Common Grounds

Not Just a Great Name for a Coffee Shop

There are, in fact, gay Christians in America. Depending on your camp, this statement either looks very innocent or infuriating, and this is where we run into problems.

Let's take a couple of steps. On December 5th, 2022, Lorie Smith said she wanted to expand her graphic design services to include marriage websites. However, she feared that the state of Colorado would compel her to make websites for celebrating gay marriages, which she doesn’t endorse. I remember very well when the Supreme Court decided on June 30th, 2023, in her favor because the implications became clear: if a person can reject services to gay couples, how will the American people interpret this ruling? I do not post my frustrations online often, but when I feel that my existence is threatened, I get stuck in a loop of what-ifs. When this ruling was decided I posted, “As of Yesterday, Kim and I can walk into a coffee shop, and the owner can refuse us service.”

And, true enough, less than two weeks later, a hairdresser in Michigan stated, “If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman, please seek services at a local pet groomer. You are not welcome at this salon. Period…” In defense of the hair salon owner, why would any queer folks go to that salon? However, the point here is that regardless of the true legal nature of the 303 vs. Elenis ruling, the people will interpret it in their own way.

What is Foundationalism?
Not to be confused with Strong Foundationalism or Epistemic Foundationalism. Foundationalism asks us always to be skeptical of what people are claiming. It asks us to first examine if we even agree with the foundational or underlying arguments.

Norway is the best vacation destination!
For example, my favorite vacation is Norway that is because my idea of a perfect vacation is a place that is secluded and that has challanging hikes. However, if I say “Norway is the best vacation destination there is” - you first have to agree with the underlying assumption: hiking in the mountains is the best vacation activity. If you like chilling on the beach, you can’t possibly agree with the statement. Your disagreement doesn’t imply that Norway is a bad vacation destination, neither that Norwegians are bad people, or that Norway doesn’t have nice beaches. All you’re saying is that you can’t see yourself lying on the beach in Norway.

This is a harmless example but should be applied to controversial topics all the same. For example if someone says “the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality” we first have to agree on the underlying assumption that the bible is clear in our language and that it has authority over topics like human sexuality. We may quickly resort to apologetics but it’s a moot discussion and if we disagree on the foundational level we only give the impression that the argument is worth making.