Point-Counterpoint: Gay Marriage

If you know me, you know I like to hear all sides of a debate. I think it is wise to gather as much data as possible and review all the evidence for and against any issue. That way you can then make an educated assessment and decision. Making decision based on your emotions is extremely dangerous. I like to take some time to think through a position and don’t rush to judgment. I don’t get fall for slick campaign rhetoric or user car salesmen tactics.

I found one of these videos very emotionally compelling and the other more logically compelling.

The first video is of Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa student spoke about the strength of his family during a public forum on House Joint Resolution 6 in the Iowa House of Representatives.

The second video is a response from Brett Kunkle of Stand to Reason.

What do you think about each of these videos?

I have found that the Internet does give us unprecedented access to information. However, not all information on the Internet is worth having. Now that we have an election coming up, I am having a difficult time finding accurate, fair, and balanced information about candidates. What I find is a bunch of other people’s opinions about the candidates. Should I really base my vote on someone else’s opinion?

We have a participative form of government here in the United States. If you think about it, we have the power. Who we elect will shape not only our future but the future of the entire world. I think we have a responsibility to vote wisely.

As we learn from Spiderman “With great power come great responsibility.” I actually believe, and for good reason, that I have a responsibility to vote and to be informed on the issues I am voting on.

I was just reading a piece today about a candidate and the article was nothing more that twisting the candidates statements out of context, misrepresentations, fear mongering and mudslinging. What followed were comments that followed that same vein.

I actually want to be educated about the issues and I can’t do it. It is as if there is an invisible force that makes getting educated on the issues nearly impossible. Do I really have to dig up my own source documents and research each point? When was the last time you heard from an accountant about the state or federal budgets? We always hear it from people who can’t balance their own checkbook, let alone the government’s budget.

Why is it when we ask for reasons why we should pass a law people attack you? They call you names because you don’t accept what they say and just believe that they have it right. Since when is it wrong to ask for reasons? This just happened to me last month on the gay marriage debate. I was asking a supporter of gay marriage about the role of government in marriage, asking for reasons why they think it is a civil right issue, etc…

I am not trying to be divisive; I am trying to be informed on the issues. I think, with any issue, we should know the pros and the cons and be able to ask questions without being attacked. Instead, you get empty rhetoric and unqualified, biased opinions.

While reading this article, I noticed that it was nothing more than rhetoric and contained nothing scientific about global warming or climate change. I am undecided on the debate of global warming and do like to keep abreast of the latest developments in this field of study. While this article did not increase my knowledge in the area of climate change, the benefit I found in this article was a chance to exercise my critical reading and practice finding fallacious reasoning.

The thing I love about scientism is the appeal, the authority that is often claimed by “overwhelming scientific consensus”; we all agree, therefore, it is true. Which, in my opinion, does not count for much given the “overwhelming scientific consensus” is that nothing can travel faster than light. Given the speed of light theory might have recently been shattered. We await confirmation that the speed of light can be broken so let me use a different example. 60 years ago the “overwhelming scientific consensus” was that the sound barrier could not be broken. So much for the overwhelming scientific consensus, as it turns out, they were all wrong. The number of scientific claims that have been destroyed over the years is countless. Is global warming immune to such mistakes? Are we still so arrogant to think that we have all the answers in spite of constant new discoveries and paradigm shifts?

I also wonder how a consensus is a scientific methodology; it sounds more like a philosophy to me. Truth is truth no matter what the “consensus” came up with. I do grant that if the consensus is made up of qualified people, the likelihood that they are correct is greater, however, it is not a guarantee they are correct. In addition, knowing that the “overwhelming scientific consensus” may have been built on some facts which are now known to have been misrepresented at best and outright fraudulent at worst, statistically lowers the probability their premise is correct. If CO₂ emissions is really the cause of climate change, they have done the greatest disservice to us all by their skullduggery.

If you deny the “overwhelming scientific consensus,” then you are a victim of the “well-funded, highly complex and relatively coordinated denial machine.” Seriously, a conspiracy? The conspiracy card can be played for or against climate change and each side could produce enough damning evidence. Poison the well and fling mud, don’t worry about the facts. The facts should be able to stand by themselves. Mudslinging is the recourse for a weak argument.

Notice this article does not address any claims or counter-claims that are relevant to the scientific discussion. It is nothing more than intellectual bullying and vitriolic attacks. Notice that most comments are nothing more than emotionally loaded rhetoric. Even if I was on the side of climate change, I would want well-reasoned arguments and not rhetoric.

Where has reason and logic gone that we must now accept rhetoric as golden truth?

