Sunday, July 18, 2004

Why I don't...

I'd recently written about the manipulation of the language at the convenience of those with a specific agenda. So it also goes with concepts and ideas. The rhetoric gets so convoluted that underlying principles are missed. While what I am about to state may be controversial in some circles, nonetheless, I am compelled to add my perspective to the raging topics of the day.

Faith-based initiatives - I am against the current course of faith-based initiatives. Since the definition of "faith" is no longer a common sense understanding in our populous, it will open the doors to funding cults and every other sort of marginal group with support from our legislative bench (not branch) and the ACLU. In business transactions, we try to minimize the impact of middlemen. In governmental transactions, each department our tax money passes through takes more than its unfair share of allocations, handling fees, etc. Why do we have to send our money all the way to Washington to loose ninety cents or more on the dollar (a guess) to have it reallocated back to our faith-based organizations? The solution is to keep the money here in the first place, and this relates back to the need to cut Federal spending in half.
 
Gay marriage amendment - I am against a gay marriage amendment. While I am against gay marriage, the legal wrangling associated with promoting a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage or prohibiting gay marriage would be a total waste of time and money and, in the end, the proponents will lose anyway. It goes back to an old saying of the '60's and '70's, "You can't legislate morals." Look what happened to Prohibition. What is missing is the reference back to The Bible as the moral basis of our society. I realize that there are many forces trying to excise reference to religion at every turn, however, arguments of man are weak against the inspired Word of God. Being a bit silly about the whole thing and looking at Prohibition, the Bible does not explicitly forbid consumption of alcohol, but it gives guidelines and admonishes those that care to consume alcohol not to cause others to stumble through their actions. Demon rum, by its prohibition, caused organized crime to blossom and to what end. The amendment was repealed.

Similarly, there are few solid secular arguments that hold up well against gay marriage. We must ultimately couch our protest in Biblical teaching, and through that, make it very clear the impact this activity will have on children and future generations of humanity...let alone the warning signs in the story of Sodom and Gomorrha.

Abortion - I am pro-choice...not pro-abortion. Again, the legalism and opinion of man has been trumped by God. God gave us free will. Certainly, we need to educate person seeking advice on the long-term implications of abortions and suggest alternatives, of which there are many. Admittedly, I also have a "stealth" pro-life position, but the point of the argument is to make the individual responsible for her action.

On the surface, these positions may not ring well with many religious conservatives, but the more you think about it, all positions are not left or right, there are other directions, as well.

Let me hear your opinions.

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