Monday, December 24, 2012

Illinois Clergy Voice Support for Gay Marriage

In a good first step some 250 members of the clergy in Illinois have signed a declaration in support of the gay marriage bill that will be introduced in the Illinois legislature on January 6, 2013.   In my view, theses clergy members need to take an additional step: openly condemn the Christianist forces that will be loudly shrieking and disseminating spittle flecked lies in their effort to continue to fore every Illinois citizen to submit to their hate and fear based version of Christianity.   Simply supporting the gay marriage legislation is not enough.   No longer can gay accepting and affirming denominations allow the the Christofascist to be the public face of Christianity which I believe will ultimately die if the Christofascist to drive more and more of the younger generations away from religion entirely.  The Chicago Tribune looks at this development.  Here are some excerpts:

More than 250 Illinois clergy -- most of them in the Chicago area -- have endorsed a gay marriage bill that could come up for a vote in Springfield before Jan. 9.

On Sunday, rabbis and pastors from denominations that support gay rights in varying degrees unveiled a declaration supporting equality for same-sex couples. Fostering faith, justice and compassion is a key component of their jobs, they said.

"Standing on these beliefs, we think that it is morally just to grant equal opportunities and responsibilities to loving, committed same-sex couples.," the declaration stated. "There can be no justification for the law treating people differently on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity."

Earlier this month, Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Greg Harris announced they would take up the measure as the current General Assembly winds down in January and before a new set of lawmakers are sworn in Jan. 9.

The legislation would allow same-sex marriage and protect the right of religious institutions to either consecrate or not consecrate such weddings. Opponents to the bill say gay marriage violates Scripture, natural law and basic moral principles.

What truly violates basic moral principals is the self-congratulatory Christians who are best defined by hate and bigotry.  They are the modern day heirs to the Pharisees so thoroughly condemned in the Gospels.  Increasingly, when I see or hear people or advertisements talking about Christian this or Christian that, my initial reaction is what a bunch of hypocrites.  If one is a true Christian, how one treats others ought to be the sign that one follows Christ's Gospel message.  Yet instead, we see heinous conduct and hubris and arrogance.

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