Related Reading Update:

• Climategate (Phil Jones and Climate Research Unit scandal)
  
• Charles Monnett scandal
  
• Solar activity the real cause of climate change (Jan 2012)
  
• Pro Global Warming report (Oct 2011)
  

Osama bin Laden is Dead
Now what? He is dead but al Qaeda is still alive and well. The question is, does his death change anything? Will it make him a martyr? Will that increase anger at the US? These are definitely some really tough questions. Should we all be happy that he is dead? I am given pause when I remember Proverbs 24:17.

“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice” (NIV)

A question that always pops into my mind when people judge people is, “How does Jesus view that person?” I am reminded of that question in this situation as well. How does Jesus view Osama bin Laden? Jesus sees him as a man in need of a savior. He sees him as someone He died for. He sees him as someone He loved. The obvious question then is, how should I see Osama bin Laden? I can’t help but think that had bin Laden experienced true Christian love, his life would have been radically different and that even the events of 9-11-01 may have been avoided.

I think we forget that our enemy is not ourselves (the human race). In this instance, our enemy is a philosophy; a philosophy of hate and revenge and selfishness on both sides. The only weapon against such an enemy is love. I know it sounds like a 1960s’ clich, but it is, logically, the only answer.

So, who is our real enemy?

Taxes the most despised and shady business there is. I gathered a few quotes on taxes for your pleasure. There are always crooks involved with taxes whether it be congress taking more than is needed or the individual who cooks his/her books so that he can pay as little as possible. Enjoy these gems as you send your money away to Uncle Sam. By the way, do you know what they spend that money on?

Someone on FaceBook sent me a link to this video. It compares slavery and the holocaust with abortion. I know that everyone does not think that it is fair to compare the three different events. Citing they are to vastly different. However, I think that there is room to debate the coloration. I lean more toward the idea they are fair comparisons even if the events are different given in each case the value of life was in question.

Volition (n)- The act of making a choice. Sometimes the choice of inaction has consequences stronger than we could ever imagine. Throughout history, men have been faced with difficult choices in a world that makes it easy for them to conform. This film explores the hope that lies behind every decision made in the face of adversity; the hope that is buried in the heart of those that look beyond themselves and see something bigger worth fighting for.   Pasted from <http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/film/?film=420351f1aefa2b42b1772fe9d5cc044a>

Why can't Muslims, Jews and Christians get along? For thousands of years there has been the unresolved conflict between the Arabs and the Jews. The Arab Israeli conflict defies a simple solution. Come to think of it; it defies a complex solution. The problem seems to be the control of the holy land. Now to look at this we need to get some context.

"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt."¹

 

"He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. "²

Director Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League recently said of Europeans:

"Anti-Semitism remains alive and well in the minds of many Europeans. It is distressing that there seems to be no movement away from the constancy of anti-Semitic held views, with accusations about Jews of disloyalty, control and responsibility for the death of Jesus," http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2617

The idea that Europeans are anti-Semitic because of a perception that the Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus is preposterous. It is a distraction from the real facts. The Nazis who were a secular humanist group where the ones who tried to eradicate the Jews from the world. No doubt, the real culprits would like to use Christians as a scapegoat.

I think that in a free society we should allow for the freedom of inquiry. We should not withhold information because we think that we know better than other people and there for we have to help people 'see the light'. The fair and honest approach is not to withhold information. The fair and honest way is to present all pertinent facts with out favor or hindrance. Put all the cards on the table and allow truth to be seen. Truth will prevail if it can be seen.

The problem is many people are not interested in truth, they play lip service to truth while they are focused on self-interest. Agree with them or else. How scary is that.

The second post in a series exploring homosexuality and Christianity.

I want to take some time and explore different perspectives on homosexuality.� I have not spent any time researching homosexuality from a Biblical perspective.� The funny thing is I know Christians who have good reasons to have opposing positions.�

I think that in today’s culture it is important to have an educated opinion on a subject that is causing a great deal of separation.� Currently, I don’t have an opinion only because I have heard very convincing and contradicting opinions from many Christians.� I really don’t want to take the easy way out and just except someone else’s opinion.

As I work through this, I will end up with a series of blogs and hopefully I will receive comments that will help me explore this issue in ways I would not have conceived.

Some of the issues I think that need to be addressed are:

• Is homosexuality a sin?
• Can you be a Christian and a Homosexual?
• How should Christians treat homosexuals?
• Should Christians enforce their morals on non-Christians?
• Gay marriage, the State’s and Church’s role in marriage.

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Stay tuned for more posts on the subject and please let me know your opinion.� This is a very divisive topic and one where emotions tend to run wild.� My intention is to learn and reserve judgment until I feel confident I have an educated opinion.