Gay in the News: Loving My Apple

News reports disparage a Florida man who is claiming that he should be allowed to marry his Apple computer.

The claimant, Chris Sevier filed his complaint in the court hearing same-sex marriage arguments.  According to him,

Recently, I purchased an Apple computer. The computer was sold to me without filters to block out pornography. I was not provided with any warning by Apple that pornography was highly addictive and could alter my reward cycle by the manufacturer. Over time, I began preferring sex with my computer over sex with real women. Naturally, I 'fell in love' with my computer...

Sevier claims that government protection should be extended to "other minority sexual orientation groups" as with homosexual. He equates his thought process to gay couples having "the right to marry their object of sexual desire, even if they lack corresponding sexual parts."

Considered in the context of other rationales being argued to justify homosexual "marriage", such insanity makes perfect sense.

"Gay" in the News: Resistance to Popular Sentiment is Futile

Resistance is Futile.  You will be assimilated...

According to popularity surveys, the idea of "same-sex marriage" is gaining public approval.  This attitude reportedly represents the changing tide of public acceptance, which by most accounts, amounts to a rather euphoric sense of inevitability.

You're about to be assimilated.  Why fight it?

It is evident that the predators can smell the blood in the water.  It excites them.  The feeding frenzy ensues.

Personally, I find the idea of assimilation to be rather distasteful.  I would rather fancy myself as capable of forming my own opinions, regardless of the popularity of certain ideas.  So I consistently resist the suggestion of any compulsion by the ebb and flow of the thundering herd.  Notwithstanding, I am not into absorbing personal punishment without reason.  I stand aside for the passage of the thundering herd, purely out of respect for preponderance.  Though I tend not to conform with popularity, I see no need to get trampled.

Someone whose opinion I respect carries more weight than any popular survey or public opinion poll.  Thomas S. Monson counseled for seeking confirmation from God to help us bear up the courage of our convictions.

It is this sweet assurance that can guide you and me—in our time, in our day, in our lives. Of course, we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well.  (The Call for Courage)

Maybe it is foolish, perhaps resistance is futile.   But until I am informed by a more authoritative source than popularity, I will continue to stand for principle, trying to defend the causes I believe are right and good.

That does not necessarily mean always opposing what is popular.  It means thoughtfully promoting what I believe to be right, regardless of what the latest popular survey says.

My enthusiasm for discussing this issue is exhausted, though it is no less prominent in the news media coverage or in the important events taking place at this time.  Declining to write more about it here does not indicate that it is any less of a concern, or that my interest in the prevention of current trends has declined. I'm just sick of discussing it.

"Gay" in the News: Washington Marries Everyone to Everyone

 

Already tied the knot?  Why not?  In Washington and a few other states, "domestic partnerships" automatically get transformed to "marriage" compliments of the state.

"Gay" in the News: Indiana DOMA

Indiana DOMA moves forward through the State Legislature.   This is being reported from a number of different perspectives, which is confusing, but is probably an accurate reflection of the reality of the situation.  Apparently, opponents were able to force a change in the wording of the bill, which even though it has now been approved, by the rules cannot be considered again by the Indiana Congress until 2016.

The real threat...

Difficult to predict where attempts to legitimize homosexual marriage will lead. Though there currently seems to be very strong popular opposition, it seems like such issues have a way of being forced upon us without being ratified by the majority. If we have legalization of homosexual marriage, then homosexual marriage would no longer be a subset of a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

This is one of the points that can be confused, because as of today, church policy is based on the "legally and lawfully married" standard. I believe there are even church members who have set their hopes that the church would be forced to recognize and even perform such marriages, under the law of the land. I think this will never happen. If what is legal and lawful under civil laws becomes something that is obviously contrary to the laws of God, a change in policy would be needed to draw the obvious distinction.

I think the arguments for homosexual marriage are contrived, but then I also feel that this whole discussion passes by most everything that really matters. If homosexuals wish to attempt false emulation of the true order of marriage, so what? They cannot through rule of law or by practice become something that they are not. They will simply be like the false priests of pharaoh who aspired to the priesthood, though it was denied to them (cf Abr 1:27). Counterfeit marriage, like a counterfeit priesthood, will never be recognized or blessed by Heavenly Father.

I am certain that even if it were legal, homosexual relationships would never achieve the kind of importance in the structure of social relationships that traditional families do.

Of course, the real matter of importance is how such issues reflect on traditional marriage. The move to legitimize perverted sexual relationships is just one facet of this problem. Traditional marriage, is weakening in many other areas, some of them with much greater significance.

The normalization of widespread divorce and illegitimacy, to name two items, are real threats to social stability. As these problems escalate, we are effectively performing a huge experiment with human populations that far transcends the potential impact of global warming. In the space of one or two generations, every human life will be a product of this experiment. There are no controls or predictions on possible outcomes. Unlike global warming predictions, there are few scientists that even seem to recognize that any such threat exists, let alone to create theories and computer models and argue at conferences.

With us, unlike the rest of the world, we have the witness and warning from inspired prophets. They have foreseen the calamities of the last days. Perhaps some of the worst trials are for us yet to face, if the time comes that we cannot even promote true moral values and correct principles to children.