Monday, July 2, 2012

Gay Marriage and Christian Penitence

Over at Patheos Christian Piatt has a piece in which he describes his experience at a Gay Pride parade in Portland where he and his wife wore sandwich boards with the following message:


According to Piatt, humbly begging for forgiveness from the Gay Community on behalf of all Christians (whom, it's worth noting, he doesn't necessarily speak for) in Portland at a Gay Pride parade is a daring act of courage that could possibly carry dire consequences. Consequences such as, I suppose, being accepted and extremely well-liked.

If you carried a "Homosexuality is a Sin" or a "Marriage is a Sacrament, Not a Right" sign, then you'd be taking a stand for the faith which almost certainly would get scorn and derision directed at you. Not that I would recommend such a tact, but let's be honest about what is and what is not an unpopular stance at a particular venue. There's scarcely anything safer or more in line with current cultural trends than gestures toward the LGBT community in this vein, especially at a Gay Pride parade in Portland.

This fact in itself doesn't mean that such gestures are wrong (though I think they are), but even bracketing out that question -- and saving it for another blog, perhaps -- it's objectively not the case that it's a stance very likely to cost you anything. Not even so much as being mildly disliked.

2 comments:

  1. Why do you think such gestures are wrong? If they want to express their support for those people, why shouldn't they?

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    1. They shouldn't because 'those people' (your phrase) are engaged in a public celebration of sin. That Christians have their own sins, including failing to always lovingly engage the LGBT community, is true, but what the sign indicates as the sin -- ”denying equality” visa vis upholding the traditional marriage which God instituted -- isn't a sin at all, but a right action. Playing accommodationist to sin while ”apologizing” for God's word and standards is wrong.

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