Homosexuality: Tolerated or Accepted
The following opinion piece was sent to the Rutger’s University paper, The Daily Targum. The editorial is a response to a Edward Reep’s editorial, “Gay rights movement must advance.”
In Edward Reep’s recent opinion article “The Gay Rights Movement Must Advance,” he expresses the goal of the homosexual agenda, “. . . we truly want to create a world where same-sex relationships are accepted, not just tolerated . . . .”
Gay activists hope that the day will come when a gay couple will be as accepted in the community as Ozzie and Harriet, or June and Ward Cleaver. History and human nature lead many to believe it will never happen. There is as great a chance of convincing every homosexual to go straight as there is convincing every heterosexual to accept homosexuality. The general public will “tolerate” homosexuality but never fully “accept.” Why? Natural law, freedom, and the power of the theistic world view.
In every age the vast majority of people have held to the heterosexual view of marriage. The propaganda that 10 percent of the population is gay is a myth. According to the National Health and Social Life Survey only 2.8 percent of men and 1.4 percent of woman identify themselves as gay. That figure has stayed very consistent throughout history. Natural history demonstrates that heterosexuality will always be the predominant view.
Those nations and ideologies that have tried to stamp out natural law/ theistic morality have crumbled time and time again. The secularists of the French Revolution tried to force on the populace the cult of reason. They even renamed Notre Dame Cathedral, the Temple of Reason. The revolution self-destructed by virtue of its moral licentiousness. The Soviet Union also failed at trying to replace theism with atheistic humanism. Voltaire declared that Christianity would be extinct in one hundred years. After his death Voltaire’s home became a publishing house for Bibles. After a century of trying to indoctrinate the American public in evolution, only 14 percent of the American public believes evolution is definitely true; 92 percent say they believe in God.
The only way to create a brave new world of homosexual acceptance would be for a power hungry minority to take away freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience. Religion would have to be completely stamped out. Those who attempt this will have a civil war on their hands. Freedom may have setbacks, but in the end freedom always wins–bigger and stronger. In the classic words of Ronald Reagan, nations which stifle freedom will find themselves “on the ash heap of history.”
Many in the public fear a reverse intolerance on the part of homosexuals which will lead homosexuals to push for laws requiring acceptance. Rather than allowing everyone freedom of speech and conscience, the new tool is to charge with hate crime violations those who do not accept homosexuality. It sounds very much like an Orwell’s 1984 police state. Case in point, Viki Knox, a teacher at Union High School, is under a school board investigation for posting on Facebook her personal opinion that homosexuality is sin. The ACLU is supporting Knox’s freedom of expression.
If one teacher decides to teach students to accept homosexuality, what is wrong with another teacher communicating the counter opinion? Isn’t secular moral relativism all about diversity of opinion? Or was that just a ploy until homosexuality gained equal time? Once empowered, are some activists going to silence traditional morality through a big brother state? At this point, the gay rights argument must be addressed. Homosexuals claim gay rights are morally equivalent to racial civil rights. As nobody would want to give equal time to a teacher disseminating pro-racism, in the same way a good society must be unified pro-homosexual since it is assumed that homosexuality is morally right by default. Says who? In the public’s mind, gay sex will never rise to the level of racial equality. Why? Inequities based on race are universally offensive because they violate the theistic moral foundation imbedded in the conscience of every man. It is intuitive that men are brothers made in the image of God. Racism can only be perpetrated by false religion or some animalistic “survival of the fittest” view of man. For this reason, slavery was tolerated in society, but never fully accepted. Once a society could progress in democracy, the unnatural state of slavery was overthrown.
Homosexuality does not have a theistic moral foundation. “In the beginning God made them male and female.” Therefore, homosexuality will never have the additional moral weight of a theistic world view. Gay rights may advance, but they will never find full acceptance. The abortion issue is a parallel. The pro-choice position is generally founded upon humanistic ideas of human freedom, and it does not find the full support of a theistic world view–“Men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life.” For this reason the abortion issue is polarized at about 50 percent for, 50 percent against; and after a generation of infanticide, public opinion is shifting pro life. I suggest that the homosexual issue will follow the same course: support for gay rights may grow from 10 to 20 to 30 percent, but there will be a stopping point and polarization.
O course, homosexual activists believe they can modify mankind’s theistic world view. Liberal secularists hope against hope that through advances in modern scientific ideas, mankind’s thinking can be “evolved” into rejecting certain theistic underpinnings. We have seen this before; every generation of radical secularists believe that this time they can make it happen. I suggest it will never happen because the foundations of theism–life, sin, and death–are too real. Think what you will, but at least consider the possibility that history proves full homosexual acceptance will be an exercise in futility.
Theists believe God’s natural, moral laws are like the laws of gravity. Activist groups celebrate when they win some legislation to engage in immoral practices. Theists are not overly concerned, for such groups have just won the right to jump off a moral cliff. The punishment is built into the vice. In the end God always wins; rebels lose. As expected Edward Reed believes religious people are the losers. He writes, “If people believe gay sex and romance are not ethical and moral because of the supposed will of a deity, it’s their loss.” Time and experience will show in the end who is right. The proof is in the pudding. Fear not–any false reality superimposed on the real universe will fail in the long run.
Homosexuality will never be fully accepted by the general public just like the general public will never fully accept other moral choices such as polygamy, abortion, strip clubs, adultery, pedophilia, incest. The recent progress felt by the gay community is deceptive. It is only an appeasement to keep homosexuals quiet. The best homosexuals can hope for is a moderate amount of toleration and even that, only temporarily.
B.E.Winship, 1989 Alumnus, M.B.A.