First, a hat tip to Mike Matthews for posting this first. But I want to do more than discuss it as if there were two legitimate points of view at work here.
Chris Theis, a leader of the Delaware Family Policy Council, says through his Twitter feed that SB121 (formerly HB5), a bill that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation here in Delaware, “will end religious liberties in DE.” He then implores us to “Do the research.”
I have. I have read my Bible. I have read SB121. I have read the Constitution of the United States. I am a Catholic. So I know a few things about religion, politics, and laws. But to be extra sure, I went to college and law school, graduated from both, passed the bar exam, and practiced law for nearly a decade, just so I could be ready to answer Theis’ challenge. Little did I know that I could have saved $180,000 and 15 years of time and energy, for all I needed to answer Theis is what I learned in Kindergarten: we treat everyone like we would want to be treated. Indeed, I was also taught when I was young that I must “Love thy Neighbor as thyself.” That is what Jesus taught us. But Mr. Theis must have missed that day of class.
For he believes, that to be Christian, one must hate thy neighbor because of who that neighbor is. That one is better than thy neighbor, because of who thy neighbor is.
Mr. Theis, and anyone who similarly and ridiculously believes ending discrimination against homosexuals threatens their religious liberty, Jesus did not teach discrimination. It is not a virtue. It is not a value. It is not a liberty. It is evil. Division is Satan’s handiwork, not God’s. The day you reject your neighbor is the day you reject Jesus. The day you pretend that Christianity stands for discrimination and hate is the day you lose all credibility and legitimacy. Discrimination is not a God-given right, it is a creation of man to divide and control those less desirable. Ending discrimination does not offend God. Ending discrimination offends those that discriminate.