Lousy Moral Reasoning

As we all know the internet is full of forums for discussion, debate and downright mean-spirited argument. Moral arguments can be particularly contentious because the topics get so close to the every day lives of the parties involved. I have participated in my fair share of moral debates and I can't tell you how painful it is to see some of the arguments that are employed.

Of course we're all familiar with "gems" like, "Don't like abortion? Don't have one!" but I have a different one I've come across that drives me CRAZY. I have argued about the morality of homosexuality a few times, and since I'm a conservative Christian you can probably guess what stance I take.

Now, I'm perfectly willing to admit there are some fairly respectable arguments out there in favor of homosexuality. Some claims are serious and take serious responses. There is one claim however that makes me want to scream. It goes like this:

"I'm a Christian, and I used to think like you [i.e. that homosexuality is immoral]. However, that was before I met my friend Rob. He's the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet and my wife and I would trust him to watch our kids anytime. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. After meeting Rob I reconsidered and realized it's alright to be homosexual."

I hope at least most of you can see the error that leaps off the screen at me. What does the fact that "Rob" is a nice, giving guy have to do with homosexuality? How does his "niceness" relate to the morality of one area of his behavior? I don't see how it does. Just because someone is nice it doesn't mean that what they do is morally correct. Let's look at another example to demonstrate this.

"I'm a Christian, and I used to think like you [i.e. that cheating on my taxes is immoral]. However, that was before I met my friend Rob. He's the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet and my wife and I would trust him to watch our kids anytime. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. After meeting Rob I reconsidered and realized it's alright to cheat on your taxes."

Or substitute any thing you consider to be morally questionable in the paragraph. I hope that at least one person who thinks this way will read this post and purge this stinker of an argument from their arsenal.