The Southern Baptist Convention has declared Spiritual Warfare. You can surely guess on what. http://t.co/MHjMtt4Y2G pic.twitter.com/VAcUSEfALL
— The National Memo (@NationalMemo) June 17, 2015COLUMBUS, Ohio — Declaring “spiritual warfare” on gay marriage, thousands gathered in Ohio on Tuesday for the annual Southern Baptist Convention and vowed that, no matter what the Supreme Court rules this month, they will never yield on the issue. The Baptists acknowledged that the court seems likely to legalize same-sex marriage when it rules in the next two weeks, but leaders urged the faithful to stand fast and, indeed, lead the nation in opposition…. “We are in spiritual warfare,” said convention president the Rev. Ronnie Floyd. “This is not a time for Southern Baptists to stand back.”
A colleague once told me that her take on opposing same-sex marriage was that if you believe the recognition of a loving, committed union between two consenting adults poses a clear and present danger to your marriage, there’s a good chance you’re not as straight as you believe yourself to be. Think about that for a moment, and ponder what it is that causes you to be so virulently opposed to same-sex marriage. If you hold to the belief that it poses a threat to “traditional marriage,” I’d offer only one question in response: Whose tradition are you holding so fast to?
Marriage is many things, and the institution has as many iterations as they are couple who avail themselves of it. No one person, faith, or school of thought gets to define marriage in a way that fits their narrow prejudice and “morality”. There’s simply no actual or implied right which allows for one class of people to deny a basic human right to another because of “sincerely-held religious beliefs.”
If you’re so concerned about the “sanctity” of marriage, how about focusing on your own and helping to reduce the divorce rate? You have the right and ability to critique your own marriage, but there’s no corresponding right to pass judgment on how others choose to live and love. When one in two heterosexual marriages end in divorce, one can’t reasonably claim to respect the “sanctity” of “traditional” marriage.
If you believe the primary purpose of marriage to be about raising children, then what of those who happen to be childless (whether by choice or medical reality) and yet want to commit to and share life with the person they love? I’m getting married on August 1st, and neither Erin nor I want children…yet we want to spend our lives together. If you believe that your “sincerely-held religious convictions” mean that our marriage is somehow invalid or “less than,” I should introduce you to Erin, who’ll (deservedly) kick your ass from here ‘til next Tuesday. I’d pay to watch that.
The truth is that no one- “religious” or otherwise- gets to define or determine the validity of our marriage…or anyone else’s, for that matter. The only marriage that’s any of your business is your own. If you believe your “faith” allows you to dictate to others what their lives and relationships should represent and be about, I’d submit that you’re a self-righteous busybody with too much time on your hands. You’re not a “Christian,” you’re an intolerant, judgmental zealot uncomfortable with the idea that others may not be “enlightened” enough to think, believe, live, and/or love as they do.
“Hypocrisy” and “faith” should never have cause to appear in the same sentence. Yet here we are talking about the Southern Baptist Convention, who seem to be about “God’s love” in the same way I’m the High Priest of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Motion.
I’ve yet to receive from anyone a cogent explanation as to why one person’s opposition to same-sex marriage should be cause to deny that right to everyone. New Flash: Your prejudice doesn’t enable you to deny basic human rights to others unfortunate enough not to think, believe, live, and/or love as you do. If you oppose same-sex marriage, allow me to offer a simple way for you to remain consistent in your opposition: don’t marry someone of the same gender.
Problem solved, eh? Wasn’t that easy?? Now how about working on some REAL problems; you know, the sort the Lord and Savior you profess to revere would want His followers to address? The list is long and includes things like war, hunger, oppression of women, income in quality, etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum. There are many legitimate, intractable issues which any Christian worthy of the appellation and endeavoring to lead a Christ-like life could tackle. Forcing your prejudice and moral code on others is nowhere to be found on that list. Who knew, right? Jesus Christ preached love, tolerance, and acceptance, and inclusion. Evidently the Southern Baptist Convention has no problem with cherry picking the Gospels in order to justify their narrow, self-righteous, anti-Christian hatred and homophobia.
