Christains are worthless trash, barely sentient shit stains

Why don't they catch more heat on this board? Let's get a Christian hate thread pumping!

Let me make an opening confession. I am not a LGBTI person. I do not share their experiences, nor have I lived their story. I must also confess no little bit of guilt in this matter. I have been quick to judge how LGBTI views adversely affect me without me considering how my views might adversely affect them. I have often clung onto a particular vision of society, a society that feels like it is crumbling before my eyes, but without ensuring the welfare of the most vulnerable in that society.

In addition, part of me has been selfishly worried that some of the perks and privileges that my tribe has enjoyed in Australian society are being taken away. While I have been pre-occupied with how to preserve a Christian witness in a post-Christian society, I know I have neglected to love all the people in this society as my faith requires me to.

I also know that the history of LGBTI people in Australia is a tragic saga about the struggle for existence, acceptance, and equality amidst the heaping of shame, barrages of abuse, and experiences of rejection. I have seen it and must ashamedly confess that I have before failed to speak out against it. I say with genuine contrition that I genuinely do not wish to add to the history of hurt that LGBTI people have experienced.

Given that story, if the plebiscite goes ahead, and if the Yes-campaign won, I would totally understand the celebration and joy of LGBTI people, feeling as if their ship had finally come home

But what I want to do is explain why I don’t believe in same sex marriage. But let’s be honest, we all know that this is a hard ask. Not because such an argument does not exist, it does, and I’ll happily show it to you. But as soon as I say “no” to same-sex marriage, I’m certain that some people will look at me as if I’ve just declared that the sky is green, brussels sprout is the best flavour of ice cream, and the Melbourne Zoo should consider opening a scorpion petting exhibit for toddlers. The proposition sounds absurd and offensive to many people for whom same sex marriage is as self-evident as 2+2= 4 or having vegemite on toast for brekky. There are people who honestly think that the only reason for opposing same sex marriage is because you are either a radicalised Muslim who sleeps at night with an ISIS flag for a blanket or else you are a Bible-thumping Christian fundamentalist who hates LGBTI people like Donald Trump hates Megyn Kelly.

But what if there was a parallel universe where it was possible to set forth a reasonable, sensible, and non-homophobic case against legalising same-sex marriage. Even though it is obviously impossible in our world, perhaps, with a bit of science-fiction, maybe there is an alternative reality where a case for traditional marriage actually makes sense.

So I invite you to hop into my reality-alternator-machine for just a moment and to hear me out. If you don’t like what I say, you can always try me for heresy later, or even worse, tie me to a chair, glue my eye-lids open, and force me to watch re-runs of Al Gore speeches.

The Faith Factor

Like it or not, around 60% of Australians identify as Christian, with 2.5% identifying as Muslim, and 0.5% are Jewish. There are a diversity of opinions about marriage and sexuality between these religions and diverse opinions even within these religions. In any case, we must countenance the fact that a majority of Australians identify with one of the Abrahamic religions, characterised by belief in one God, who made the world, and often has something to say about human behaviour including marriage.

For persons of faith, marriage is not simply about formalising my relationship status or getting my domestic partnership legally recognised. Rather, marriage is a divinely created institution that exists for the benefit of men and women. Marriage is a divine gift whereby men and women are joined together in a relationship characterised by love, self-giving, and fidelity. Marriage is a sacramental union, a holy covenant of commitment, a celebration of love, an exclusive intimacy, and directed towards helping each other flourish as human beings. For people of faith, marriage is anchored in a sexual ecology; it reflects the divinely designed complementarity of man and woman, at both the biological and relational level. In marriage, a man and a woman are united to love each other in heart, mind, and soul. On the specifically Christian side of things, marriage between men and women is meant to reflect the self-giving and lavish love that Christ has for his Church.

That is the faith argument, it works for some of the 61% of people who subscribe to one of the Abrahamic faiths, but to be truthful, it is not going to convince the 22% of the population who identify as “no religion.”