Vince Deagler

you wouldn’t think truth would be a controversial concept, but apparently it is.  my recent experiences, observations, and reading all tend to confirm that reality.  for instance, i have recently been doing some reading on the emergent/emerging church.  within that community is a growing willingness to concede that perhaps jesus isn’t the only way to god, the bible really isn’t god’s word, and the teachings of the bible in any given area are irrelevant to life today.  wow.  i am well aware that society as a whole has been moving in that direction, but the church???  that’s scary.  but that is the reality i, we face.  i don’t know about you, but this really bugs me. i think truth is pretty important.  i think it doesn’t belong to me or you or anyone else.  i think it belongs to god.  my role is to know it, believe it, speak it.  but this is where the problems begin to surface.  we live in a world of political correctness.  in a world that highly values tolerance.  in a world where absolutes are rejected and truth is what anyone deems it to be for them.  in that environment i am a dinosaur.  i can shut up…but that really isn’t a good option since i am called to be the light of the world, salt of the earth.  but if i speak out i am labeled as intolerant, a hater, a bigot, etc.  well here’s where i’m at.  since i believe truth belongs to god, and my role is to know, believe, and speak it i have to take option 2.  as far as tolerance is concerned, i recognize others have the right to a point of view that differs from my own.  as long as tolerance means this, i’m cool.  but as soon as you make tolerance mean that i must agree with you, accept your views as equally valid as my own, well i have a problem.  and here’s why.  2+2=4.  you have the right to feel differently, but that doesn’t change the reality that 2+2=4.  if you believe the answer is 3, 5, 22, or something else…well your allowed, but you would be wrong.  that’s the nature of truth.  to insist all truth claims are equal is just a bit ridiculous.  before you go off, please remember not everything should be considered a truth claim.  many things are issues of personal taste and preference.  these sort of things are subjective.  truth is objective.  why is it that the people who scream for tolerance, who champion open dialogue, who love diversity have such a problem with what i just wrote?  for instance, why is intelligent design such a hot button issue.  why are people who supported prop. 8 which defined marriage as between a man and a woman in the recent election in california deemed to be haters?  why is it ok to celebrate kwanzaa, hanukkah, and ramadan, but anathema to refer to christmas?  i thought tolerance was valued, diversity welcomed, freedom embraced?  apparently that door swings only one way.  well i guess i’m just a contrarian.  i am tired of the inconsistency and hypocrisy of it all.  i believe for 1000’s of years the word marriage has had an historical meaning.  i believe since the civil rights movement of the 60’s the homosexual community has been trying to change that definition.  they do so under the guise of “equal rights”.  can anyone out there tell me what rights have been denied to a homosexual?  i’m serious.  they have the right to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.  they have freedom of speech, of religion, to keep and bear arms, Miranda rights, housing rights, employment rights, every right i can think of.  in fact here in california we have domestic partnership laws that ensure that every right a married couple receives through marriage is available to a homosexual couple.  so what rights are they talking about.  personally i think the argument is a smokescreen.  rights aren’t the issue.  have you ever heard the phrase…”you can’t legislate morality”?  what do you think?  i think every law is a legislation of morality.  it is simply an issue of whose standard of morality will be legislated.  when the supreme court of california finds a way to throw out the prop 8 vote (i fully expect this to happen, just like prop 22 was thrown out by the courts, just like the ninth circuit court decided gay marriage should be legalized in california) what will they be doing?  they will be deciding what moral code will be legislated.  for 1000’s of years marriage has had an historical meaning.  apparently because some people want to change that definition a whole new moral code will be imposed on me.  where my friend is the tolerance in that?  where is the diversity?  where are the cries…”you can’t legislate morality”?  that is exactly what the courts are doing.  its why intelligent design is excluded from science text books.  and it is that same mentality that leads the emergent church to entertain the idea that there are many ways to god, etc.  in this politically correct, tolerance run a muck  culture, that type of thinking is applauded.  i’m sorry, i can’t go along.  i am not about to look within to define truth.  i look to god, it is his to define.  i am to know it, believe it, and speak it.  i will try to do this in love and graciousness.  but in a world where i am perceived as a bigot, that is hard.  pray for me to do better.  peace.  vince