Friday, October 05, 2007
Coming out of the (belief) closet
Note: This post should not be taken to be Methodist doctrine.
This post has been a long time coming. I've been wanting to preach about my beliefs on the topic of homosexuality for a long time, but as they go beyond Methodist doctrine, I've held back. However, on this blog I see no reason to be shy.
The real prompt for getting down to writing this, however, was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, one of my favourite dramas at the moment. One episode went into the topic of homosexuality in terms of an ongoing debate between two characters. One of them was giving a "sitting on the fence" answer about civil unions when the other interrupted with:
"[...] there's no way to get to the end of that sentence without saying that homosexual love is something less than heterosexual love [...]"
That, for me, says it all. I believe that homosexual love is on a par with heterosexual love. It can be as close, warm, loving, supportive, self-sacrificing and fruitful as heterosexual love. That doesn't mean I have some rose-tinted vision of every gay couple being blissfully happy, of course, any more than I would for straight couples.
What's important to me (in terms of faith) is that I can't see how God could have anything against the kind of love I see exhibited by the gay couples I'm proud to count as my friends.
That's why I support gay marriage, rather than just civil unions. To many people it may make no practical difference, but it makes a big difference in emphasis. While there are two tiers, however legally equivalent, there will always be an implied moral inferiority of civil unions - and I find that repulsive. I believe God is happy to bless any loving, informed, consensual, monogamous relationship, no matter what genders are involved.
