I was supposed to write this post several weeks ago. I hadn’t forgot, I’ve been busy but not overly busy, but I just couldn’t think of what to write that hasn’t been written and rehashed a thousand times. Homosexuality is, for whatever reason, a hot button issue among those of religious persuasion. There are those on every side of the issue (and there are certainly more than two to such a complicated debate) who believe passionately that, as a Christian, they cannot believe otherwise. Scripture is cited and interpreted from every angle, arriving at totally different conclusions.
While you can read Joanna’s post below about loving our neighbors regardless of sexual orientation, I’d like to take a step (albeit a small step) in a different direction. It’s interesting that, in a society so often obsessed with personal privacy, we are just as obsessed with who is sleeping with whom. Yes, our sexuality is a defining characteristic of who we are, and I’m certainly not here to argue that we should negate or hide all traces of our sexuality. I am arguing, however, that such traits manifest themselves in ways that need not affect the graciousness with which we interact with others. People are people. It’s a difficult line to walk, to simply treat people as they should be treated, and as you would like to be treated, versus ignoring sexuality entirely. We can’t pretend like it just doesn’t exist, but we can take time to get to know other aspects of the person, such that one is not defined entirely by their sexuality.
I firmly believe that, if we would learn to separate the issues of treatment of those who claim homosexuality and marriage, that the debate would be far less heated. Politically, the debate should not be over the institution of marriage itself, but over the rights and benefits granted therein. Marriage is a religious institution; visitation of a dying spouse, power of attorney, tax benefits and the like are linked to civil institutions. Such things regard treatment of others, on a macro level, and I believe the same spirit governing individual relationships should govern this debate. Perhaps, then, we can at least agree to this, and deal with the issue of marriage itself within the church, outside of the heated political arena.