religous restoration act

So I had a dream about being on TV with Stephanopolis.  He asked me “YES or NO! Does the religious restoration act allow you to discriminate against gays?”  So I said, “I’ll say yes and then you explain why Christians have qualms about a gay lifestyle.”  He gave a dumbfounded look.  “What do you mean?” 

“Just explain from scripture why Christians would have a hard time with gay coupling.”   

“Because they are bigots!” No, that quote isn’t in Scripture, I told him.  “Well you tell me!” he countered.

“Start with Jewish Covenant then.  Leviticus 18 is all about a warning that the people are not to practice homosexuality nor human sacrifice (pagan priests were gay).  It finishes with this, “But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and do none of the abominations…(for all these abominations the men of the land did, who were before you, so that the land became defiled.) lest the land vomit you out, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.” So Stephy, you want to be vomited out?”

“Look, that’s old ancient writing worried about cultural influence.  We can’t answer to that.”

“If you got vomited out you might.  Let’s look at what Jesus author of Christianity said.  It gets quoted at every wedding.  Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one.’ So they are no longer two but one.  What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” (Matt. 19:5-6 quoting Gen. 1:27). Ever been to a wedding Stephy?  I don’t mean a gay one.” 

“Don’t insult me.  I’ve been to plenty.”

“So Christians, Jews and Muslims too do not agree with current gay activist advocacy.  That’s quite a few people.  Aren’t you curious to know why?”

“Only in the political sense. Besides, Jesus never explicitly said anything about being gay.” 

“But he talked about hell.  Do you know what word Jesus used that is translated as “hell” in our bibles? The word is gehanna referring to the city dump which burned day and night and never went out, like the fires of hell.  But gehanna is not Aramaic for “city dump”.  It was the ancient site of Gehanna Temple to the god Molech.  Molech demanded that people sacrifice their first born infant sons.  The babies were thrown into an intensely hot furnace.  Now how could any respectful family man or woman be a priest of such a place and do such a gruesome task? They couldn’t. Priests were all gay males. Jesus is comparing Gehanna to eternity’s hell.  Any questions?”

“Well how is it any different from those who refused to serve mixed racial marriage couples in times past?”

So I said, “Where do you find that in the Bible—that people can discriminate racially?” 

“Listen, I am not a theologian!”

“Neither am I. But a common Bible verse teaches just the opposite. “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God in faith…There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal 3:26,28.”

“Look, this is going nowhere fast.  We aren’t on here to discuss religion.”

“Oh, I thought we were.  And first amendment rights.”

“First amendment is about freedom of speech.  You can talk all you want but when it comes to actions, you have to conform to anti-discrimination.” 

“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.  Free exercise includes actions.”

“Look, you lousy conservative, just explain to me why it is so important to practice your faith.”

“Because if you deny someone the freedom to follow their conscience, deny them the ability to practice their faith (their relationship with God), deny them the freedom to be the person they aspire to be, you have denied the very definition of the American Dream.  The American Dream is what generated the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—that our rights are given by Nature and Nature’s God, not the whims of men.  God puts us in a one-on-one relationship with Himself and so it is not ‘God over government over the people’ but ‘God over People over government.’  “We the People…ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”  This puts limits on government. “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

“Okay, Stephy, you want to talk Muslim scriptures?” He jumped up screaming and left the room. That’s when I woke up wondering why no politician quotes scripture any more.  Lincoln did all the time.  He’d be rolling over in his grave because all it takes is an informed Christian to put these political punks to shame.  Let them take up their gripes with God.  Just watch out for the vomiting part.