by Rev. Gregory "Doc" Lowrey
This morning on Meet the Press, the topic of Same-Sex Marriage was discussed.
Here is a short report on what was said.
By Ryan Teague Beckwith May 6, 2012
Vice President Joe Biden became the highest-ranking U.S. official to endorse same-sex marriage this morning.
In a wide-ranging interview on “Meet the Press,” Biden said he has no problem with gays and lesbians having marriage rights.“The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties,” Biden said, according to Reuters.
Biden did not say whether the White House would take concrete steps to help legalize gay marriage if President Obama wins a second term.
Obama has said his views on same-sex marriage are “evolving” and that it is a matter best left to the states.
Obama senior campaign adviser David Axelrod attempted to walk the statement back a little immediately after the interview aired.
On his personal Twitter account, Axelrod wrote that what Biden said “that all married couples should have exactly the same legal rights” is “precisely” the position of Obama.
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I was stunned to see this interview which I had just watched immediately reported on Facebook with comments almost all devoted to VP Biden being "No Longer Catholic" because he has reversed his stance on this issue of equality.
I felt obligated to respond and felt that this was a good issue to include on the UBU website.
The summary of the comments I respond to are basically that Biden has rejected his faith and that homosexuality is an affront to God. A summary of my response is that God created homosexuals and we are not in a position to be critical of God or to second guess God's intentions. We are all equal and of equal value to our creative force and should respect and honor that which God deemed appropriate to create.
The slightly longer version follows:
Perhaps VP Biden's perspective has matured and he has seen that being Human is more fundamental than being "Catholic". I suppose that most people who believe in [a] God, believe that all people are God's creation. Who is the creature to question their creator or to demean or otherwise attempt to judge the value of that which their God creates? We are all children of the same Creator. Maybe all the "Catholics" and other so called "Christians" ought to read the book they claim validates their belief.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (KJV)
12 For ... the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body..
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; [gay or straight] and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
20 But now are they many members, yet but one body.
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
25 That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
That we are all created by God for God's purposes should to believers be beyond dispute. To argue for the value of one element of God's creation over another only shows the person who would demean that which God created to be the "more feeble", "less honourable", "uncomely" parts for which the rest of us need to care for in their spiritual weakness and ignorance. Whether you believe in "God" or not, we are all creations of the same elemental force and are thus all equal and all created with equal value, unless we choose to diminish our own value by despising equality. Accept Equality and "rejoice with it."!
I know that some people will be offended that I have included "all creation" in this description rather than contending that "the body" "of Christ" means only "the christian church". However, Jesus claimed that we are all children of the same God and nearly all "christians" claim that Jesus is God. If we accept that, then "the church" would be the church of God, not the church of Christ and all people of every faith (or non-faith if that is possible) would be members equally in that body.
Additionally, if we accept that this speaks to the "body" or church of Christ, and we relate "Christ" to Jesus, then we have to accept that Jesus taught that we are all equal in our value to God and that the "members" of christ's church are who accept his teachings and the members of the "body of Christ" are all people regardless of what particular belief they embrace.
I do not accept that this teaching is confined to "members only" of a certain denomination but applies equally to all, plants, animals and minerals included. Oh, and gay people too!