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That may be your belief, but I don't share it.

Just because people no longer show it the proper respect it deserves doesn't make it any less sacred than it is. God doesn't change his rules to fit society.

I think religious marriages are as sacred as that particular faith believes. My formal religion views it as extremely sacred. However, the people entering it, are human. That means mistakes are made. No one on this earth is perfect. Therefore, divorce happens. That doesn't mean marriage is less than sacred, it means the people in the marriage are less than perfect. My religious leaders are against gay marriage. I am against forcing any religious organization to sanction or perform them. However, I lean towards favoring civil unions for the sake of protecting a couple's property and tax rights. I say lean, because I am concerned with how civil unions will one day effect the view society has towards religious marriage.

Edited: tenaheff on 19th Jan, 2005 - 11:21am

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The Universalist Unitarian church has allowed gay marriages long before it was as acceptable or as much a movement as it is today. It is part of their/our belief system which is one of open mindedness and tolerance. As a matter of fact, the UU church is where a lot of Catholic/Jewish and other 'interfaith' marriages first began to take place, because they would have no problem with 'blending' the differences in the services so that they could still have a spiritual as well as a legal ceremony. At the UU church, I know of many interfaith couples who raise their children in it simply so their children can have a strong spiritual background, an education of varying religious faiths, and be able to make their own decisions as to what they believe. As a matter of fact, the UU minister in the state of Arkansas, in the city of Little Rock (and Arkansas is not exactly known for being a tolerant state where that is concerned, ! ) has declared a one year moratorium on performing ANY marriage ceremony to protest the fact that gay marriages in that state are illegal, and his congregation is 100% behind him. He has said he will still provide pre-,marital counseling, and even a ceremony if they desire, but will not sign any marriage licenses. I think that takes a lot of courage and I applaud him for it.

To me it is nothing but a discrimination issue, plain, sweet, and simple. I am not homosexual, but have no problem with it. If two people are in love and are consenting adults I see nothing wrong with a legal marriage or 'civil union' or whatever you want to call it. As far as whether or not it's a marriage, let the churches themselves decide who they want to marry. As far as it being a states issue, then why are all other marriages recognized in other states except the homosexual ones performed in certain states? Remember, less than thirty years ago in some states, interracial marriages were still illegal, and some cited the Bible for that as well..

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Some comments (NOT PERSONAL ATTACKS) about this post:

True, the translations available to Christianity today do not specifically mention a marriage ceremony between Adam and Eve. However, Eve was given to Adam by the Lord, and he commanded them to go forth and multiply and replenish the earth. Does this not qualify as a marriage officially sanctioned by God?

It is true that the world generally does not treat marriage as sacred; however, man's opinion of God's truth does not change its validity in the least. People take the name of Christ in vain all the time. People curse God and follow the world's interpretation of morality. Does this mean that God is not sacred? No. The fact that a large number of straight people defile the covenant of marriage is no justification for sanctioning further mockery by declaring homosexual marriage a valid institution.

Why do we legislate against robbery, extortion, rape, cocaine, murder, or incest? Because they are morally wrong. Morality is the basis of all sound legislation.
As far as religious beliefs, my personal faith in God is not threatened in the least by somebody else's transgression. However, the spread and public acceptance of homosexuality and other sexual aberrations has made a confusing climate for the impressionable children I want to raise some day. If people want to follow their carnal whims in private, they have that choice. But when they want to broadcast their filth to others who have not asked to see it, their cause is a threat to the morality of the general populace. One cannot rationally deny that the homosexual movement has been accompanied by a flood of publicly accepted pornography and a bizarre climate of open sexual discussion in everything from comic strips to TV commercials to textbooks.

So if methamphetamines make a person happy, the government is stifling his or her right to the pursuit of happiness? How about incest or pedophilia? How far does something have to go until it is actually wrong these days? Will those standards hold in five years? In ten? The fact that people like something does not mean it is right, or that the government should condone it, especially when it involves redefining marriage - a legally and morally binding contract of a sacred nature.

