Believe in marriage

It has become clear in recent days that religion is in the dark. The reason is the ruling of the Supreme Court in the US regarding same-sex marriage.

In response to this, I have regularly posted articles that want to hold up a mirror to all those who are now cheering for that “discrimination has finally been eradicated”. A mirror that shows that those who were once discriminated against have now become the discriminators.

I often use it example of a baker who was convicted because he refused, based on his faith, to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding. The responses to that article are mostly here in Europe: "Yes, that's normal. He shouldn't have refused that."

If I then have one article post in which it appears that in a test thirteen gay bakers were refused to bake a cake that contained a Christian position on marriage, then the same community believes that it is their right to refuse.

I have a hard time with that. Personally, I thought that everyone makes their own choices in life and that I should therefore not deny them their happiness. For example, I will not refuse a gay person as a customer. I've even been to a gay wedding and sincerely wished my friends lots of love. I have to disagree with someone else not to wish them their happiness.

Is it unheard of to ask the opposite? If, as a believer, I am expected to accept same-sex marriage, is it conversely wrong to ask that my faith be accepted?

Or have believers become the new Jews or lepers in our society? Am I to be branded with a star, rattle, or other symbol because I believe that God has established marriage between a man and a woman as an everlasting covenant?

I like having friends with whom I have different opinions. That's why we're still friends. But I have a hard time with people who say that I should not discriminate and at the same time approve that I am being discriminated against just because I am religious.

Our society falls into this theme a new Mao communism. What society dictates as the norm becomes the only accepted norm. The rest can be excluded as pariahs in society.

Am I seeing it too black and white? A Facebook acquaintance of mine literally wrote to me that allowing is not enough; I have to accept it and accept it. In other words, I even have to change my opinions and beliefs to be OK.

I like the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

The Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐day Saints restates and reaffirms the doctrinal foundation of Church teachings on morality, marriage, and the family. Marriage between a man and a woman was instituted by God and is central to His plan for His children and for the well-being of society. Changes in the civil law do not, indeed cannot, change the moral law that God has established.

The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to love and treat all people with kindness and civility—even when we disagree. We affirm that those who avail themselves of laws or court rulings authorizing same‐sex marriage should not be treated disrespectfully. Indeed, the Church has advocated for rights of same‐sex couples in matters of hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment, and probate, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.

So my plea is simply to have peace with the fact that people can have different opinions. I regret the fact that people who were victims of discrimination for so long now find it necessary to discriminate against others themselves. Although I personally find that most discrimination comes from people who are actually outside the discussion, who are neither religious nor gay. It is the bystanders who apparently are the first to see a new one  cordon sanitary around believers want to move up.

My plea is to keep the peace and listen to each other and accept that we differ in opinion and faith. If it's your right to believe I'm wrong, that's my right too. To do otherwise is to condemn another opinion of the same kinds of errors that once occurred through inquisitions and the like.