Anyone who knows me knows I'm a Christian. It is a central part of my identity. I am a Christian, I'm a man, I'm a husband, in that order. I'm proud of that, and I will not hide it. No, I'm not one who wears 'Jesus Saves' t-shirts, or anything like that, but I make my faith part of my life. I say this for context, so you get an understanding of me. Christians have a reputation of being judgmental, closed minded. People call us opinionated, hypocrites. That's another discussion for another day. But now that I've set that stage, let me get back to why I started writing in the first place. Every morning, I have my breakfast and I check three websites. One about food, FaceBook, and Google News. This morning, like many others, I opened FaceBook and was inundated with people bitching about President Obama. Not surprisingly, most of it was from my Christian friends or people I went to church with, who I don't know, but I accepted their friend request because they were church people and it was easier than having an awkward situation on Sunday morning. On to Google News, and there it is, on CNN.com 'Is Obama Really A Christian??' The blog writer then examines Obama's policies and makes the case, if he were a Christian he wouldn't believe in gay marriage, abortion, etc. Now I'm not God, and neither are you so you can't say whether Obama is Christian or not, and to do so is presumptuous and arrogant. But I can say with certainty that I am a Christian, and I agree with President Obama on more things than with my fellow church attendees more often than not. Imagine that!!! A Christian that's not a fundamentalist conservative! So I'm going to break it down for you, if President Obama's views disqualify him as a Christian, then I'm disqualified too. But anyone with a basic understanding of Biblical Christianity knows that your stance on the Common Core has no bearing on your eternal salvation whatsoever, and yet we're willing to write our president off as Beelzebub because we disagree with his ideology.
Do I think that gays in America should be able to get married? Yes. The fact that we disagree with it doesn't mean it should be banned. If we outlawed everything that was a sin, everyone would be executed or in jail. As one half of an inter-racial couple, the idea of the government deciding who can and can't marry is offensive to me. Now, that does not mean churches should be obligated to marry homosexuals. That's why I love America. It's the land of the free. The church has every right and responsibility to decide who gets married within it's walls. I believe in the separation of church and state. If a church doesn't want to marry a couple, for any reason, so be it.
Do I think abortion should be illegal in America? No. I believe the choice to have an abortion is the choice of the parents. That being said, I believe that life begins at conception and I consider myself to be pro-life. But clearly, the way the church is handling the abortion issue is not working. Instead of being punitive, we need to be supportive of women with unwanted pregnancies. Instead of being punitive about this issue we need to be more supportive. Imagine the difference we could make if Christians stood outside Planned Parenthood telling these people that God loves them, Christ loves them, and we're here for you no matter what you need. Maybe that might be better than showing pictures of fetuses and calling them murderers. Faith, Hope, Love? Anyone?
If you're one of my Christian friends, and you're reading this, I'm sorry I disappointed you. Although, I'll get over it quickly because I'm medicated. That's right, I smoke pot! Why? Well because it's the only way I can function. Otherwise I could spend $2500 a month on opiates and spend 24 hours a day in a drug induced insomniac haze. And constipated, yeah good times. But on the bright side, I wouldn't remember any of it. If you know a chronically ill person, you know someone who would benefit from medical cannabis. Simple things like walking, sleeping, eating, things you take for granted?Would not be possible for me without it. I am alive today because I use medical marijuana.
All it takes is some idiot like to Don Imus say 'gay marriage should be illegal' and people buy it hook line and sinker. Or 'don't vaccinate your kid, let 'em get polio instead' and it becomes a national issue, and nobody bothers to think these things through. There's an assumption in America that if you're a Christian, you're a conservative. I am here to say, thankfully that is not the case. In fact I'm begging. Please, PLEASE don't put me in that group. There are plenty of other Christians out there like me, but we don't talk about it because we don't want to be called bad Christians. Of course it's perfectly acceptable to vote for a mormon, (See Mitt Romney) but a Christian who actually wants everyone treated the same? NOPE! He's the antichrist. Well, I have finally gotten to a point in my faith where I don't care what other people think of my Christianity.
I have a reputation for being outspoken, and always saying what's on my mind, which is generally the case. This has been on my mind for 10 years and only now have I finally worked up the gumption to say it. What will my mother say? (She's either crying or pissed) Will my Christian friends think less of me? (If so, they're not my friends anymore) The fact that Christians are afraid to have discussions about real world issues in Church (trust me, they are) says maybe we've earned our reputation of being judgmental and opinionated. If Christians don't feel comfortable talking to other Christians about difficult issues how on earth do we expect to reach non-Christians? (We don't. Check the numbers) When the world ends, and Christ returns is it really going to matter if pot or gay marriage was legal? (No. Look it up) There are many people that agree with me, but we're a silent minority. So instead, we get people like Pat Robertson as an ambassador. Until we speak up, people will assume the loud obnoxious voice of the Christian Right is the only voice.
So, to sum it all up, I believe in gay marriage. I believe abortion should be legal. I am completely for the legalization of recreational and medicinal cannabis. I loathe and detest Fox News and would rather see Homer Simpson as president than Sara Palin. I'm a democrat who believes in open borders. But first, I am a Christian.
