Freedom

I am a Christian, but I don’t want to force anyone to live by my moral standards. I want the government to allow our people to choose how they live their lives so that I might have the freedom to live mine as I choose. When you force someone to choose the road that your faith deems right you take away any semblance of love. When your restrain those who do not feel the presence of your indwelling God, it only leads to rebellion.
Some have said that the majority of Americans are Christian so the laws should reflect Christian values. To them I say that laws made based on the majority are dangerous because that majority can always change. What if the majority of Americans were child molesters? Should we then change the laws to favor them? There was a time when the majority of Americans were pro slavery. Thankfully our laws on this issue did not reflect the majority.
Many have strong religious objections to allowing homosexuals to marry. I understand these objections because I know what the Bible says about homosexuality. From a church standpoint I get it. I think churches should always have the right to decide whether or not they will condone gay marriage. If it is opposed and it is decided that this interaction is not compatible with the Christian faith then I fully support that decision.
But I do not think that the United States government can approach this subject in the same manner as churches do and be faithful to values of freedom. It is the nature of this great land to allow freedom of its inhabitants. Not only freedom for one way of life, freedom for many ways of life. We may express ourselves differently and align ourselves with different religions but we MUST stay focused on the one thing that this government has allowed us to share-freedom. We have made an attempt to live differently yet coexist peacefully.
We can see this in the American’s reaction to terrorism. I don’t always agree with the way these situations are handled by our government. I don’t ever advocate killing or bombing others. But I do understand that the enemy that is being fought is that voice that says, “Its not ok to believe what you believe. You must believe what we believe or you must either change or die.” When people stand up with this voice it is contrary to everything in the American psyche. Yet American Christians do the same thing to non-Christians and gays everyday (with the exception of the penalty of death in some cases). It is constantly being said to them that it is not all right for them to believe what they believe. Think of the reaction that you would have to this statement!
My point is, we cannot force lasting change. We must support a government that allows for our freedom-everyone’s freedom (unless that freedom means harming someone else). In this climate of freedom, Christianity can flourish and others are free to be called by Christ through love instead of being forced and condemned. That love is what changes us forever.