Gay rights discourse angers me

Now, I’m starting to get angry.

Earlier this week, Jason Collins, an NBA journeyman, came out of the closet in a Sports Illustrated cover story.  He was universally praised on every radio, television and talk show.  He was overwhelming supported on Twitter and Facebook. 
Chris Broussard, an ESPN NBA writer, when asked directly about it on ESPN, said he believed homosexuality – any sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman – was a sin.  Immediately, calls came in for his suspension.  He’s been labeled a bigot, out of touch and wrong.
Excuse me?  It’s OK to flaunt how great of a decision Jason Collins made but it’s not OK to disagree?  When did sharing your faith and beliefs become a crime against humanity?

More and more, I grow concerned about the tone of our country.  No one is allowed to disagree.  No one is allowed to share their beliefs or faith.  You’re either OK with gay rights, open relationships and sin or you’re out of touch and need to be shut up.

I find it ironic.  We pay people like Broussard to give their opinions.  We want to hear his thoughts on the NBA.  When asked a personal question about faith, he responds honestly and truthfully – things he’s paid to be in his writing and analysis – and we crucify him for saying what he said.

Personally, I support Broussard.  I appreciate his honesty even though it might be an unpopular opinion.  I appreciate that he didn’t back down or tow the company line.  He may pay a heavy price, but I know he’s gained a fan in me.  It’s not just because of what he said, but because he had the courage to say it.
Everyone is admiring Collins’ courage.  I admire Broussard’s.  In this day and age, it is more courageous to say you disagree with homosexuality than it is to come out. 

And it makes me angry.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotion to a false god

Image
Last week, at Disney World, I went to retrieve our stroller from the stroller parking section.  As I searched among the hundred or so strollers, I finally found mine and started to move it.  As I pulled, it snagged on a woman's garment.  Panicked, I looked up and saw it was a Muslim women in full Muslin dress.  Her body was completely covered.  Only a slit for her eyes was visible.  I was careful not to yank, and I tried to apologize as the hook of the handle caught part of her garment.  She didn't say a word and we both quietly went on our ways. As I walked away, I felt pity on her.  For one, it's Disney World in June in Florida.  I strode along in shorts and a very thin T-shirt.  Both were soaked in sweat.  I had already consumed two bottles of water and still felt weary.  She was dressed head to toe in heavy garments.  I can't imagine how hot she was pushing a stroller with two kids through a mass of people in humid air and on hot pavement. Secondly, she dres
Read more

Time for an examination

Image
For my seminary class on counseling, I had to read a book about anxiety and worry.  In the book, the author, Archibald Hart, made the case that sometimes worry can be good. He gave the example of worrying about an illness - in the case a spot on the skin that could be cancerous.  Since skin cancer is a very real, and deadly, possibility, your worrying about it should spurn you to have it examined.  In that case, it's a healthy form of worrying.  It's more natural concern than worry, even when we dwell on it.  It's our brain's mechanism to check out anomalous things. For me, Matthew 7:21-23 is one of those "spots" you need to worry about.  In the passage, Jesus says many people who drive out demons, preach, teach and do miracles will not gain access into the Kingdom of Heaven.  They'll have all the outward signs of a believer but have no real, genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. That's a very scary proposition.  It addresses those of us who
Read more

God Uses Conflict

Image
I am not a big fan of conflict.  I don't know many people that are. Yet, one thing I learned in my communication classes in college is that in any human relationship or interaction, conflict is inevitable and unavoidable.  In fact, I teach in my marriage counseling that conflict, and how we handle it, can even strengthen our marriages. Conflict is not always a bad thing.  Through conflict, we see new points of view.  We grow as we weather the storm. We even strengthen our resolve. And, at time, God brings conflict into your life in order to move you from where you are to where he wants you to be. That's what happened with the Israelites.  In Exodus 14, we see that God moves to the Jewish people to the once place that means an unavoidable conflict with Egypt.  Surrounded by the Egyptian army, an impassible terrain and the Red Sea, Israel is forced into a confrontation with the Egyptian army.  They have no where to run and ultimately must listen to God as he directs the
Read more