On the Verge of a Christian State

There is always a bittersweet feeling I get inside when I go visit my parents.  It's not so much a result of my parents, but the city in which I go visit them.  Merced is definitely not a very liberal part of California.  In fact, the county voted 71% in favor of Proposition 8.  So going to Merced is always eventful since I am the one of the most "out" gays in the city--I've been on the front page of their newspaper several times already.  Driving through town with my "No On 8" bumper sticker usually attracts reactions, occasional dirty looks, and of course, the yelling of the word "fag."  All of which I have learned to respond to in a healthy non-violent way.

This past Thanksgiving was no different when I went to Merced to be with my family for the holiday.  People honked at our car, I could see people stop to stare in parking lots, etc.  Well after a very stuffing Thanksgiving dinner my partner and I took a walk.  It was saddening that people stared in disgust as we held hands, but we held ourselves well.  As we continued our walk we found something that had left us speechless.  It wasn't the dirty looks.  It was a fence that had been tagged with spray paint.  In bold white letters, "Romans 1:27" was displayed on the fence.  I was speechless because I was not expecting a fence to have such a verse on it.  The fence didn't belong to a certain house or was facing anything really of significance.  But there it was in plain view for anyone to see who was walking by.  I was filled with many emotions. I was sad, angry, even ashamed.  I wanted to respond to this fence.  I wanted to add affirmation, but I really didn't know how to.  I wanted to spray paint Ephesians 4:2-6 over it, but with my luck I would have gotten busted for vandalism--it would have been worth it in my opinion.  I will actually be sending in an Op-Ed to the local newspaper as a response to the fence though.

But why was it written in the first place?  Of all the verses to put up why this one?  I admit it was a better selection than Leviticus 18:22, since Leviticus is often overused.  But are we at a point now in society where we begin to post religious "laws" in public in order to condemn people?  Are we on the verge of a Christian state?  The cult of persecution is dominating in our culture.  Not to go off on a slippery slope fallacy, but what's next?  Curfews, executions of the homosexuals and the artistic, and the subjugation of women again?  It is the messages of untruth and intolerance and persecution that we need to stand up against.  It starts with a fence, but lets make sure lives don't end up ending on a fence.  Let action begin.  The abuse and misuse of scriptures hurt people, so share what these scriptures have done and what they do in your lives.