To the editor:
Arguments continue to swirl regarding the legal (and moral) impact of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act legislation on its citizens as well as on the state’s image.
Perhaps the most emotional and contentious argument against RFRA is the allegation that it invites discrimination against those of non-Christian beliefs, with particular focus on the civil rights damage the law might do to the LGBTQ community.
As a Christian believer supporting the law, I have struggled to find common ground — if not absolute agreement — with opponents of the law, and have finally concluded that somehow we must all recognize the critically important distinction between human behavior and human value.
Regarding human value, we must believe that all persons are created in God’s image, are loved equally by God, and deserve equal respect as a person. On the other hand, we should also recognize that all humans — believers and non-believers — are flawed, and not all human behavior is acceptable in God’s eyes.
For example, I do in fact believe that same-sex marriage is a violation of natural/divine law and in that sense, contrary to God’s larger plan. However, I would temper that belief by stating unequivocally my equally strong belief that God’s love for those individuals in a same-sex marriage is no less than his love for me.
In short, a true belief in God simply cannot coexist with hatefulness toward, or lack of love for, any other human person regardless of a behavior that God alone will ultimately judge with justice tempered by mercy.
David A. Nealy
Greenwood
