Interesting:  the result of endless acrimony, accusations, hit-backs and one-upsmanship is what?

Gay marriage: no minds are changed.
Gun control: no minds are changed.
Balancing the federal budget: no minds are changed.

Now I’m not saying that scholarly debate is useless. I’m not silly enough to ignore that our government was founded on taking on delicate issues and making decisions — often through debate — that promote the common good. I get that. Indeed, one hears about members of Congress changing their votes on this or that issue pretty regularly (although there is likely *always* something in it for them), and I hope it’s because someone is able to persuade with logic and supporting facts. Still, the hot-button issues in this country feature very few — if any — flip flops in opinion.

Same debate, same logic, same people with the same passion — same result. No minds are changed.

Those who blame partisan politics on either side, in my opinion, are naïve. The Chick-Fil-A thing isn’t about politics. It’s a religious stance that has spilled over into a ridiculous political avalanche, separated generally at party lines. Yes, Dan Cathy is a businessman who is entitled to espouse his personal views. And yes, people are entitled under the law to protest them. The right to dissent is a biggie in our culture; I just wish there was an accompanying listening law. You know, civilized discourse. On BOTH sides.

But…no minds are ever changed.

And fiends, it’s OK that no minds are changed. But at some point, in any argument, reasonable people have to agree to disagree and find a compromise. Or walk away. I will say that the marriage laws in this country are, at the very least, unfair, incongruent with the concept of church-state separation, and at the most serious, completely discriminatory towards taxpaying citizens. All because of several widely, controversially and loosely interpreted (ask any real theologian) passages in the Christian Bible. I won’t go into that today, but I’m reading a really interesting book about it. More on that another time.

Anyway, my point (and I do have one) is we have poverty and unemployment in our own back yards. Kids are failing in school. Our government has come this close to shutting down on several occasions in recent years. Millions of people are uninsured. And Chick-Fil-A dominates the news? THIS is what gets people riled up and ready to take a bold stand in their communities? What about lining up at the local schools with armfuls of supplies? Or how about forming a half-mile-long queue outside the local shelter, food items in hand? It’s embarrassing to me.

All this because of a handful of controversial statements in the Bible. The Bible — which is supposed to be a clear and detailed guide for the life of a Christian. Well if it’s so clear and detailed, why has there been so much debate over the centuries about its meaning? If its clarity is so visible, why don’t we all believe the same way?

But back to my point.

Why are Jews allowed to marry in this country? They don’t even believe that Christ was the son of God, fuh cripesake. Where is the outrage there? Instead, you’re picking on homosexuals, many of whom profess to love God and are faithful to a church? Why aren’t the chicken people flapping their wings about that? Or how about American atheists who marry? Or Buddhists or Muslims? They don’t read or obey the scriptures, and according to many evangelicals, won’t ever set foot in heaven…so why should they be allowed to marry? Are they not an “abomination to God?” What could possibly be worse than a blasphemer?

People pick a pet sin and ride it into the sunset. And please do not ever say to me, “Love the sinner; hate the sin.” What a horrible thing to say to anyone. Any idea how that makes you sound? If “contemptible, pretentious, arrogant, misinformed Pharisee” doesn’t come to mind, I’ll be happy to enlighten you.

Well, I’m out of time and I need to get bizzy today. I know I don’t wax political or religious very often. That’s because I am neither. But I submit that a 10-year-old can see the enormous holes in this thing. And you don’t even have to approve of the gay lifestyle to admit that tax-paying homosexuals in this country are disenfranchised. We wouldn’t deny a marriage license to the nastiest drug dealer on the street with positively no morals, or the person who says “God is a fairy tale and anyone who believes in it is a gullible moron.” Yet we’ll do it to these law-abiding people, many of whom are believers. That’s because people have pet sins. Wrong and wrong, on a dozen different levels.

OK, enough already. Need to get going. Hey, it’s Finkday and payday! That’s a good thing everyone can agree on.

Sincerely,

Matthew 7:5