The Cowardice of Anti-Gay Christians

Impact

Peruse the comments following any article about gay rights on this or any other website, and you will likely find a few anti-gay remarks whose authors cowardly hide behind biblical precepts. You see, it is not they who have a problem with homosexuality, but God. Because homosexuality is condemned in the Old Testament, they cannot in good conscience approve of such a thing. Comments of this nature on PolicyMic have included:

“Unfortunately, for them, Scripture says what I've stated above to be true. This is not my view, but what God has denoted in the Bible.”

“All sin is an abomination against God. Homosexual acts are equivalent with adultery, lying, stealing, etc. There is no hierarchy of sin. It is all detestable in the eyes of our Creator.”

Some of these remarks even come shrouded in the guise of divinely-inspired magnanimity:

“God's view is that homosexuality is considered a sin. The person, on the other hand, is a gift, and we must love them.”

Bigotry. Warm and fuzzy style.

What is equally worse is the fact that many pro-gay individuals insist that as long as anti-gay bigotry is grounded in religious concerns, it should be treated with kid gloves:

“I favor gay marriage and have for some time, but I know it's essential to discuss it respectfully with other Christians to have an open and positive exchange. I would never discuss it in the arrogant, morally-superior tone taken by many advocates.”

Such a sentiment is common among some pro-gay advocates, who have allowed themselves to be taken in by the polite-sounding religious rhetoric of their anti-gay interlocutors. But the reality is, when it comes to conversing about homosexuality with those who oppose it on religious grounds, there can be no positive or productive exchange. Show me a person who thinks that homosexuality (or anything else) is wrong because God says it is, and I will show you a person whose mind is not amenable to being changed on the subject. For them, the immorality of homosexuality is as immutable as the Pythagorean Theorem.

For this reason, faith-based bigotry is more pernicious and lasting than that prejudice which arises from non-religious means. Additionally, the view is more likely to be passed on to offspring and religious converts literally as a matter of faith. Indeed, at least anecdotally, I find that the preponderance of millennials who oppose gay marriage do so because of their religion.

Naturally, there are plenty of religious people who support same-sex marriage. These individuals have surmounted the moral limitations of the antiquated holy books on which their religions are based. In this regard, they are morally superior to the faiths to which they belong, and refuse to wait until God edits Leviticus 18:22 to recognize the equal rights of gay people.