Several attendees, whom the event terms as “messengers,” said the convention — with its joyful gospel songs, impassioned testimonials and shared fellowship — offered a communal sense of reassurance of their views. The official attendance was 5,000, but it did not count the many spouses and children on hand.
Many of their congregants, sensing the shifting cultural climate on gay marriage, feel defensive and afraid to publicly state their views, wary of being cast as bigots or hate-mongers.
“We understand how fully unpopular our view is, and where the culture is on this issue,” said the Rev. Bryant Wright of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in East Cobb, Ga., and a former convention president. “But we must stay true to God’s word.”
“[W]e must stay true to God’s word”…really?? I find myself perplexed as I wonder exactly which posterior they’re pulling “God’s word” out of? If they’re defaulting to the Old Testament, I’d really have to ask if they’re eating shellfish or wearing clothing of mixed fiber? Or perhaps they’re just cherry-picking what they can use to buttress their prejudice and homophobia that they’ve camouflaged as “sincere religious conviction?”
I’d submit that declaring “spiritual warfare” is just another way for Southern Baptists to claim the moral high road for themselves even as they slog through the mud. They’re repulsed by homosexuality and the idea of same-sex marriage…and that’s certainly their right in a free society; feeling something to be “icky” certainly isn’t a crime. Unfortunately for SBC, living in a free society doesn’t mean being free to impose their values upon others who may or may not share them. “Religious Freedom,” doesn’t mean the right to force one’s religious values (or whatever fears and prejudices they’re attempting to whitewash as “religious”) onto others. There’s no right to deny others their rights…yet that appears to be the sort of “spiritual warfare” SBC is girding their loins to fight. Unfortunately for them, they’re firing blanks. They will undoubtedly scream and rant and kick up a righteous fuss, but in the end it only be much sound and fury and ultimately signifying nothing.
The good Christians of the Southern Baptist Convention can kick and scream and hold their breath until they turn blue and pass out. It will accomplish nothing except to feed their not inconsiderable (and wholly unjustified) persecution complex. A very wise man once told me that, while you can certainly piss into the wind, in the end you’ll only end up stinky, dripping wet, and badly in need of a shower.
Wright acknowledged the difficulty of communicating that church members are not hateful or discriminatory against gays and lesbians, though Baptists do believe they are sinners. He noted that he preaches to teens who have sex outside of marriage, people who divorce, and those who commit adultery. He loves them and hopes they find their way, he said.
I find it interesting that belief in “God’s word” is the justification frequently offered to defend the desire to ensure homosexuals are defined as second-class citizens and denied many of the benefits they themselves take for granted. To say SBC is “not hateful or discriminatory against gays and lesbians, though Baptists do believe they are sinners” is as dishonest as it is disingenuous. If you in fact despise, yet claim to love people whose only crime is thinking, believing, living, and/or loving differently while claim to love them, you’re merely a hypocrite using your religion as a smokescreen. You’re as much a “Christian” as Bruce Jenner was comfortable in his masculinity.
When it comes right down to it, if your religion allows you to discriminate against those whose only “crime” or “sin” is thinking, believing, living, and/or loving differently, you’re religious in the same way the Chicago Cubs are perennial World Series contenders. You’re not a follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ, you’re a self-righteous, mean-spirited, devoid of self-knowledge zealot who’d be better served by focusing your attentions and considerable moral outrage on yourself. You might also wonder why it is you’re so concerned about how other consenting adults choose to love one another and what they do behind closed doors.
There’s something to be said for getting your own house in order. It’s clear the hyper-religious hypocrites who comprise the membership of the Southern Baptist Convention could benefit from honest self-reflection. They might try prying their Bibles open now and again…to something other than the Old Testament.
Hypocrisy in the name of “sincere religious convictions” is still hypocrisy.