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The biggest difference between what was listed and gay marriage is that all these things listed harm someone else. Are they wrong? Yes. Do they harm someone else who is innocent of doing something wrong? Yes. But gay marriage is voluntary to both involve and doesn't harm anyone who is not freely participating in it.
I'm sorry, I don't agree that good legislation begins from morality. Legislation that begins with morality is only good for the person who agrees with that morality. Obviously, if a person disagree with homosexuality, and find that gay marriage is wrong, then legislation that bans their marriage is obviously good legislation to that person. However, a very good counter point to that would be the person who finds nothing morally wrong with homosexuality, and enters legislation into congress that allows gays to freely marry, then the previous person would not find it good legislation. It still came from morals. Not all morals are the same. No one has no morals, simply different morals. A christians morals are much different from an atheists morals. Thus their idea of good legislation would be different.
Good legislation should come from our elected officials making decisions that protect our freedoms and our children.

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I think that most objection to gay marriage is centered on acceptance.

30 - 40 years ago, it wasn't acceptable to live together without being married or to have children outside of marriage. It happened, but people weren't as open about it. The more people did it contrary to what the majority of society considered right and moral at the time, the more acceptable it became. Today, in most of society, no one even bats an eye over an unwed couple living together. This is becoming more and more true of children born out side of wedlock as well.

I think the fear is that as more and more homosexuals make families through marriage the more acceptable it will become to society. Today, many homosexual couples live together, but still many are not open about it. I think the government recognizing a homosexual couple as having all the same rights and as having the same social status as heterosexual couple will make it as acceptable 30 years from now as unwed couples living together today has become.

For a non-religious person, this is probably the goal and a non-religious person will likely see nothing wrong with this happening. However, for a "bible believing" fundamentalist this is contrary to what they believe to be God's law or desire for humanity. This is, of course, just my opinion...

Homosexuality - Same Sex Marriage - Religious View

I think you hit it right on the head. In fact, your opinion has been the most insightful on this topic yet. Without religious beliefs guiding my thought, I would indeed not find anything wrong with gay marriage being legal. Growing up in a christian house hold, I know that Bible believing people definitely have the roots of their belief on the issue rooted in the Bible. I know the Bible says homosexuality is wrong. I don't not believe the Bible is absolute authority, so I think it is time for me to agree to disagree on this issue.

Edited: konquererz on 20th Jan, 2005 - 9:06pm

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That's ok, konquererz, that's what I try to do here. Learn what I can and implement that in my life, or agree to disagree if I cannot accept that particular way of thinking. Personally, a part of me wishes that I didn't oppose gay marriage because of the compassion I feel for my cousin. I want him to find love and happiness in this life, I really do, even if I don't agree with his choice of who to spend the rest of his life with. It would be much easier for me to not believe the way that I do in my relationship with him. But he knows how I feel and that I can't stay silent on the issue and, though he doesn't like that particular belief, we are still able to have a relationship despite our major disagreement on the issue. I can say that there are heterosexual relationships that I may not agree with the person chosen. The difference for me is that in a heterosexual relationship, though I might not like the choice, it most likely is not going to affect society, and I can't really do anything about it. But if we are talking about a homosexual couple, the strong objections I have towards the idea of gay marriage is still under debate, and I still have an opportunity to try to do something about it and speak in opposition to it. As tenaheff suggested, it would have an effect on society and we would become desensitized, immune to, and accepting of it, just like many have become desensitized to the violence and sex shown on tv, couples living together before marriage, and teens having sex at a very young age. It will become more and more acceptable and popular to have homosexual families in society. Now, I am not trying to 'pick' on homosexuals, but where do we draw the line? Just when do we say that we don't want to live in such a troubled society, due in large part to the examples I gave before? I could be wrong, but I think the largest majority of people in this country are Christians, and if the majority is against something, doesn't that indicate where our country should be heading, just like the majority deciding an election? I'm not telling homosexuals to go live somewhere else, but I don't want the idea and sanctity of marriage to be used in such a way. Please, enlighten me if I am wrong here.

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In as much as we disagree on this subject, you are right. The majority should rule. I am completely OK with government ruling on the issue, but it should be with the states. Not that I would necessarily agree with a vote to ban gay marriage, but I would accept the ruling of the state. In Missouri, we approved a measure to define marriage as between a man and a woman. If that is the way the majority of the state feels, then that is the way it should be. If another state has a majority that feels different, then it should be as the people wish. If every christian stands up, and every non-christian stands up, and every law swings in favor of christian morality, then I am OK as long as the majority rule. I won't be obliged to agree, but I am a huge political buff, and huge supporter of majority rule, in EVERY case of law. Good post, I'm glad you and your cousin are still able to talk, it shows that you have the ability to debate and tell someone they are wrong without the need to offend them personally.