Dear Sir,

I grew up in a Christian home and still attend church. Lately, the discussion on homosexual marriage has weighed heavily on my mind. As a Christian, I have been taught that homosexuality is wrong. However, looking in the Bible, it seems that most of the verses against it are found in the Old Testament, along with many other rules that we don’t follow in modern society.

I will admit that I have a slight discomfort around gay people, but it’s only when I’m aware of their orientation. That tells me now that the problem lies with me, not them.

I don’t think a straight person who has experienced love can honestly say they opposed gay marriage. I’ve been “in love” once, and the feelings I had were so strong that if I was told I couldn’t marry her because it made others uncomfortable I would’ve fought someone. We argue that allowing gay marriage will taint the sanctity of marriage but we still allow divorce, adultery and promiscuity. If you are straight and feel that gay marriage will diminish the value of your own, it’s likely that you have other issues at home that need to be addressed.

As Christians, sometimes we feel like it’s our duty to keep the world free of sin. Wrong. It is said that these are the last days. I’ve heard prophecies that gay marriage, war and worship of money are all a sign of the times. Do we think that by stopping any one of these, we are pushing back the second coming? I think that is a very arrogant stance and we as believers are overstepping our boundaries when it comes to our role in the eradication of sin; God has a plan for that, and stopping gay people from getting married won’t stop them from being gay.

I would rather have a gay couple in my church feeling welcome than have them doomed to sin because what they do in the bedroom is making me uncomfortable.

I’m pretty sure the straight couples do some pretty discomforting things, too.

The antagonisation of gays by the Church also pushes away straight people who are non-believers. This is partly why there are so many atheists today. We should be spending our last days preparing for the coming of Christ, and embracing, not trying to govern the lives of others.

I can’t confidently say that I support gay marriage; I think that would take time. But I really can’t oppose it.

MR EQUAL

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