There are a few county clerks out there that are refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and they cite their deeply held religious beliefs for their reason. Why? Because marriage is an institution ordained by the invisible man in the bible, that’s why.
I can't help but wonder if their deeply held religious beliefs have prevented them from issuing licenses to straight couples that were secular; or have refused couples who had engaged in premarital sex. Or, perhaps, one of them had been previously divorced. Suppose the man had been both uncircumcised and trimmed his beard! Maybe the lady really loves a good shrimp scampi. Do you suppose any of these deeply devout christians have refused to file divorce papers? I doubt it!
So I can’t help but to ask at what point does all of this shit break down to being something someone made up? The cynic in me says this is just another bullshit excuse to be a hateful bigot, disguised in so-called “religious freedom”, but the logical side of me knows that this is nothing more than christian bible verse cherry-picking in order to hold power over others.
The more perceptive readers will undoubtedly have now noted that all of the biblical reasons for refusing to issue a marriage license, as stated above, are all from the Old Testament.
Many of you reading this are indeed christian, and some of you possess a good deal of biblical knowledge, and probably have also noted that the prohibition of homosexual relationships is also found (only tersely) in the Old Testament.
I know what many of you are saying. “But … But … the crucifixion of Jesus nullified the Old Testament!” I know that most modern day American christians prefer the more palatable happy-clappy, peace, love and baby Jesus version of the religion and prefer to believe that the Old Testament no longer has much meaning, but I feel compelled to point out that simply isn’t true. It’s an interesting paradox that the modern American christians present when they simultaneously assert that the crucifixion has more or less nullified the Old Testament, but will in the same breath quote the Old Testament to justify their shaming of women and girls, sexuality, gays, and the teaching of science.
Allow me to be clear. I understand that many of you who are reading this are reasonable – dare I say, “liberal” – people, who hold little to no regard for the hypocrisy of christianity, and don’t really give a fuck one way or the other. Obviously I’m not talking about you. What I am attempting to do is address the core reason why the entire anti-equality argument is complete and total bullshit. This will be long, and boring, but I figure, hey, Kos readers love shit that’s long a boring, so let’s get started, shall we?
I’ve been sitting on this piece for about a week wondering where to begin. Do I immediately launch into a rant about the bible verse cherry-picking and why it’s stupid? Should I start with reminding people that the United States is not a theocracy, and whatever the precious holy book says is generally irrelevant because we are a nation of laws and not of superstition? Perhaps I can begin by mentioning the obvious; not everyone is a christian, so it’s a little unfair to abuse the political system to force non-christians into following religious precepts to which they do not subscribe. Or maybe I should start with noting how convenient it is that the few people who claim to know exactly what god wants and how they wish to use that “knowledge” to hold power over others. Maybe I can begin by mentioning that what two consenting adults do in private is no one’s business, and if two gay people choose to get married it literally affects no one else one way or the other. And, besides, can we not all agree that more people wanting to form life-long committed relationships through marriage is a good thing?
How ever I choose to tackle this issue one thing is for sure, this already overly-long flow of consciousness would require some level of nuance lest I am accused of not being nuanced enough, or being a fundamentalist. I have a lot to say about the subject, and there is a ton of world and early christian historical background involved, but this isn’t the time or place to get into all of that. Besides, this is supposed to be a diary entry, not a fucking book. Plus I’m a busy guy, I don't have a lot of time for lots of tiny little details, I have naps to take!
I hate to be repetitious, but I think I should once again state the obvious. The United States is not a theocracy. Though the dominant religion in the United States is christianity, a christian nation it is not. When the founding fathers and framers of our Constitution gathered at the Constitutional Convention in Pennsylvania in 1787, they deliberately designed a federal system of government that made no endorsement of one religion over another. They wisely crafted the Constitution to reflect a secular view that respects all peoples' faiths. Thomas Jefferson referred to this as a "wall of separation between church and state." He did so in a letter to the Danbury Baptists Association to give them assurance that there would be no establishment of a national religion, as prescribed by the First Amendment, thus preventing government interference in matters of faith. The separation of church and state is primarily formed through the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause in the First Amendment, but to Sarah Palin's chagrin, the words "separation of church and state" isn’t actually spelled out, but the wall is there, I promise you.
