Homosexual ban

I was thinking this morning about the nationwide debate on homosexual marriage. I was thinking about the whole issue of separation of church and state. In my mind, I am trying to decipher what exactly this means.

The first ammendment reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

There are so many different interpretations of what this means. There are ideas everywhere giving their interpretation of this ammendment. Discussions include the historical context for the ammendment. What did they mean?

I am not for sure what they meant.

I hear some Christians saying that they think that we are moving into dangerous ground if we let the government ban homosexual marriage. Others say that we are on dangerous ground if we don't ban homosexual marriage. I would be curious to sit in on a debate between these two different camps. Well, maybe not a debate but a discussion - a conversation.

What do I believe? Well, I do believe that homosexuality is a sin before the eyes of God. But I don't believe, like some of my brothers and sisters, that homosexuality is the "supreme" sin of our nation. I think for the most part, we (Christians) have become more homophobic than anything else. We talk about loving the person but hating the sin, yet I think too often we do just the opposite. Think about your personal attitude towards homosexuals right now. Are you loving towards them and willing to reach out to them? Or are you pretty "icky" about them and don't really want anything to do with them.

This is where I want to be careful. I know in my own heart, I have been homophobic and probably still have the tendency. But I also know that God wants me to love them and reach out to them. Most homosexuals don't know that God loves them. Seriously. All they see is "God's people" yelling at them, killing them, and telling them that they are wrong all the time. Now, yes I do understand that God calls us to stand up for what is right and what is wrong, but doesn't God call us to love and to be servants. I think homosexuals would listen to "Christianity" more if we would quit yelling at them, serve them, listen to them, and make friends with them.

I know I need to. God has called me to love others regardless of who they are. He did the same to me. I know my heart, yet Christ saved me. He reached out to me, a ragamuffin. Maybe, just maybe He wants us to be His hands and reach out to homosexuals. Not yelling and condemning but loving and caring. Then, maybe they will see Jesus in a whole new light and well we don't know what will happen after that. We can only hope.

I don't want same sex marriages to be allowed. I believe that marriage is a sacred event between a man and a woman. But when this comes to the whole "legal" arena, I don't know how to respond. I am not sure the legal aspects of this and therefore cannot say what is legal and not legal. I guess that depends on one's philosophy of law and religion. I know what my hope is, that they would see Christ in me and that I would be able to share the love of God with them.