Alabama Marriage Mess Shows Dangers Of Distorted 'Religious Liberty' Claims

From Right Wing Watch:

So what would America look like if we allowed such massive holes to be poked in laws that are supposed to protect everyone? What if lesbian and gay couples were legally treated as outsiders in their home communities, had fewer legal rights than anyone else in those communities, and had to travel anywhere from another neighborhood to another county to find a bakery willing to make a cake for them, a hotel willing to rent them a room for the night, or an employer willing to grant them spousal employment benefits? What if a woman's ability to find adequate healthcare depended on finding an employer and a pharmacist with compatible religious beliefs? What if people's basic rights varied depending on where they were, and upon the prevailing religious beliefs of people in the area? What would such a religiously balkanized nation look like?

It would look a lot like Alabama does today. And it would be ugly.

More here.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2 KJV

You know, all this resistance to gay marriage, especially when it's more and more starting to look like a done deal, strikes me as doing the absolute opposite of what the apostle Paul asserts in the verse above. Instead of avoiding conforming to the world, instead of transforming the mind, these people seek to transform the world so that their minds don't have to do anything at all but sit around being pleased that the filthy sodomites can't get married.

That is, it seems to me that the New Testament, being forged within the pagan Roman Empire as it was, makes a clear distinction between Christians and the prevalent secular social reality. They're just not the same thing, the Bible tells us, and Christians ought to focus on themselves as Christians, and on their relationship with God. At least, that's how I understand it. But the anti-equality crowd seemingly wants to make the prevalent secular society conform to their idea of how things would work if God was in charge.

Never mind the fact that, if you're a believer, God is already in charge. The point is that this is plain weird.

For that matter, from a Christian perspective, what's the ultimate goal for making civilization "Christian"? Does it lead people to become Christians? Does it save souls? Does it make people closer to God? Here is one thing of which I am certain: mandating Christian behavior doesn't make anybody a Christian; rather, it just creates a lot of lip service. And very likely a lot of resentment.

This is all very misguided.

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