Reply 6: Disgust and Bigotry

<<In response to an honest confession by some that thoughts of gay sex>> “DISGUSTS ME, DANG IT” <<the authors of the flowchart reply:>> “PROPS FOR BEING HONEST. HOWEVER, A WHOLE POPULATION OF PEOPLE SHOULDN’T HAVE THEIR FAMILIES DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK GAY SEX IS ICKY. GROW UP”

We agree with much of this criticism. If you are driven not by the clear teaching of Scripture but by an instinctive discomfort with the idea of gay sex, you need to grow up. Biblical teachings are not merely an excuse to act out our prejudices.

As with so many of these points, however, something corrosive and unwise has been slipped in: a claim that objecting to gay marriages is a form of “family discrimination.” Such arguments presume that marriage is a right of all human beings, taken away from them only as an act of meaningless and arbitrary discrimination. This is a huge issue, but we might say in response that marriage is a gift from God, and God commends marriage but never promises it to anyone/everyone. Marriage is ultimately not a right; it is a gift from God as a fundamental human institution.