lead to pastors/churches to perform ceremonies that they are religiously opposed to.
  • The same people who call for tolerance for their lifestyle, often do not extend the same tolerance of people who disagree.

• As an American, no matter what side of the issue someone is on, no one has the right to desecrate the American flag in order to advance their agenda.
  • This is not ok at all… 
  • Flag Code 176. Respect for flag (g) states: “The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.” US Flag Code

• The media is biased. I believe that the media has a huge part in the division of our country. Not only with this issue but many others. 
  • Unfortunately, people take media as fact and do not research for themselves the agendas behind the media reports.
  • They try to erase history to advance agenda, they condemn one group of people while other groups of similar thought & actions go free, they push stories of extremists and paint them as the normal, they try to pass opinion as fact, and the list goes on and on and on.

• As Americans, we have the right to vote people into office to represent what we believe politically. It does not matter which party we are a part of. We have the responsibility to make our voices heard through the election process. 
  • We should be celebrating that people have the freedom to voice their opinions. There are many countries who do not have this freedom.
  • We should voice our opinions through respectful conversation. We should not be encouraging or acting out hatred (bullying, shaming, and killing) to get our point across.

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Here are some of my thoughts on the issue from a religious perspective…

(based on believing my Bible is the Word of God and is the Holy Scripture that guides my Christian beliefs)…

• I believe that marriage was designed by God to be the union of one man and one woman as a reflection of the relationship of Christ and His bride, the church.
  • 100% of the verses referring to God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
  • “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
  • “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:21-33
  • “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Revelation 19:7-8
  • I do not feel that my marriage is worthless or invalidated because same-sex “marriages” are legal.

• I believe that the homosexual lifestyle is a sin in God’s eyes.
  • 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior describe it as sin in the clearest and strongest possible terms.
  • 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions of any kind. There are no exceptions for “committed” relationships.
  • “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.” Romans 1:26-27
  • “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men” 1 Corinthians 6:9

• I believe that homosexuality is no greater than any other sin. Sin is sin. Sexual sins are consistently listed with other types of sin (sins of thoughts, emotions, and actions). Including the sin that I struggle with on a regular basis (acting out in anger). 
  • “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” Romans 1:29-32
  • “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21
  • If people were trying to make adultery, polygamy, and other forms of sexual sin legal there would be just as much of an opposition from conservatives.
  • Christians who do not show love toward those they disagree with are also sinning.
  • EDIT: I posted the following on my Facebook page a couple of days ago: With all the talk about gay marriage, I think that it is important for Christians to remember that divorce and sex outside of marriage are also sin according to the Bible. Heterosexuals have done a good job of destroying the perfect plan for marriage long before homosexuals pushed the marriage agenda. Christians get divorced at similar rates to non-Christians and I know many Christians who have had sex outside of marriage (either before or during marriage). Jesus said that if a man looks at a woman lustfully he has already committed adultery in his heart (the same is true for women looking at men and for those living homosexual lifestyle). We all are capable of giving into temptation and sinning. The good news is that Jesus became sin so that we could be washed clean if we accept His gift of salvation.

• The Gay-Pride rainbow flag is a mockery of God.
  • God passed judgement, through a worldwide flood, on the people of the world for their sin (homosexuality among others). The rainbow is a covenant from God to mankind. He gives mankind his Word that he will never again flood the entire earth.
    • “Therefore when we see thousands of homosexuals marching in the streets with the Rainbow as their flag — they are essentially implying that they are proud of their sexual immorality whether God likes it or not — while simultaneously reminding God of the contract that he made with humanity never to flood the earth again.” (see here for more detailed opinion on this topic)
  • I am sure that there are many people who support the Gay-Pride flag, who do not know the correlation to the God of the Bible (or do not care). That does not make it any less true.
  • I still love rainbows… just for different reasons!

• As a Christian, I believe that I am called to love my neighbors even when we disagree. I believe that Jesus loves me and forgives me even though I sin. I believe that Jesus loves people who live the homosexual lifestyle and forgives people who turn away from the lifestyle. Jesus is a friend of sinners. He ate with them, He talked with them, He showed them the truth, and He died for them.  
  • I have no problem with eating with, talking with, and inviting a homosexual into my home or church.
  • I recently had (in my opinion) an awesome conversation with a family member who lives the homosexual lifestyle. We talked about all sorts of topics as we caught up on each other’s lives after not seeing each other for many years. She is still my family. I still love her. I am pretty sure she feels the same about me.

• Christians (or anyone) do not have to agree with a lifestyle or other opinions in order to respect and love a person. In the same way, homosexuals (or anyone) do not have to agree with how I live my life in order to respect and love me. It goes both ways with many different issues in life.

• I do not expect everyone to agree with me or my religion. I do not force anyone to agree with me or my religion. While I hope that people around the world will come to know Jesus as their Savior, I know that many people will not. I am responsible for sharing the gospel with people. I am not responsible for whether or not they accept it as truth.

• Christianity is not the only religion that believes that homosexuality is immoral. Judaism and Islamic religions (and possibly others) also believe this.
  • Unfortunately, the media focuses on Christianity and not on the others. I saw very little coverage of the ISIS response to the SCOTUS ruling… they shoved men, who were accused of being gay, off of a building to their death.
  • Muslims also refuse to make wedding cakes for homosexual weddings.

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Here is another related post I wrote a few years ago:

About Boycotting…

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America is made up of diverse people, cultures, religions, beliefs, etc. We do not agree on everything but we can still show respect for those who are different from us. We do not have the same religions but we can still love each other as people. We are not better than each other. This is part of what makes America great!

Feel free to voice your opinions and engage in respectful debate in the comments. However, any comments that are disrespectful, use inappropriate language, etc. will be deleted.