In his Monday opinion piece, Tim Campbell makes an appeal to “gays and gay-friendly people,” asking them to “move forward” and support the movement to legalize homosexual marriage. He laments the fact that many so-called gay rights organizations are unsupportive of the “core issue of gay rights” – legalization of same-sex marriage. He urges supporters not to compromise. While I don’t disagree with everything he says, I would like to contribute a few points.
If the right to label a long-term homosexual relationship as marriage is indeed the “core issue” for gay-rights activists, why is it that relatively few homosexual individuals are in committed long-term relationships now? According to his article entitled “Searching for Truth in Lifestyles: Homosexuality and Christian Morality,” Thomas E. Schmidt states that, based on several studies, 90 percent of male and female homosexuals report never having had a relationship lasting more than three years (http://www.stonewallrevisited.com/issues/tomschmidt.html).
If this is true, it seems as though these people are looking for love, acceptance and contentment, but are unable to find it through homosexual relationships. They are no different from others who attempt to fill their lives with heterosexual sex, drugs, alcohol, money or possessions. The truth is, it can’t be done – these things ultimately don’t satisfy us. I believe that only a relationship with Jesus Christ will allow us to be truly content.
Campbell said certain “fundamentalists” condemn homosexuals as somehow worse sinners than others; I will not attempt to defend those who make this claim, but instead suggest that all sin is equally wrong compared to the righteousness of God.
The writer alludes to the biblical story of the woman caught in the act of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning (found in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John). In this account, Jesus says to those who would be her executioners that whoever among them is without sin should be the one to cast the first stone. By this standard, all were disqualified from the status of executioner and the woman was left alone with Jesus. He then commanded her: “Go now and leave your life of sin.” All of us can certainly learn from the lessons contained in this story.
Even though I am not really in Campbell’s target audience, I do agree that there are matters about which we should not concede or compromise. However, as for me, here’s a compromise I can gladly accept: I will love the people, but not their practices.
Matthew Hernick is a civil engineering sophomore. He welcomes comments at [email protected]
