Originally Posted by Textcritic
I attempted to offer an explanation for the way in which conservative Christians reason through this issue in a few earlier posts. There was a time when I was a raging fundamentalist, and at that time, I would have offered the following answers to your questions below:
Fundy-Text: Because Jesus was quite specific about the exclusivity of his teachings. If the Bible is the Word of God, and if it mandates against homosexual behaviour, then there is no middle ground, and any sign of support or concession is akin to cosmic treason.
Fundy-Text: It would not be a disagreement with me, but with God. Disagreeing with God is dangerous, and I see it as my responsibility as someone who knows the truth to ensure that everyone else knows it.
Fundy-Text: Better for everyone. History shows that social health is absolutely dependent upon the strength of family, and once that is diminished, it always leads to social decay. Take the Roman Empire as an example for how sexual and moral degradation resulted in its weakness and destruction. Homosexuality is bad for society.
Fundy-Text: Again, not me personally, but society as a whole. Our world is subject to cosmic forces of good and evil, and this is but one more step towards deferring to evil. It is a war, and if we concede on this point, it would be like laying down our arms and surrendering to the enemy on the front line of the battlefield. What we are trying to do is two things: First, to show our solidarity with God—we want to be on the winning side in the end. Second, to prevent the continuing and rapid moral and social decay, which is but a symptom of a much greater, much more pernicious and insidious form of evil. Ultimately, this is about combatting and defeating evil.
I have tried to be as transparent about this system of belief as I can recall. I hope that everyone here recognizes this for what it is: an attempt to explain why conservative Christians are so concerned with private life. As wrong-headed as it is, it is sincere. When I used to think this way, I was absolutely sure that the defence of traditional marriage was courageous and noble, and that it was for everyone's eternal benefit.
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