It’s really hard for me to talk about ‘gay stuff’. Be it the justification for homosexual behaviour in general, or issues like gay marriage. The discomfort I feel stems from the fact that I have a very conservative Christian and elitist upbringing, and so even though, I consider myself very liberal, I still find it hard to let go of the ‘security’ that fundamentalism provides.
After careful consideration however, there is no doubt that fundamentalism does not provide any genuine ‘security’. Conservative Christianity is blind, and any security it claims to provide is false! Its only security is in the fact that it does not change, but what exists that does not change?
Fundamentals continue to provide age old arguments, for new issues. Although homosexual behaviour is a not a practice that is new among humans, the discourse surrounding gay marriage and gay families, is one that is new, and in fact, different from the discourse that has surrounded homosexuality.
What response do conservative Christians have to gay marriage? It’s the same old talk about “Sodom and Gomorrah”, and the bible passages that condemn homosexual behaviour.
Fundamentalism embodies sterility, in my mind. They bite the hand the feeds them. The ideas and values that they vehemently oppose create and shape the world they live in. They seek to escape the world because of its sin and waywardness, yet they do not realise that their rejection of the world only shapes it. It defines the world, and makes it the same world they live in.
There are good arguments for gay marriage, but fundamentalists will not hear it. Their view of the world as given, or as having aspects of it that are given, debars them. I doubt however, and hope, that members of the LGBTQ community will not allow such attitudes to impede them.
They forget that to live, is to create.
I completely agree with what it is you are saying. I understand where you are coming from, and how it can be hard to distance yourself from it if you have grown up in such an environment your entire life.
People with close-minded worldviews will most likely never change. All that can be done is to distance yourself. Arguing will bring nothing to the argument, because it is an argument that cannot be resolved.
Christians have always been opposed to homosexuality, and will probably continue to do so. To agree with them is a loosing battle, because they are not open to hearing our arguments. They believe that they are right and that every other view / lifestyle opposing it is wrong.
Fortunately, we must not be trapped by the thoughts and practices of fundamentalist Christians. We can distance ourselves, and escape the arising situations before it becomes unmanageable.
There is not much that can be done to change their limited worldview, but there is something we can do. We can choose to not let this affect us more than it has to. To not let it rule our lives, rule our thoughts. The same way their minds cannot be changed, ours will not be either.
Everyone has a right to an opinion. It’s just unfortunate that most Christians (moreso on the fundamentalist side) will not allow the voicing of opposing opinions, nor give it the attention it warrants. To disqualify an opinion just because it happens to conflict with their belief is not just. They will not give the time of day to our opinions or beliefs, but they are the first to whine that no one is listening to what they have to say.
Respect, overall, is what must be achieved on both ends. Both ends should respect the other enough to disagree with their beliefs and opinions, but still be able to acknowledge that they do have the right to those beliefs and opinions and that just because they oppose their own does not make them wrong.
I completely understand when you say that you find it difficult to comment upon homosexuality. Despite acknowledging and accepting any human beings right to homosexuality, I confess that I would be uncomfortable in company of a gay friend. Fundamentalism is only a refusal to think beyond what one is comfortable with. If anyone looks at it as security, it is the worst illusion that can be.