God, Christianity, and the United States of America...

by Aaron M. Hall

In response to Jason Connor and Brad Lohr... I would like to respond in support of Brad. My comments will appear in red, bold italics.

I would like to state here and now that I consider myself to be Christian... I believe in God. I believe in His creation, and I believe He sent His son to save us all. I also believe that God is a very merciful, compassionate being... qualities that we as humans in the 21st century have lost...

I would also like to state that I am not gay, nor do I support such activities. However, I will NEVER show a lack of compassion nor force someone who is gay to live a lifestyle that I *personally* think is wrong.

Dear Mr. Lohr,

Don't call me dear, I'm not dear to you in any way, shape or form. If you're going to do a business letter, do it in a real business style. If you're going to do an informal letter, do it in an informal style, don't mix your margaritas, boy.

I am very disturbed by the opening contents of your column today. I will tell you straight up front that I am a Christian, and I assume that you are not. Please tell me why denying same-sex marriages would be "so bigoted and downright wrong." You do not think that such behavior is abhorent?

Much to the surprise of people like you, I find this behavior completely and totally NONE OF MY BUSINESS. Who are you to decide what is right, and what is wrong? You take an interpretation of the Bible which is clouded by other people's interpretations. Here's an easy one, though. The Bible says not to judge, but to leave that to God himself. So get off yer soapbox, and be humble. That's in the Bible too.

Here is the first point Brad makes that I agree with... "Judge not, lest ye be judged" were the words of my Lord, and yet everyday many look at people and make decisions based on another persons looks or actions. Many fundamentalist Christians think that what God means by spread His Word is that we should go around forcing others to do what we construe to be the only way. Those same Christians are the ones that cause the war in Ireland between the Catholics and Protestants. Why can't we just accept the fact that maybe all religions are "correct" in some manners, wrong in others, but what matters is that they all believe the same Supreme Being started it all?

Let me give you two reasons why homosexuality is wrong:

1. The Bible says so. Yes, I know you quite explicitly said you don't care what the Bible has to say, and unfortunately too many people your age have taken that aggregious attitude. But the point is that God created us--and before you start shouting evolution, think about just how cosmically lucky mankind would have to be for everything to have been created just right for our species but be entirely a random coincidence of nature! God created us, and He set down certain laws, many of which concern marriage. He decided long ago that a true marriage would be between a God-fearing man & a God-fearing woman, and that any other "union" would be as intolerable as someone screwing a barnyard animal. Read Deuteronomy sometime.

And I'm sure you think that women teachers are blasphemous as well. In the Bible it clearly states that men should not learn from women. You can't choose which parts of the Bible fit what you want it to hear. Take it all and say that every part of the Bible is correct, and get them women outta classrooms with men in them, or say "Times Change, sometimes we have to adjust" and let two people alone who just want your stupid eyes off their lives.

I'm not sure where Brad was going with this or where he pulled it from, but I think that Jason's arguments are irrelevant. First of all, even the Pope has declared that the theory of evolution doesn't interfere with the theory of Creation. Afterall, we *think* we've determined that God's equivalent to 1 day is actually about 1,000 years. The point is, no one needs to argue which theory is true... it's irrelevant to this discussion. As for reading Deutoronomy... it's an interesting book, and while much of it has a point, nowhere does it say that we should lose our compassion towards our fellow man and woman because they choose to live differently from us!

2. Life says so. You can argue with me about God's existence until His Son comes back, but there is no way on earth that you can deny that Life itself rejects homosexuality. Can two men produce a baby? How about two women? The answer, of course, is NO! If Life had meant for us to "do our own thing," then we would be able to reproduce homosexually.

Funny how most mammalian species have some form of homosexual behavior in which they regularly and normally include in their social groups. Monkeys do it, Dolphins do it, and just because two men can't have a baby, that doesn't mean that they're wrong. It just means that they don't have the physical compatibility to have children. Some women become infertile through natural causes, are you saying that because she cannot have children, that she is wrong in the eyes of God? Maybe God doesn't want her to have children. Maybe God doesn't want gay people to have children either. Most of them don't, you know. They realize that that's a part of their life and they get on with it, because they can't be as happy trying to be with people of the opposite sex. They're PEOPLE TOO, you know.

This all goes back to what I said in the beginning, because Brad's last statement says it all... "They're PEOPLE TOO, you know." Why can't we as Christians be supportive of others and help them come to believe similar things as us? Why do we have to pass laws that regulate their lives and force them to be the same as us... that is, us being hypocritical fools.

