God gave us free will, yes. But most gay people do not "choose" to be gay. Just like you didn't "choose" to be straight. They were born that way. And if .God is our creator, .He created them gay.

Hmm? Food for thought.

From the religious perspective though "god" isn't the only contender - there is always the "devil" to lead people to certain temptations....

I vote yes, I just think if you love eachother, so be it , it doesnt effect me or my life.

I believe in .God. But I believe in a loving, understanding .God. I believe .He is compassionate and knows our hearts. I don't think he would want us to live in misery and deny our feelings. He gave us life, which is a miracle all its own - and I think it would be a slight against .Him if we were to waste that gift putting ourselves in misery so as not to offend .Him.

Every gay friend I have says they felt that way for as long as they can remember. I don't believe that truly gay people are drawn to it through peer pressure or to be trendy. A lot of gay people are ashamed of what they feel, partly because of society looking down on them and partly because they've been taught it's wrong and they're headed straight to hell for it. Who would choose that path?

God knows us. He knows us through and through. I really don't believe that the .God I pray to would turn away good people just because they love someone. I don't believe that for a second. He loves us, and he knows the evil in our hearts. Love isn't evil. He wouldn't punish us for that.

I'm not trying to argue with you, .Foxy. That's just what I believe.

I don't think religion has any bearing on the issue of gays getting married. In the eyes of the state marrage is simply two people entering into a leaglly binding contract saying that they will give half of theire stuff to the other person, and also enjoy a few tax benefits. If gays can enter into a cell phone contract or get a home loan they can get married. Besides if we are going to let the church run our society and dictate policy we may as well return to the dark ages and forget all of our modern conviences such as science and medicine. " if god wanted you to live he would not have givin you that infection".

I will never understand the argument that they *chose* to be gay. I honestly can't even wrap my head around it, it just doesn't make sense to me.

I didn't choose to be straight. I'm not attracted to women, I am attracted to men, therefore i'm heterosexual.

So wouldn't that be the same as a gay man not being attracted to women but he is attracted to men? Therefore he's homosexual?

When people say they choose to be gay are they saying they're choosing not to ignore their true feelings and pretending to be straight?

I probably don't even make sense right now but I really don't get it. I can't even put my confusion into words.

According to christianity, being gay is not always a choice. but they feel that if you are gay, you should fight temptation and pray about it. You can be gay, that itself is not a sin. What is a sin is if you engage in homosexual acts. Many gay christians said they prayed and prayed and never engaged in homosexual acts and with gods help they were able to turn straight.
I am just telling you what I know.

The choice or not choice debate over someone's sexuality is dependant on religion.

Religiously - it is a sin and as religion should be forced to change (you're in it or you aren't) in the eyes of a devout person it is a sinful choice.

Scientifically - we know that those people are just "wired" or "built" to function that way.

You can't mix science and religion - they are mutually exclusive in most cases.

But like foxy says the laws of the land should remain separate from those of the churches.

If people wish to enter into a contract of "togetherness" that is fine, but it will not be a "marriage" in the eyes of any god - because it goes against the basics of religion.
I understand the christian "god" to be a forgiving god. It does not matter to him when you repent your sins, so even if someone "chose" to live a sinful life with someone of the same sex, if they realised this as a sin and repented to this god during or even after death, this god would forgive and accept them.

It's not how I chose to live my life, religion leaves too many questions.
So I chose to live by morals, right and wrong, good and bad - a lot depending on if/how it affects other people.

I think comedian lewis black puts it best in one of his routines when he states that when the bible was written mankind was very uneducated and pretty much lived just slightly better than animals. The part about marraige being between a man and a woman wasn't litteral but was meant in the sense that in those days a man would have tried to marry his favorite camel or sheep if they would have let him.

Can I just say that as this post has gone for so long in a mature manner I pleased with each and everyone who contributed.

However, I do expect it to turn out of hand. If that happens i'll delete the offensive comments and lock the post. Hope you're all cool with that.

I hope it doesn't happen.