In responding to a NY Times opinion piece by Frank Bruni, “The Worst (and Best) Places to Be Gay in America”,
Dr. Mohler answers the author’s complaint that places like Alabama and Texas “don’t
exactly brim with love” for LGBT people with the brush-off: “Well ... that’s
his language, pointing to this very big moral divide in the country.” That’s
the short shrift this Christian gives to love. From listening to Dr. Mohler you
wouldn’t guess the actual content of the article. It presents many personal
instances in which gay people are made miserable in places that don’t respect
them – by expressions of disgust, threats, social exclusion – and contrasts
these experiences with those of gays who thrive in places that greet them with
acceptance.
Yes, there is a very big divide in the country over the morality of non-heterosexual orientation and behavior. But it seems to me there are really two different kinds of moral disagreement here. One is over the morality of being LGBT. The other is over how people who identify as LGBT should be treated. Should they be treated with love and respect, or with hatred and disgust? Should it be legal to treat them as pariahs, denying them employment and service in public accommodations, on the basis of their sexual orientation? Or should they be protected from such treatment? These questions are quite apart, it seems to me, from the question of whether homosexuality itself is sinful. In Christian terms, is it virtuous or sinful to make gay people’s lives miserable because you believe they are sinners?
The Times article notes that 28 states don’t have laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment. Dr. Mohler often expresses vehement concern about the supposed dangers that laws protecting LGBT people pose to the rights of Christians. But to my knowledge he never expresses any concern for the suffering LGBT people are subjected to by the discriminatory behavior such laws would prohibit.
Even given our moral divide over sexual morality, it seems to me there is a middle ground we all might be able to agree on – that LGBT people should not be mistreated on the basis of their sexual orientation, and that, as Americans and as human beings, they should be accorded legal protections against such mistreatment. You can continue to tell gays they are living in sin while at the same time recognizing their right to live on an equal footing with others in society.
I would like to hear Dr. Mohler express clearly his position on LGBT non-discrimination employment laws, and his rationale for it.
Yes, there is a very big divide in the country over the morality of non-heterosexual orientation and behavior. But it seems to me there are really two different kinds of moral disagreement here. One is over the morality of being LGBT. The other is over how people who identify as LGBT should be treated. Should they be treated with love and respect, or with hatred and disgust? Should it be legal to treat them as pariahs, denying them employment and service in public accommodations, on the basis of their sexual orientation? Or should they be protected from such treatment? These questions are quite apart, it seems to me, from the question of whether homosexuality itself is sinful. In Christian terms, is it virtuous or sinful to make gay people’s lives miserable because you believe they are sinners?
The Times article notes that 28 states don’t have laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment. Dr. Mohler often expresses vehement concern about the supposed dangers that laws protecting LGBT people pose to the rights of Christians. But to my knowledge he never expresses any concern for the suffering LGBT people are subjected to by the discriminatory behavior such laws would prohibit.
Even given our moral divide over sexual morality, it seems to me there is a middle ground we all might be able to agree on – that LGBT people should not be mistreated on the basis of their sexual orientation, and that, as Americans and as human beings, they should be accorded legal protections against such mistreatment. You can continue to tell gays they are living in sin while at the same time recognizing their right to live on an equal footing with others in society.
I would like to hear Dr. Mohler express clearly his position on LGBT non-discrimination employment laws, and his rationale for it.
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