Baptists, Sex, Gay Marriage, and Evolution

Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by Justin Veals in Personal Views, Politics, Religion

I find myself at odds with the world around me. My beliefs often set me apart from my fellow man. It is not me that excludes others; instead it is their decision to remain separated. I am a liberal in an area that is staunchly republican. I am an atheist living in the South, a place where churches are only outnumbered by bars. Baptist is the dominant denomination.

I grew up in this form of faith. It may be the reason for my current beliefs.

Now, I am about to say some things that might invoke anger from some. I am only stating my opinion based on my life experience. My statements due not qualify as hard facts, well not all of them anyway. There is no reason to try and correct me about anything that you feel is incorrect. These are my observations, and mine alone.

I found the Baptist faith to be based on a fair amount of fear. I have listened to sermon after sermon about damnation and the end of days. They point their big finger and warn you of the horrors of a sinful life. They inform you that we are all sinners and our only hope is to except the idea of an absent god that has the ability to save us and offer us redemption. I have heard uplifting sermons as well, but they are far outnumbered by the hellish ones.

I have read the Bible. It is a long and conflicting book. God seems at odds with himself. He has visited rage upon the earth and once destroyed almost the entire human race and all His creations, but then Jesus of Nazareth comes along, God in the flesh. Jesus preaches about peace and love. If he was alive today, I bet he would resemble that hippie outside the coffee shop selling hemp bracelets. In the New Testament, it appears that God has a new message: Love your neighbor and care for one another, as we are all brothers and sisters in worldwide family.

Minus the religious aspects, I can get behind that kind of message. I truly believe that despite the ease of communication that we have today, there is a great distance between all of us and our fellow man. However, the hateful and spiteful dogma that the churches have established over the course of centuries based on literature written by men thousands of years ago who believed that God was speaking to them has tainted this message of love and hope.

One such conviction is the bigoted attitude towards gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. The Christian right has led a campaign of fear and lies against the movement of marriage equality here in the United States. They tell people that it will ruin the institution of marriage and our very way of life, that teachers will be forced to talk about gay marriage in the classroom and teach that this “perversion” is the moral equivalent of traditional marriage between a man and a woman, that it will end the state’s compelling interest in marital relationships altogether, that foster-care parents will have to affirm homosexuality in children and teens, it will destroy the Social Security System, and it will curtail the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

These are all common arguments used to scare people about marriage equality. The movement feeds off the same type of fear that I believe leads and guides some people to their faith.

First off, the idea that allowing gays to marry will destroy the institute of marriage and lead to an influx of motherless and fatherless children into society is ridiculous. Straight people are not going to stop getting married at any faster rate than they already are. My view of marriage was strongly shaped by watching my mother go through her divorce. I had two options: either I become callous about the idea of marriage or I form a lofty idea of it and grow strong convictions about the bond. Being an idealist, I chose the latter. I am dedicated to spending the rest of my life with my bride, and allowing gay Americans to marry is not going to change that.

In addition, I would like to know in exactly which class teachers would be talking about marriage and gay relationships. I do not even remember learning about heterosexual marriage and relationships in school. I think this argument really comes from the fact that Christians seem afraid of sex. They fight against sexual education in schools and ramble on about the glory of abstinent-only programs. I feel that these programs lead to an unhealthy view of sex and fuel the idea that sex is a dirty and sinful act.

In reality, sex is natural and wonderful. It is part of the process of life. Their issues and concerns about sex stem from the process of evolution. Once upon a time, we were animals that only had sex to procreate. However, our brains are much bigger now, and we have separated sex from this utilitarian point of view. We no longer have to plan our coupling around the seasons therefore insuring that our offspring are not born in the dead of winter with little chance to survive. We are creatures that can have sex anytime and anywhere, and we do. It feels good and has become a part of the social mechanism that brings people together. Instead of sitting around and picking bugs off each other, we lie around diddling each other’s fun-parts.

Bottom line, we are all on this planet today because two people had sex. Without it, we would cease to exist. Why can’t we teach our kids to have a healthy view of sex? Why can’t we at least try to ensure that they are not careless and are educated on the many forms of birth control? Finally, wouldn’t teaching our children that their gay, bisexual, and transgender classmates are no different than they are remove the stigma that causes these children and adults so much pain and suffering?

The other arguments that I listed are so outside of fact that they need little comment, except the idea that foster parents would have to affirm homosexuality in children and teens. I really do not see the issue here. If a child is struggling with their sexuality, the right adult could help that child so much. They could lead that child through the rocky and rough terrain that their sexual identity will lay out before them. It is sad. I do not see the reason why a person cannot just be who they are. It does not affect me one bit if my neighbor is gay. It does not hinder my ability to have a happy marriage with my wife, earn a living, or just be content in general. It is not a danger to my child or my community. It is a non-issue.

In closing, I would like to ask of you one thing. Before the next time you cast a vote in any election, I would ask that you take some time and read up on the issues. It is not that hard. Just forget about playing Farmville, Farm Town, Café World, Mafia Wars, or whatever time wasting game you play on Facebook for one night and peruse the internet and news outlets for some real answers. I do not care how you vote as long as you vote as an educated American that has taken the time to know what you are voting for or against as you push that button.

Thanks for reading!

Bookmark to: