Westboro Watch

One of the boiling controversies today is homosexuality. People lobby for the outlawing of it. People lobby for the support of it. It seems to breed hate, leading to violent crimes (such as the murder of Matthew Shepard). It's also a very big reason why Westboro Baptist Church engages in picketing, so avoiding the subject is impossible.

I believe there are two questions that need to be answered here: 1) is homosexuality wrong, and 2) should it be legal? Yes, the two are separate questions, which I hope will make sense later.

If you believe that the Bible was verbally and plenarily inspired by God, you don't really have a choice in the former. Though it's mentioned very few times, homosexuality does have a very negative light in the few places where it is mentioned.

Granted, some things changed after Jesus Christ died. For one, the burden of the Mosaic Law wasn't necessary for believers. However, there's a difference between eating non-kosher foods and engaging in something that was called an abomination, which means "an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence."

Moreover, the condemnation is explicit in the New Testament.

It is true that mention of homosexuality is uncommon in the Bible. However, while repetition of something can indicate that it is more important, something being mentioned only a few times doesn't make it not important at all. Even if there's no external reason for its scarcity (e.g. "the practice was uncommon"), there's a reason you're supposed to read the fine print in a contract. That said, I believe that Westboro Baptist Church gives the issue far too much emphasis, as it is their primary emphasis. Why not emphasize "GOD HATES BABY KILLERS" or "GOD HATES SOPA" over "GOD HATES FAGS", or at least balance out the emphasis of issues?

But I digress. From at least those verses above, it should be expected that Orthodox Jews and conservative Christians believe that homosexuality is very, very bad. Given that Islam is the other major Abrahamic religion, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess what they believe concerning it.

Hinduism is a completely different story. Texts like the Vedas and ancient poetry depict saints, demigods, and gods having homosexual relationships. Feudal Japan recognized homosexual practices, especially in the Samurai period.

It can thus be inferred that the answer to the first question depends greatly on your religious beliefs. But, as a Christian who isn't liberal, I see homosexuality as wrong. But again, religioug beliefs.

The answer to the second question depends on how government should work, at least in this day and age. Israel in the Old Testament spent time as both a theocracy and a monarchy (which still had an official religion). Furthermore, the Bible records various miracles, prophecies, and other supernatural things happening during that time. If you had the gall to violate laws on sexuality in a setting like that, you had a death penalty coming.

But now it's the 21st century, and the dispensation of law and miracles on par with parting the Red Sea are long gone.

Perhaps we haven't reflected on it much, but the reasoning for outlawing homosexuality is almost entirely on a religious basis. Other than ensuring our survival as a species, there's very little, if anything, that can be said against homosexuality from a secular standpoint. It's also very difficult to imagine how homosexuality affects your fellow neighbors.

When church and state are separate (which I believe is necessary in this age to maintain each person's individual soul liberty), there is no reason for the state to enforce the morals of the church. Therefore, there is no reason for the United States to outlaw homosexuality, and Christians who lobby for or advocate doing so are wasting their time, energy, and money.

For evangelistic Christians, there's even more reason not to attempt this: making something illegal does nothing for the souls of those who are now outlaws. If anything, making it illegal would persecute homosexuals, and persecuting people for religious reasons makes your religion look bad. If Christians put more energy towards trying to prove why homosexuality is wrong with compassion instead of being homophobes lobbying for the outlawing of homosexual marriage, they would be more pleasing to their Master. Christians would certainly gain more converts if they used common sense and compassion instead of persecution.