LGBT and the Church on Marriage

Ok I'm going to attempt this, every other time I've tried, some major thing has been announced and it changes everything.

This is my quick and dirty version of my thoughts on this:
People who don't agree with marriage usually have a religious belief to stand behind. I totally get this, as a once practising Christian I can see how you could say "the bible says..." or "I feel like God doesn't like..." on any issue as a perfectly reasonable way of pushing an agenda. It was fine! Very justified.

When I was at a Christian Christmas party once, I overheard a group of gentlemen talking about Gay marriage (ok I was part of the group, alright!?). They were discussing voting for John Howard (it was a while ago) over the Labor party solely because of the Liberal Party's stance on Gay Marriage. The exact comment that followed was "I couldn't think of anything more disgusting than two men getting married, the very thought makes me sick to my stomach". The other guys couldn't agree more and they laughed and mocked as best and hard as they could. That would go down as one of the most awkward conversations of my life, because as they were busy enjoying themselves I was feeling somewhat rejected and uncomfortable and to be fair, it was me that was sick to my stomach. This stopped being about God for them, they had let their guard down, it stopped being about Jesus, it was about them. Their ignorant hatred towards people that they didn't understand.

That's when it hit me. Any person with a religious belief about God not liking Gay Marriage actually doesn't like it themselves but isn't confident enough to just say that. Because the reality is that no one actually KNOWS for sure and certain what God does feel about Gay Marriage, because they aren't God. And even if they say they are God, it's still their call on the Gay Marriage. So basically we get into a situation where the conversation is now about Hate VS. Love. And we all know which one wins in the end folks. If history has taught us anything, it's that anyone that supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is based on the premise that all people are born free and EQUAL are looked favourably on by history. This doesn't just mean race but sexuality, sexual orientation, disabilities and so on. We all have equal worth and should all be able to experience all that life has to offer.

Hillary Clinton did an outstanding job speaking on this issue and I recommend you check it out here. If it was a hollywood movie, this would be the Oscar winning performance. Seriously one of the best I've ever seen.

I think the Church have a lot to answer for when it comes to the damage they have caused to the thousands of individuals who have been hurt and inflicted pain on themselves and others because of what is preached from that pulpit as it relates to the LGBT community. Unfortunately, "sorry" won't cut it in this case, just as it didn't in the child molestation cases. The Church has a responsibility for their actions just as you and I do and people who promote messages of hate for LGBT people have no place in this world, especially if they are in a place of leadership.

As my good friend Hillary says, "be on the right side of history".