Commotion in the Pews

This will be a short sort of post. It’s more of a mirror than anything else, and you’ll probably see what you want to/expect to see when you read it today. But I’ve never particularly cared about controversy, and as time has gone by on this blog I’m more and more likely to stir things up. Mainly because I’ve been told to shut up way too often for my tastes.

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Who would tell me to shut up? Readers. You cannot imagine the kinds of input I get from the reading audience when I write about almost anything. It ranges from “You’re so fat it will kill you” to “Gee, I didn’t know you were a member of the Klan” in it’s scope and mendacity. I do read the comments even if I don’t publish them. I control the comments because some people are so rude and mean that they wouldn’t just make me all sad and weepy (figure the odds) but they’ll hurt others.

I do value the input from rational readers. The ones that say logical things, even when I don’t agree with them. The ones who take the time to explain their argument. I like those readers. I hope to hear from a few of them after today’s post. So, let’s get on with it.

The United States is a representative form of government with a strong federalist system in place. That means that individual states can do what they want independently of the federal government. This means that if you don’t like the nonsense in Minnesota, you can move to Texas, Alabama, Wyoming, Maine, or any other state to fall under different laws. You have an out.

All the hubub in Arizona over SB 1062 is moot in any state except Arizona. It has as much impact on the people in Connecticut as does the Arizona state policy on medical marijuana. That’s how the founders of this country wanted it to work. It does work. Remarkably well, in my opinion.

I’ve read a lot of opinion pieces on this issue over the last few weeks. It seems to me to be another distraction from the larger issues in our society. Another divider that holds little real meaning for most people. The most amazing thing to me was the proclivity of people, especially on the LGBT side of the house, to brand anyone that disagreed with them a hateful (fill in the blank.) Some in the religious community screamed persecution over this issue. Yeah, tell that to the Coptic Christians – there’s some real persecution for you when they burn down your church and kill your children.

Me? I tend to agree with Matthew Moore in his article. He seemed to cover it quite well. Head on over and read what he has to say about the topic. And, lest we forget to include all the haters in the mix, yes it’s the same Matt Moore who was a closeted gay male writing for the Christian Post and still on gay dating sites. Weird, eh? Inconsistent behavior by a human being. Who woulda thunk?

Matt said it better than I ever could have. I’m sure I’ll be called some names over this. That’s the joy of being a public figure in the wild world of the internet. But I’ll stand by the words: Be kind to each other. Love one another. Follow Christ. Treat your gay and straight brothers and sisters equally. Don’t force others to kneel before you and act as supplicants. Don’t kneel before false Gods. Be kind. Be gracious. Walk away when someone doesn’t want your business because of who you are – it’s refreshing (downright fun to see the look on their faces when you smile and walk away, I’ve done it myself more than once.) Be ready to lose business based on your beliefs, or lack of them. Most of all, be true to God. That doesn’t mean you have to be rotten to anyone else, but it does mean that you worship only God. All that other stuff is of man. Keep the perspective.