God And Gay Marriage

My good bud Phil over at Red Guy/Blue State got my brain to thinking (no small task, mind you) earlier today with this post on gay marriage. It's rare to find a straight, religious (Catholic), conservative who will openly defend any form of same-sex recognition, and for that I thank and applaud him.

:::Thanks and applauds Phil:::

It's no secret out there that major religions aren't all that keen on homosexuality. (You show me one that is and I'll give you two front row tickets to a Britney Spears concert in which she actually sings.) It's a sin as far as they're concerned. Plain and simple. As such, society should not do anything that would condone said sin, i.e. legalizing civil unions/marriage.

The reasoning behind this seems to stem from various fears of where society and the world will head were these ungodly unions allowed. But that's the kicker. As Phil pointed out, it's not a God-sanctioned union that we're after. It's a state-sanctioned one. Tax breaks, property rights, adoptions. The sort of thing that straight people are entitled to. We're not asking for God to pass this legislation. We're asking our fellow, less-omnipotent, mortal beings.

The fact of the matter is that there are tons of gay couples out there living monogamously. Would God up the ante with a few more Category Five's next hurricane season to exact his revenge if those couples were allowed a couple extra tax breaks? Would He rain down fire and brimstone and other generally unpleasant substances upon the population if an ailing gay man could pass the mortgage to his house on to his partner? Would He unleash Armageddon on the world if Bob and Steve legally adopted a child who was abandoned?

Are these the kinds of things our Creator would do, just to get His point across?

.... Maybe. It's been awhile since He and I sat down over a pint. Things might've gotten a bit stressful up there in Heaven and He may be looking for an outlet to vent some frustration. But I kinda' doubt it. I seem to recall Him offering an apology to Noah about that nasty flood business, along with a promise that nothing like that would ever happen again. And something tells me God's a man of his word. (It's possible I'm too trusting though.)

So what I suggest is this. All you religious people just chill and maybe go over that passage in the Bible where it discusses that whole "judge not 'lest ye be judged" stuff. God will determine if gays filing a joint tax return is a sin that warrants eternal damnation in the fiery depths of Hell.

Until then... I could use the couple extra bucks on my '05 return.