March 04, 2004

The hysteria being generated by the growing trend toward homosexual marriages underscores two unfortunate aspects of human nature. The first is that the more freedom some people are allowed, the more they will use it to limit the freedom of others. The second is that no matter how divinely inspired a religion may be, when practiced by mere mortals it becomes only human. The call for a constitutional amendment to prohibit the marriages of gay Americans shows how destructive these shortcomings can become.

The constitution of the United States applies exclusively to our government. It describes how it will be organized, what functions the several branches will and will not have, what powers the government will be allowed to exercise and most important of all; what powers it may not exercise. It is in no way designed to be a means of controlling individual citizens or allowing any group of citizens to control any other group. There is no practical difference between using the constitution to define marriage in terms of gender and using it to define marriage in terms of race or religions. Marriage is not a function of the federal government and is therefore completely independent of constitutional restriction. The fact that one gay human being may choose to marry another gay human being has nothing to do with the government and, unless you are one of the two in question, it has nothing to do with you.

Christianity, as I understand it, is a religion that can provide a person with the means to attain spiritual salvation. It is the free and deliberate acts of the individual, according to the principles described by Jesus Christ that will procure eternal life. Christianity is not a method for dominating others or for forcing them to act according to our beliefs; there are other religions available to those who wish to do that sort of thing. If a Christian is sincere in their beliefs, and lives according to them, they will prove by example the truth of what their faith implies. But living such a life requires 100% of one’s focus upon their own actions. Any time spent attending to other people’s business is time not only wasted but quite possibly undoing any past progress.

Some will say that the proposed amendment is not based on religious grounds, despite the constant referrals to marriage as a “sacred” institution and homosexuality as “sinful”, but is somehow going to “protect the family”. If that were true, these folks would be pushing for an amendment to prohibit divorce in America, a practice far more destructive to the family than two gay people getting married. Of course, such an amendment would then apply to them and their group, a sacrifice they seem unwilling to make, even if it “protects the family”. I find it rather hypocritical that some people believe they have the right to marry several times and also have the right to decide that others may not marry at all.

No matter the societal or spiritual pretensions cloaking this bigotry it is the same old same old that has always dogged the advancement of humanity. The founding of our country was one of the greatest steps forward for mankind in history and the heart and soul of this greatness was the elevation of the individual beyond the reach of tyranny. The teachings of Jesus Christ and the example of His life have provided His followers with all the tools they need to improve their own selves. Forcing any group of people to live according to the religious belief of others is dangerously contrary to the purpose of our nation. Misusing the powers of government to circumvent free will in the interest of saving someone else’s soul is an utterly false sanctity that ultimately has always served the purposes of evil. Such actions are unworthy of those claiming to believe in America or professing to be Christians.

©2004 Lee Robinson

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