Gay Marriage and Stupid Christian Arguments

I said this in an earlier post and I still believe it:

There is probably no topic that Christians are more known for these days than hating gays.  The vocal minority has done a great job proving this out and the not-so vocal majority of Christians have done very little to disprove it.  We are known for largely hateful rhetoric and singling out one lifestyle to vilify -- while ignoring the ones Jesus really spoke against – pride, anger, materialism, idolatry, selfishness.

The church has wasted its time fighting gay marriage.  Why wasted?  Because I can tell you as a constitutional law expert that no matter what voters decide, the issue will be resolved by state and federal courts that for the most part don’t care what voters think.  So the church has spent millions fighting something that in the end they have no control over.  It’s like fighting a tsunami with a bucket – or millions of them.  It won’t work but you will die in the process.  

The church has wasted its time fighting gay marriage.  Why wasted?  Because I can tell you as a constitutional law expert that no matter what voters decide, the issue will be resolved by state and federal courts that for the most part don’t care what voters think.  So the church has spent millions fighting something that in the end they have no control over.  It’s like fighting a tsunami with a bucket – or millions of them.  It won’t work but you will die in the process.   

During Game 2 of their opening round NBA Playoffs series with the New Orleans Hornets, the Los Angeles Lakers debuted a public service announcement intended to discourage anti-gay slurs such as the one made recently by Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant in the direction of an NBA official.

For noticeably and loudly saying this slur so heinous that almost no news outlet dared hint what it actually was, Bryant was fined $100,000. Interestingly, the outcry and fine came only days after a UCLA study reported that just 3.5 percent of Americans are homosexual (a number far smaller than the usual 10-percent figure announced by LGBT groups).

Which leads me to ask: If a slur bothering 3.5 percent of the population earns you a $100,000 fine, and as many as 80 percent of Americans call themselves Christians, would NBA commissioner David Stern truly consider a--doing the math here--$2.3 million fine for the next player who clearly profanes the name of Jesus Christ? Or would such a huge number only apply to a star like Bryant?

This is Part 2 of an interview I did with David Di Sabatino (you can see Part 1 here). David is a filmmaker who has made two documentaries he likes to call “Bible stories” – “Frisbee: The Life and Death of A Hippie Preacher” and “Fallen Angel: The Outlaw Larry Norman.” In this interview, David talks about the making of "Frisbee" and the implications of the central character for the church and Christian culture.

Christopher: “Frisbee…” is a very Southern California movie. Vineyard and Calvary Chapel are coming out of Southern California. What are the reactions you’ve gotten to the film within and outside of Southern California?

I read this article on Change.org this morning - "Will There Ever Be a Post-Gay Identity?" - and it struck me that if I removed the LGBTQ references and replaced them with Christian references, the article would have been just as relevant. For example, 

"So what's next? Will we reach a time when there will no longer be a need for separate bars or centers, bookstores or retirement communities? Will there ever be such a thing as a post-gay identity?"

While no one can predict the outcome of the Prop 8 trial, the unlikely pairing of conservative lawyer Theodore Olson with his former liberal foe, David Boies, is making plenty of headlines.   They faced off in the famous Bush vs. Gore Supreme Court battle.  Together, they are now arguing against the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8 which outlawed gay marriage.   

Newsweek features a fascinating first person account from Ted Olson.  Rather than discussing how and when he reversed his position, the former solicitor general for George W. Bush maintains that conservatives should inherently affirm individual liberty and any legislation that promotes marriage, stability and family.     It is also intriguing that liberal lion David Boies relishes the opportunity to put the Obama's administration's equivocating on the issue on trial.    He told Newsweek, "The current administration has been decidedly halfway on this issue," he says, "and I think the specter of having George Bush's lawyer out in front of a Democratic president is something that, shall we say, might stimulate people to rethink their positions."  Conservative scion Edwin Meese offered an editorial protesting the particulars of the trial (including its San Francisco venue) in the famed venue of the left, The New York Times.   

Well, if there's a subject that's not dealt with very well in the church today, it's homosexuality.  But the fact is we ought to be paying much more attention to this.  In fact, many of you reading this right now are struggling with this.  This is why I'm writing specifically to you.

No doubt you're a bit confused about what to do with this, frustrated with every aspect of this issue, frightened of being rejected by those you love and maybe even angry with God because of all this.  There are times in which you wonder if it would just be easier to give in to the struggle.  Maybe you've dabbled in a relationship, maybe you've fully engaged in the lifestyle...or maybe you're seriously considering doing either.  Or, maybe you haven't engaged in a physical way with another person, but you consistently engage online with conversation and even porn sites.