The Great American Culture War: Religious Liberty, Gay Rights, Naturalism & The Christian Faith

The United States once again finds herself at a crossroads. The lines have been drawn. The shots have been fired. The culture war seems to rage on endlessly. Left vs. right. Liberal vs. Conservative. Secular vs. Christian. These are some of the most difficult and muddy issues to delve into. But an answer must be found. A solution must be possible, right?

What's really happening here in our country? What's the reason? Is there any way out of this predicament? The culture war is very troubling to me. It keeps me up at night. I read about it on social media, and get aggravated. I feel the weight of it. The burden of it is heavy. And I fear for the future of the great nation I call home.

The United States has always been a diverse bunch of misfits and heroes. Many of the founders were Christians with seminary degrees. Still others were agnostic or atheist, deeply interested in philosophy, science, and invention. The diversity has grown as millions have migrated to the USA. The United States has prospered a great deal from diversity.

In the history of the United States there have been philosophical enlightenments as well as great awakenings and temperance movements. It seems to me that the current liberal side of the culture war is a development from the American enlightenment and scientific breakthroughs of the United States. And it seems to me that the current conservative side of the culture war is a product of the great awakenings and temperance movements within the United States. The interesting thing is that from a perspective of being on both sides of the culture war, one notices that each side tends to function in keeping the other side honest.

Women were oppressed in the United States in the past. Slavery and prejudice were tolerated by the public for many years throughout the history of the USA. The family has at times been oppressive to children. And yes, those holding to LGBTQ sexual preferences were treated shamefully by many who held to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Yet those same teachings said "Love thy neighbor, and pray for those who persecute you" (Mark 12:31, Matthew 5:44). Even more shamefully still, Priests were found to have sexually abused children. Yet Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them" (Luke 18:16). Thank God that liberals, progressives, and some conservatives have had the courage to decry loudly these tragic injustices.

Yet in the past 10 years in this country we've seen the coin flipped the other way. Christianity is openly mocked in the academic institutions of the United States. Religion is considered to be, well, always bad and always oppressive. Those holding to conservative Christian views are often decried as bigots, homophobes, and racists in the public square. Opposition is silenced. Secular humanism is the new ethic. LGBTQ is pure and good, traditional views are considered corrupt and always suspect. Those supporting traditional marriage are bullied and forced to resign from their jobs, or forced to close their businesses. Sex is fine before, during, and after marriage, because well, we say so. Modernity has replaced all the backwards views of religious fanatics, and we have converted many of the Christians to our sexual views, and the hold outs won't last much longer under the onslaught of science, modernity, and sanity! Isn't that what the national press so often declare?

The liberal solution to these issues, like gay marriage, women's rights, racism, and so on is for the bullied to become the bully. But that cannot be the solution. It only leads to culture war. Both sides of this debate don't seem to understand that we need each other. We check and balance one another. We keep each other honest.

Yet I'm a conservative Christian. I won't stand by and allow the United States to crumble under the weight of a new bullying majority. But let's table that for a minute. The real question is very basic: Is homosexuality wrong? Or is it dangerous and/or harmful to society?

The Bible says homosexuality is wrong (Romans 1:24-27). But let's table that too for the moment. What does the science say? What do the studies say? According to Mayo clinic, those engaging in homosexuality activity are at greater risk for diseases like AIDS. Sexual intercourse through the rectum can be damaging over time, because simply, it wasn't designed for sexual use. Long term irritation of the bowels can lead to cancer and chronic irritation.

Of course people are outraged when you bring up those facts. Then come the ad hominem attacks. They call you a bigot, homophobe, racist, sexist, and so on. People will attack personally when they don't have a counter argument for your arguments. Don't insult me, give me a good counter argument.