I was just re-reading my post on Tony Jones and Same-sex Marriage, and I overlooked one gem in his comments I quoted. Here’s the relevant line:
“It seems that for many of our readers, my own experience of life and my friendship with and compassion for gay and lesbian persons should play no role in the formation of my opinion regarding their rights.” (emphasis mine)
What am I to make of that italicized part? It sounds like he’s saying that his love for gays and lesbians steered him in the direction of affirming their lifestyle. I wonder if he will acknowledge that for some people in my camp, their compassion for gays and lesbians has steered them in the exact opposite direction when it comes to approval of the homosexual lifestyle.
My question to Tony is: why should compassion for gays and lesbians mean acquiescence to their lifestyle? Many times, love requires a strong moral stance. After all, my parents love me, and I’m glad that whenever they knew I was doing something destructive, they stood against it, not in spite of their love, but because of it.
4 responses so far ↓
Ken // December 3, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I’m glad you wrote a blog on this Rich! Great point on taking a moral stance as true compassion. What an opportunity we have to live in the tension of grace and truth.
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Top 10 Posts of 2008 « The Pugnacious Irishman // January 1, 2009 at 9:40 am
[...] Tony Jones Part III–Something I Missed: Why must ‘love’ mean that I acquiesce to whatever behavior the beloved engages in? Many, including Jones, who approves (to greater or lesser degrees) of the homosexual lifestyle cite ‘love’ as a reason, yet they rarely define the word. Most never stop to mention that if the beloved does something destructive to himself or others, that is not something we should rejoice in. Why do they almost never bring this up? How can homosexual behavior *ever* be healthy? [...]