It is because of Jefferson's wall of separation it is unfair for christians, or any other religious group, to abuse the political system to force others into adopting religious values.
It's kind of like this: Let's say you belong to a religion that absolutely forbids the watching of The Big Bang Theory on Monday nights. That simply means that you cannot watch The Big Bang Theory on Monday night, the rest of us, however, can watch all of the fucking nerdy TV shows we jolly well please. This isn't an invitation for you to get asinine laws passed that forces others to conform to your particular brand of superstition. That's called being unfair, and it doesn’t matter how quickly the viewers of Big Bang Theory are going to hell, and it’s not your fucking problem.
Allow me to put it another way. Let's say you believe the wall of separation doesn't really exist, or that it doesn't count in your special religious case, or it's at least porous enough to let really important religious matters take precedence. Let's assume for the sake of argument that's true, then what's to stop Jewish people from forcing everyone into adopting a kosher diet, hmm? What then would stop the nutjob Mormons into forcing everyone to wear their magic underwear, huh? Exactly! We have a separation of church and state, and for that reason government officials cannot make policy decisions based on their religion (like refusing to issue a marriage license) and force others into adopting those values. I think this is rather obvious, but if your religious convictions actually preclude you from performing some of your job functions, then maybe it's time to find another line of work. Just kind of fuckin' thinking out loud here.
Not to change the subject, but has anyone else noticed that the christians aren't happy unless they get to fuck with people? They were pissed when they were told they can no longer keep slaves, even though slavery is condoned in the bible. They were pissed when it was decided that women have equal rights, even though it says in the bible that women are inferior to men. They got really pissed when the government told them they can no longer treat brown people differently just because they're brown, and they'd have to find new ways to be bigoted assholes. And now the christians are super pissed because the government says they can't deny rights to gay people.
So how do the christians decide who is a second class citizen and who isn’t, and what gives them that authority? Well, since god doesn’t reveal himself and tell us all directly, self-appointed human representatives who claim to know all of the answers step in and dictate to us all. They know climate change is a hoax. The know women are inferior to men. They know the earth is only six thousand years old, so no need to teach science to the contrary because god told them dinosaur fossils were just a divine prank. And they know gay people are inherently immoral and an abomination. How is it that they know these things? Because god told them so while they cherry-picked a verse or two from an ancient book.
Well, isn’t that convenient?
Yes, christians cherry-pick, it’s not a secret. All christians do it, even the liberal ones that prefer the most palatable version of the religion. Christians cherry-pick from a book that is so inconsistent it can be used to defend nearly any position, which just goes to highlight how much shit they really have on the shelf. Conservative christians have used the book to defend everything from slavery, witch trials, and segregation, and they currently use the bible to support their shaming of women, poor people, brown immigrants, and gays. Aren’t they versatile?
Time and again christians want to have their cake and eat it too. It’s a normal and a common human tendency; the difference is conservative christians claim to have the support of god and moral superiority, and they do this simply to have power over others. It has absolutely nothing to do with the wants and demands of a spooky invisible man; it has everything to do with the lust of power; power over you, me, and everyone else. Conservative christians aren’t happy unless they get to fuck with people! Let’s face it if god really existed, and really had a message to send, he probably wouldn’t use illiterate Bronze Age peasants to convey just how deeply marriage between two gay people offends him.
I think this debate has been particularly important for the conservative christians because they’re losing the culture war, and one of the few avenues of power that they have left has been vanquished with a ruling by the Supreme Court, and that’s why they’re lashing out. They can’t keep their slaves; they can’t oppress women; they can’t segregate the brown people; they can’t use the public school system to overtly indoctrinate kids; and now they can’t tell people with whom they may enter a marriage contract. Liberalism is winning, and they’re freaking the fuck out, and I love every minute of it.
If you made it this far I applaud your superhuman attention span and ability to follow a rambling diatribe. Thank you for reading and allowing me to vent.