For Objectivism, this would be a big deal. A Big Deal. I'm hanging on, waiting to see what it is.
If you're worried about citing an obscure Objectivist journal, don't worry: I probably have it.
This may very well shake my world.
Yes, I’m a Christian, but I’m also gay, very well educated, and a host of other things that no doubt won’t fit into the “us vs. them” mentality you displayed with your use of “We’ll make sure it stays that way.”
As a gay man, you should be terrified of religious extremists seizing control of the government. None of the Big Three religions have a satisfactory record re: human rights for gays.
Also, as a gay man, you should be familiar with Ayn Rand and Objectivism. There are a lot of gays that love her. :P
I will address your question in full in a future post, so even if you don’t agree with my conclusions, I at least hope you will be satisfied that I have given your question a reasonable response. Because I haven’t read Rand in years, I want to be able to cite specific instances rather than my memory of those instances. In brief, Rand has to make certain assumptions about the nature of reality that are as logically valid as certain assumptions made by the “mystics”. There is a certain amount of faith required in any belief system and one must make a choice in the question of the universals, and while most systems admit this, many “Randians” do not seem to be willing to do so, which is where the problems arise. Again, we’ll get back to this.
As for homosexuality, I don’t see why it has anything to do with belief in a supreme being. You’re right that theocracies are troublesome, but I don’t see people voting their values as being the same as a theocracy. To be honest, I think there is just as much of a possibility of extremist atheists in power killing theists and forcing their own morality (all the while claiming they aren’t doing so) as there is of the opposite situation, so I think a reasonable man can be concerned about the balance tipping too far in either direction.
I read most of Rand’s works, did not find them convincing, and moved on in my search for truth, so simply put, I think I’ve given her a fair shake. I went through a period in life where I examined all possibilities from atheism to mormonism to buddhism to protestantism, etc. I settled on Christianity.
On a side note, I recall you posting images of hot girls, so I’m guessing you’re not gay. :P