Faith must embrace alternative lifestyles

Brett Scuiletti / Columnist

Christian love should reach out to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. "Love all" is the greatest commandment, any less is unchristian.

There is a problem with the modern religious and political landscape, and land has nothing to do with it. This is about people; people whose lives and means of living depend on decisions made daily by people other than themselves.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community continues to be attacked for committing to lifestyles dissimilar to those of the general populace. Many Christian groups strongly oppose these lifestyles and those who support them.

The judgment must end here.

Intolerance against the LGBT community is unacceptable. God did not hand Christians, or any human being, a mandate to dispose of, or halt, the actions of people with alternative sexual lifestyles.

In fact, as a Roman Catholic myself, I was taught the only judge this world will see is God. Yet, I continue to witness discrimination against sexual minorities, coming especially from Christian movements.

The hypocrisy is unnerving. For a religion that prides itself on love and acceptance of all people, leaving to God the final judgment, it is quite apparent that many self-proclaimed “followers of God” still feel obliged to judge others and condemn them on their own.

These movements to ban homosexual couples from marriage must not continue. People must keep their personal beliefs personal and remember that this nation was built around free choice and opportunity. Those who choose to marry another of the same sex have just as much a right to do so as anyone.

A law or proclamation against gay marriage does not sanctify Christian morality, it merely enables biased individuals or groups to attack and degrade people who are different than themselves.

Mere tolerance of the LGBT community isn’t enough. The many Christian and non-Christian groups that have opened their doors to the LGBT community are proof enough that love and acceptance can work together with spiritual beliefs.

The tired excuse that, “I don’t want to get involved,” or “it’s not an issue I want to discuss,” should not be tolerated. This issue exists because many people won’t confront it. The time to make a stand is now upon us.

This piece isn’t an attack on Christianity; it’s a pledge to challenge Christians and non-Christians alike who can’t accept people because of their sexual orientation to change. Christian groups simply tend to be the most apparent example of this type of prejudice.

The moral dilemma faced here has both spiritual and political significance. What we as Americans, as people, should understand is that homosexual or not, these are human beings. We cannot sacrifice that fact at our own convenience or sentiment. Acceptance is a necessity.