5 Misconceptions About Gay Rights

After hearing many people talk about how the bible justifies hating on gays, I figured I would clear up a few misconceptions so I could get back to the regular scheduled programming.

1.

The belief “The Bible clearly states…” is a misconception. How many times have you heard that phrase? The Bible doesn’t clearly state anything. The original Bible was written in hebrew and greek; two languages that don’t clearly translate to english at all. Much of the translation is still up in the air and is debated a lot. So much so, that many question if there even is anything about “homosexuality being evil” in the Bible at all! There are many, many different ways of translating the phrases.

2.

The idea that you are somehow better then a gay person is also a misconception. Under the concepts of Christianity, every single person is a sinner by default. Just by being human, you are just as “sinful” as every gay person out there. So this idea that gays are somehow going to corrupt you with their sin is complete BS. Under Christianity, you are already corrupted, but saved under Jesus.

3.

Which brings me to Jesus. The principle of Christianity is to attempt to be “christ-like.” The idea that “Jesus hates gays” is a misconception. Jesus’s sermon on the Mount gave a very clear image of the idea that even if you disagree with someone, even if they aren’t Christian, even if they are your enemy, you love them. That’s what jesus would do. He didn’t say you should scream slurs at your fellow man. He said “love your enemy.” He said “Treat people the same way you want them to treat you.” It’s really not that difficult of a concept. Even if you don’t like the idea of two people of the same sex being in love, a real Christian wouldn’t hate.

4.

“The founding fathers wouldn’t be for it” is also a misconception. I’ve heard this from people attempting to appeal to some outdated patriotism. In all reality, the founding fathers were quite big about freedoms of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” were not going to regulate anything. They may have socially discouraged it, but no way in hell were they going to outlaw it.

5.

Which brings me to another point: The idea that “being against gay rights is a politically conservative value” is a misconception. In all reality, conservatives, or at least the ones I’ve talked to are about less government control. If states are making amendments to their constitutions specifically so people can’t marry, then it’s definitely more government control. There is absolutely no possible way for someone to argue the other side for that. If your making a law so someone can’t do something, it’s government control.

So here’s the deal. You’ve already heard the rest. You’ve heard that there’s plenty in the Bible Christians don’t follow at all, like cutting off a woman’s hands (Deuteronomy 25:11-12) or your own hand (Matthew 5:29-30), stoning blasphemers (Leviticus 24:13-16) wives disobedience being blasphemy (Titus 2:4-5), Jew’s are members of the synagogue of Satan(Revelation 2:9), Smiting blind people is rewarded (2 Samuel 5:8), eating your children (Leviticus 26:29), Stoning adulterers (leviticus 20:10), Stoning disobedient children(Leviticus 20:9), Executing more disobedient children(Deuteronomy 21:18-21), Stoning for not being a virgin (Deuteronomy 22:13-22), braiding your hair, wearing gold or pearls (1 Timothy 2:9), wearing wool and linen together (Deuteronomy 22:11) charging interest on a loan (Ezekiel 18:13), having sex with girls obtained in war (Judges 21:20-23) selling your daughter into slavery (Exodus 21:7-10), not coming near a “menstruous woman,” (Ezekiel 18:5-6), and being cool with slavery (Colossians 3:22 among several others).

You’ve heard that a marriage license is a government issue rather than a religious issue in the first place. You’ve heard that we have a separation of church and state in this country. You’ve heard that we have a constitution. You’ve heard that it’s not a bible. You’ve heard that we were based on the Declaration of Independence which has a pretty important phrase: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

But as implied by the lack of laws allowing gay rights, none of that seems to be getting in homophobes’ heads. They don’t realize that at this moment, there is a contest going on. This moment there is a competition to see who’s going to be on the right side of history.