Writing for The Guardian, self-identified “Christian dissident” Keith Mascord claims that “homophobic opposition to same-sex marriage” has its roots in adherence to the Bible, and only by leaving the biblical text aside will Christians learn to support “marriage equality.”
Mascord takes for granted that Christians must be wrong for opposing same-sex marriage and that, therefore, the Bible is wrong as well. He ridicules believers, suggesting that acceptance of the moral instruction found in Sacred Scripture is akin to belief that the earth is at the center of the solar system.
“We need to acknowledge that the Bible, for all of its beauty, wisdom and on-going relevance, is an ancient text, pregnant with ancient assumptions and beliefs, many of which we no longer reasonably hold,” he writes.
The Guardian’s essay is reminiscent of a 2015 op-ed in the New York Times, where food critic and gay activist Frank Bruni argued that Christians should be coerced into embracing the gay lifestyle.
Like Mascord, Bruni wrote that Christians who hold on to “ossified,” biblically based beliefs regarding sexual morality have no place in modern society and should be reeducated, forcibly if necessary.
Referring to Christians as “bigots,” Bruni wrote that religion “is going to be the final holdout and most stubborn refuge for homophobia. It will give license to discrimination” and therefore it must be stamped out.
Similarly, Mascord has written that “historic and Bible-based understandings of homosexuality have clearly contributed to homophobia, along with the terrible and inexcusable mistreatment of LGBTI people which continues to this day,” and thus “the time has come for this prejudice to be shed.”
Christians should “feel free to re-think the assumptions and beliefs which underlie Biblical discomfort with same sex activity,” he asserts.
The problem, of course, is that many Christians believe the Bible to be God’s Word, with crucial teaching for understanding who the human person is, and what sort of behavior is worthy of his unique dignity.
Christians, moreover, do not see disapproval of gay sex to be a symptom of an irrational “homophobia,” but rather a reasonable and cogent moral evaluation of human behavior shared by the vast majority of humanity throughout history.
Calling Christians “bigots” or attempting to shame them into abandoning their ethical standards is a vile and unworthy practice, even when carried out under the guise of tolerance and “enlightened” thought.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome
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