I'd like to make something clear, Mr. Lohr. I'm not bashing you for corrupt morals, or misguided ideals, or anything like that. That is Satan's and our government's fault. I am merely trying to let you know that what you said is wrong. You should care about what the Bible says, about anything, not just sexuality. It's not just the church's business, it's everyone's. And it isn't about one religion writing the laws for everyone; that'll be the New World Order's business. It's about one eternal God who created each and every one of us. He set down the laws, not our 'religion.' He loves us, and it hurts Him whenever we act like this or allow Satan to rule our lives.

One of my best friends is Christian, and I totally respect that. He's a smart guy. He's made that choice, and I can't tell him he's wrong, because I'm agnostic. I don't know that he's wrong, and I don't know that your belief in God is wrong. But I'll tell you what, based on the evidence you provide, your LOGIC is wrong, homey. It stinks like last night's dinner, left to rot. You've read parts of the Bible, but only the parts that say what you want. You try to evoke emotions about being gay not being "right", when what you mean is that being gay isn't right FOR YOU. Hey.. it's not right for me either, but I'm not gonna around town and tell other people what they can, or can't do, with their lives. One of the basic tenets of the Bible is that God gave us free choice, and if others choose to be homosexual, they do it with God's permission, so leave them the hell alone.

Again, Brad is correct... it's YOUR CHOICE to disagree with being gay. You can feel how you want about it, but you must always realize that YOU nor others like you can eliminate what you disagree with. Knowing that, how can anyone try to force anyone to not take advantage of their ability to choose for themselves how they want to live? In fact, what I want to know is why more people are so scared to think for themselves that they become complacent in taking what others say for face value without an investigation of their own.

I'm very sorry if you perceive this as "ruining other's fun," but life is not about fun. Just ask anyone twenty years older than you. All I am trying to do is tell you what I know to be right. It certainly is your choice, no argument there, but I pray that you take to heart what I've said and re-examine your attitude.

YOUR life isn't about fun. You intend to be holier than all of us, and I think you have every right to try and do that, but the real sad part of this story is that you're just repeating things that have been told to you, not thinking on your own. 40 years ago we denied black people the right to go in the same bathroom as white people, and one of the backing lines behind that was because in the Bible, it mentions that they were meant to be servants in some way or another. I don't have the verse with me, I'm replying at work, and I'm short a Bible on my desk. I love tolerant Christians, ones who have a belief, and they follow it. Ones that respect the rights of other people who don't believe what they do. You see, if someone doesn't believe in your religion, they don't care how much you go off about God loving them. They don't believe in that. And while I believe it's completely within the rights of a church to not acknowledge the marraige of two same-sex people, I believe that this is way out of line at the state law level.

The last time I checked, the first ammendment guaranteed our citizens a Separation of Church and State... yet so many Christian hypocrits do what happened in California... they pass laws such as Prop 22. Brad says, "I love tolerant Christians, ones who have a belief, and they follow it. Ones that respect the rights of other people who don't believe what they do." Brad--- I am a tolerant, compassionate Christian with a belief. A belief that while I may not believe that being gay is correct, that you are correct that we should judge others because of a decision they made.

Finally, Brad--- I would like to tell you that I enjoy reading your column on the weekends. I find it informative, and humorous which is what I come to this site for in the first place. I come here for information, viewpoints different from my own, and the humor that those of you on RPGamer staff bring to our lives. I salute you for standing firm on your beliefs! Keep up the great work on the column! And as you stated in your 3/11 column-- you're entitled to put your opinions and personality into YOUR column. And by the way, another point you are right on the mark on is this -- we are all Gamers here. This site is dedicated to the RPG gamers and their personalities. Congratulations on a job well done, and keep the good columns coming!

Brad Lohr, RPGamer Columnist and (usually) political apathetic practitioner.

Note: These comments are made in a forum open to opinion, and neither reflect the views of anyone other than myself personally, nor any establishment that they're displayed on, including, but not limited to, RPGamer.com. If you've got a problem with my statements, they're completely personal, and yes, I wrote this disclaimer with the help of nothing but "Legal Writing for RPGamer Columnists, v3.2" copyright FU2 Inc.

Now, because I don't want to see RPGamer flooded with editorials and junk that people don't think belongs there, I would like to see us return to our focus on RPG's. In the future, I would suggest this thought-- If you don't like what you're reading, skip ahead to a part or question that you're interested in and FORGET the parts that bother you. If this is too difficult for you to do, I would advise that you not read that column or articles like that. This is America, it's a free country, and lest you be judged... let's just move on about our business.

Thank you for your time.