Dean on Homosexuality (StumpJumper)

Much is being made in the media today about Howard Dean's remarks regarding homosexuality. For those of you who haven't heard about it, he had this to say:

From a religious point of view, if God had thought homosexuality is a sin, he would not have created gay people.

Pundits such as Andrew Sullivan are expressing a very positive reaction (see "DEAN, GOD, GAYS") to this comment. Sullivan was pretty blunt: "Yesterday was a good moment." Many are happy that Dean is openly supporting gay marriage. Others are happy that Dean is becoming more comfortable talking about his religious views. I have a different view. I find Dean's comments very troubling.

On the surface, it would seem that Dean's comment should receive tremendous support from this blog. Both ZB and I have been very outspoken supporters of gay marriage. We are both openly Christian yet very reserved in our faith. My problem is not with Dean's stance on gay marriage or faith, it is with the absolute absurdity of his justification.

To be religious is to presume that God created everything. By the very nature of God, if you believe that God created anything then you believe that he created everything. Dean's comment is pleasing on the surface because he expresses support for something that I support, but dig a little deeper, and only a little because the comment is so shallow, and you find that he comment is absolutely illogical. Simply replace "homosexuality" and "gays" with something evil and see what happens. Would anyone support the statement "If God had thought murder is a sin, he would not have created murders"? Of course not. God created murders, pedophiles, rapists, dictators, and all manner of evil beings. The acts of these people are still sinful and morally wrong. Although I agree with the conclusion of Dean's thought, that homosexuality is not a sin or immoral, he loses all credibility by expressing this justification.

This country needs more debate on issues of marriage, sexuality, and gender roles. The sexual revolution has changed our world, possibly forever. Many of the issues are very complex, however. What we need is intelligent thoughts competing in the marketplace of ideas. Unfortunately, Howard Dean has taken a complex and vitally important idea and reduced it to a bumper sticker.