Has anyone noticed the increased number of Christians who have come out in favor of gay marriage, since the bill passed?
There was only a smattering who did so before that. Now the support seems to be everywhere on facebook.
I was especially tickled that the religious (Catholic) granddaughter of a rabidly anti-gay religious (Catholic) grandmother, who is 70-something, posted this. Are they rethinking what it means to be a Christian, or are they just shutting up and going away to mutter condemnation in private?
How do you think this out-pouring of Christian support is affecting those Christians who took such a hard stand against it before?
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Nope. Why? Has there been a mass stampede to back gays? People need something to talk about on Facebook and guess what’s in the news? And religious people should still be against sodomy, although not all gays a re doing that exactly.
Everyone has come out in support of gay marriage – including the White House who seem to think they invented it.
It is one of those things that people don’t express an opinion about until it is decided. Same thing as abortion-if one is self described as a Christian, it is assumed one is anti-choice. But in reality, most people, including most Christians, the silent majority, are pro choice in their personal lives.
Not everyone, @janbb. It’s just those who were so vehemently against it have disappeared.
The White House did invent the law that allows it, anyway.
“those who were so vehemently against it have disappeared
Probably not.
They probably have merely gone underground.
Which is where you do not want them. People with politically incorrect ideas who go to ground sometimes become dangerous.
Anyway, I have not found your post to be true in my social circle. Everybody pretty much has the same opinions (and they are varied) about gay marriage as they did before.
The cynic in me says people go along with the mob. They don’t think for themselves; the parrot whatever they see on Oprah or the news or whatever.
And right now the mob is pro-same-sex marriage, and these idiots go along with what everyone else is doing. I don’t see this sort of support being deep or long-lived.
The non-cynic in me theorizes that there are a lot of hidden gay people who are now seeing that it’s OK to admit who they are.
“Disappeared,” “Underground,” same thing! We don’t see them posting anti gay suff any more. At least I don’t.
This person, who is in her 70’s and is Catholic, and I have had a couple of discussions about gay marriage and gay rights over the last year. She was vehemently opposed. However, the other day she posted this. I was heartened. It’s a good message, for everyone.
I doubt that very many people have changed their minds, but it’s a very human thing to keep quiet when the majority of one’s social group (or the apparent majority) is against something. People in the middle or who don’t care very much one way or the other also tend to not rock the boat and just go with the crowd (like @elbanditoroso said). So if the homophobes were able to give the impression that they spoke for Christianity, then a lot of Christians who felt differently or who weren’t all that invested in changing things probably felt like it wasn’t worth speaking up. Then the Supreme Court changed the social and political landscape enough to make them comfortable expressing their opinion (or forming one, in some cases). It’s nice on one level, but @josie is also right: the smaller the number of bigots gets, the more virulent they become.
It’s a win for those who support consenting adults’ right to choose whom to love. Winners tend to be vocal. The other side are probably licking their wounds.
If so, no surprise, there are many congregations now that don’t have Christ in it, and Christ Himself said there would be a great falling away of the faith. Even if everyone on the planet supported it, doesn’t change it or anything that happens once breath leaves the body.
Well, you can’t tell them that, @Hypocrisy_Central, because they wouldn’t believe you, anymore than you would believe us if we say it sure doesn’t sound like you have Christ in your life.
I can tell them, they will ignore it because they have been greatly deceived, they will perpetuate the madness, and I will pray they don’t die that way or if they do, somehow Grace covers them.
Mythology is what we call everyone else’s beliefs except our own.
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@josie “They probably have merely gone underground. Which is where you do not want them. People with politically incorrect ideas who go to ground sometimes become dangerous.”
I disagree. I think those who are unapologetically vocal about their hateful beliefs are far more dangerous, simply because they reach a wider audience. This is why there are (and should be) laws against hate speech.
Gosh, I don’t know, @josie. Does your remark imply that they are “dangerous”?
Don’t take my words out of context and I won’t take yours out of context.
It must be a Facebook kind thing because any of the people whom I know on either side of the issue haven’t changed their stance one iota just because of the Supreme Court decision.
It’s a polarizing issue and almost every mainstream denomination is split down the middle over it. People have changed churches because of it. Entire congregations have even lost church buildings over it. So, I honestly don’t know any Christians who are neutral about it to the point where they’d just go along with the majority because it’s easier. They are either in the progressive camp (as I am) or holding fast to the old fashioned attitudes and associated prejudices.
At least that has been my experience and even tho I have an account, I just visit Facebook so rarely that I don’t notice all the trends and memes going on there all the time.
I think the one thing that will cause those with old fashioned attitudes regarding this to reconsider their stance is if someone they know personally comes out to them and has told them firsthand of how much their lives have been impacted by the unequal treatment they receive on an ongoing basis (whether it involves housing, job issues, or not being able to legalize their union).
It’s harder to be abstract about this issue if you’re faced with someone you care about whose life (or their kid’s lives) is adversely affected. It changes the perspective significantly.
I have a lot of conservative friends. I expected a rash of Gay Bashing on my facebook page.
I was pleasantly surprised when I only had one negative comment show up. Most were really introspective and it almost seemed like a mass epiphany was occurring all across my page.
I cried a lot when I realized that this must be what it’s like to experience a miracle.
To be clear, I doubt they really changed their opinion as much as they changed how they view it and how they view themselves. One quote was something like, “people don’t line up for condemnation but they might line up for love.”
This is a huge leap forward and an important step in their evolution.
My Catholic friends, some of which are fairly religious, have never been against gay marriage. One girlfriend of mine even had a vote yes for gay marriage on her lawn years back when her state was voting. Someone took down her sign and she received some flack. She is a republican, was going to church every Sunday, and her son was in Catholic school.
My Evangelical Christian friends were almost all against it, although some were ok with allowing the right if it was called civil union instead.
A black Christian Facebook friend of mine asked on a status what’s worse, the confederate flag or gay marriage, and a whole bunch of his black friends said gay marriage is worse. Disappointing. Not all the people responded that way, but enough.
I think a lot of Christians who have always been ok with gay marriage didn’t scream it from the rooftops for fear of criticism or lack of acceptance from their friends.
My dad, Jewish and not religious, was unsure what he thought about gay marriage years ago when the topic really started heating up. He looks at mostly in terms of how it will impact society. When the vote came to his state he voted in favor of gay marriage, but said he wasn’t 100% sure of his vote, but didn’t see how the right could be denied to a group of people.
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