There are people campaigning to blot out hate speech.
If it were truly hate speech that they were blotting, I would join them. I'd bring my own ink!
But it's not.
"They" have an agenda.
Their agenda is to normalize their own way of life. One of their tactics is to label any detractions or objections as "hate speech". Such a cute trick: If you disagree with another group, come up with a label everyone hates and stick it to them.
The label "hate speech" is a rhetorical device that is used to shut down dialogue. It should serve as its own warning label, "someone doesn't actually want to talk about it". And they don't want you to talk ... at all.
We are pro-family. I say "we" because my wife and kids and most of our nearest relatives and close friends are pro-family. To be clear, by pro-family, I mean that we support traditional marriage: one man, one woman, "til death do us part". There's no hate in that arrangement.
Several alternative lifestyles, one in particular, define marriage differently. But some of us don't want to swallow this redefinition. A large number of people, many of them Christians, disagree with the idea and disapprove of the agenda. Doesn't mean we hate anyone. Frankly, just the opposite. But to say that "gay marriage is wrong" is flagged as hate speech.
To be fair, there certainly are some in the anti-gay-marriage camp who do hate. But life is not boolean logic and two wrongs don't make a right, so the hate of some does not render the "gay marriage is wrong" statement hate verbiage. The anger of some straights is worth discussing ... in a different post.
If I said smoking was bad for you, would that be hate speech? I don't hate smokers. Would it be wrong to say that I "hate" breathing second hand tobacco smoke? Hate is a four-letter word.
If I said getting drunk is usually not smart, would you call it hate speech? Most of us "hate" drunk driving. Most of us recognize that drunkenness, even "safe" when you're not driving, makes you look bad. (YouTube is everywhere.)
If I said that divorce hurts everyone, would that be hate? All of my friends who have gone through it have expressed pain. God said, "I hate divorce.", so do you censor Him?
Scared of Losing Something? Sure, I'm scared of losing something.
"Those who are scared of losing something are those who seem frantic or shrill or outraged."
-- Russell Moore
-- Russell Moore
I'm scared, as an American, of losing the heritage that made this country great. Historically, the US did many things well, though we made mistakes. I have always said that the best of America was rooted in Reformation Christianity. (But I'll save defending that position for another post.) A cornerstone of that legacy is "traditional marriage".
As a Christian, I know that I have made mistakes. No no ... let's be clear ... not "mistakes", I have done wrong, harmful and hurtful things. I am no better than drunkards or cheaters or ... or homosexuals. (If we lived under sharia law, I might have lost fingers by now, maybe worse.) I am thankful that Jesus took it for me.
- The Jewish law tells us how to live.
- The Jewish Messiah redeems us with His Own Life.
Getting it right, in the Old Testament, is tedious. No one makes it. And there is a constant reminder, "sin must be dealt with". Every other culture (around the Jews in the BC days) would change the rules, either make it relative or say it doesn't matter. (We still do that today.)
Getting it right, in the New Testament, means take the offer. Believe and receive. Then live. And remember you're "a new creation". So don't go back to your old ways. As a Christian, I have nothing to lose. So I'm not scared of the homosexual agenda. But it still hurts.
So ... without fear ... without being shrill or frantic ... and without hate ... gay marriage is wrong. Not to say that some friends don't disagree. (I will not "out" those near and dear to me who are stuck in it. They are loved!)
But "they" (the movement) have an agenda.
They want to make their lifestyle "okay", but it is not victimless. no more than cutting. Their "orientation" is about as real as a nicotine fit. It's a choice.
Their agenda is to normalize their way of life, but they cannot do that without destroying another way of life. I hate that.
-- R; <><
