The Amendment

If nothing else, click the link at the bottom and watch the interview with the Reverend Sam Wells, the Dean of Duke Chapel.


I was raised in the "Bible Belt."  I go to church every Sunday.  I probably missed five Sundays over the last 5 years, if that many.  So I'm a stereotypical white male raised in the south.  But by voting against Amendment 1, I don't think as a Christian I'm being "un-Christian."  This is where I'm straying from that stereotypical, going to church, white boy raised in the Bible Belt.

In 8th grade I made a public profession of faith at a youth rally where Clayton King was speaking.  So that was where I made my own personal decision to follow Jesus Christ.  Obviously I haven't been perfect, but I've tried to be the best follower of Christ that I can be.

As a Christian, I believe homosexuality is a sin.  A big difference between it and other sins is that usually homosexuality is a "lifestyle."  While I may struggle with lying or another type of sin, homosexuality is usually embraced and not a sin that the person "struggles" with.  But no matter what you believe about homosexuality, I don't see how we as Christians can fight to legislate what we believe "marriage" is.  Yes, we as Christians believe marriage is a holy institution ordained by God, but since when have we forced the state to believe the same thing?  Basically any man and woman can go down to the courthouse and get hitched.  Do we require them to be Christians or to believe the same things about marriage?  No.

Some people say not passing this Amendment will ruin marriage.  How so?  The divorce rate is around 50%.  How will not passing this amendment "ruin" marriage?  By not passing this law, how will that change whether churches decide whether or not to perform gay marriages?  I just don't understand the logic behind this.  How can we as Christians tell the state what to do?  Wasn't this a nation founded by people fleeing persecution and founded on the principle of separation of church and state?

If this amendment forced churches to perform gay marriages then I would understand the logic.  But the fact is, the church is not the only institution that performs marriages.  How can we as Christians persecute and tell people how they should live and tell the state what they should do?  I just don't understand how this can be legal.

"You should not be in the business of trying to pass legislation to make people, who dont share your convictions, behave Christianly as you understand it, even though they've shown no desire to be Christians or to be the kind of Christians you are.  This is a nation founded on freedom and the separation of church and state." - Rev. Sam Wells


For the record I'll be voting against the marriage amendment.