Equal
Marriage : Just Plain Wrong: A Christian Perspective on the Gay Marriage Debate
in the UK
Equal
Marriage; Just Plain Wrong.
Today,
both in the United Kingdom and other Countries, we face the challenge in the
name of Equality and Tolerance to allow same sex marriage (the marriage of a
man to another man or the marriage of a woman to another woman) the equal
standing in society that marriage between a man and a woman or a woman and a
man has in the 21st Century.
Yet
those calling for Equality and Tolerance, only believe that their view and
understanding of Equality and Tolerance is the only valid view and supersedes
the understanding of both Equality and Tolerance of those Groups such as
Christians that disagree with their view and understanding, rather than an open
and honest debate and discussion, they have decided to demonize those who’s
views and understanding of Equality and Tolerance differ from theirs, and
criticize and condemn them for not showing or agreeing to both Equality and
Tolerance, this is indeed a lack of Equality and Tolerance, for by calling
those groups who differ from them In-tolerant etc, they themselves have done exactly what they accuse other groups of!
In
recent days, I have followed the
on-going debate in today’s media both in favour and against same sex marriage
and have examined the evidence and have researched the different perspectives
and I believe that our standard and indeed our bench mark for all practices
that we the Church hold, is God’s
Word The Bible. It is quite easy to be
influenced by the opinions and perspectives of others.
Romans
12:1-2 the Message
1-2
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary
life—you’re sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place
it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing
you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit
into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be
changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and
quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down
to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops
well-formed maturity in you.
I’m
on Facebook, which I think is one of the best sources of both news and
information available on-line and I subscribe to various news feeds . I read
with interest and a high level of disappointment and article on Lib Dem Voice
by Steve Gilbert is Liberal Democrat MP for St Austell and Newquay. “Church Opposition to Gay Marriage is intolerant,
out of touch and wrong.”
Mr.
Gilbert has quoted that societies in the past such as Ancient China and Ancient
Rome allowed Gay Marriage; if we followed the example of these societies today
we would still have Slavery and The Death Penalty for various Crimes. So if we follow the Example of Ancient Rome
and all that is involved in that in allowing Gay Marriage shouldn’t we also
allow Slavery and turn Wembley Arena into a 21st Century version of the
Coliseum at Rome! I think not!
The
Bible clearly teaches that both Homosexual Practice and Behaviour are wrong and
therefore calling for Homosexual Marriage doesn’t legitimise a practice or
behaviour that God clearly speaks against, if anything Homosexual Marriage
waters down the blessings of Marriage.
-
To understand why Mr. Gilbert mentioned that
practices of Ancient Rome and Ancient China, I decided to examine the evidence
and have discovered the following on Wikipedia. (Although Wikipedia is not
infallible)
“Various
types of same-sex marriages have existed, [52] ranging from informal,
unsanctioned relationships to highly ritualized unions.[53]
In
the southern Chinese province of Fijian, through the Ming dynasty period,
females would bind themselves in contracts to younger females in elaborate
ceremonies.[54] Males also entered similar arrangements. This type of
arrangement was also similar in ancient European history.[55]
An
example of egalitarian male domestic partnership from the early Zhou Dynasty
period of China is recorded in the story of Pan Zhang & Wang Zhongxian.
While the relationship was clearly approved by the wider community, and was
compared to heterosexual marriage, it did not involve a religious ceremony
binding the couple.[56]
The
first historical mention of the performance of same-sex marriages occurred
during the early Roman Empire.[57] For instance, Emperor is reported to have
engaged in a marriage ceremony with one of his male slaves. Emperor Elagabalus
"married" a Carianslave named Hierocles.[58] It should be noted,
however, that conubium existed only between a civis Romanus and a civis Romana
(that is, between a male Roman citizen and a female Roman citizen), so that a
so-called marriage between two Roman males (or with a slave) would have no
legal standing in Roman law (apart, presumably, from the arbitrary will of the
emperor in the two aforementioned cases).[59] Furthermore, "matrimonium is
an institution involving a mother, mater. The idea implicit in the word is that
a man takes a woman in marriage, in matrimonium ducere, so that he may have
children by her."[60] Still, the lack of legal validity notwithstanding,
there is a consensus among modern historians that same-sex relationships
existed in ancient Rome, but the exact frequency and nature of "same-sex
unions" during that period is obscure.[61] In 342 AD Christian emperors
Constantius II and Constans issued a law in the Theodosian Code (C. Th. 9.7.3)
prohibiting same-sex marriage in Rome and ordering execution for those so
married.[62]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_marriage
So
using the example that same sex marriage was common both in Ancient China and
Ancient Rome and had the same legal standing that marriage between a Man and a
Woman is not valid and indeed erroneous.
I
said earlier that our understanding of issues and our bench mark for all
practices should God’s Word the Bible, for example if The Bible supported the
idea that the Marriage Union between a Man and a Man and a Woman and Woman was
equal to the Marriage Union between a Man and a Woman it would say so, in the
Bible there is only one definition of Marriage and that is between a Man and a
Woman or a Woman and a Man. So if we
believe that the Bible is God’s Inspired Word we Christians shouldn’t support
or agree to a Marriage Ceremony or Union that doesn’t involve a Man marrying a
Woman or a Vice a Versa, lets us examine some scriptures on Marriage.
All
Scripture Verses are from the English Stand Version unless otherwise stated.
Genesis
2:20b-24
But
for Adam[g] there was not found a helper fit for him.21 so the Lord God caused
a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and
closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from
the man he made[h] into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man
said,
“This
at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she
shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man.”[i]
24
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his
wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Jeremiah
29:6
6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take
wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear
sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
1
Corinthians 7:2B
,
each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
Ephesians
5:31-33
31
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am
saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you
love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
There
are of course many scriptures referring to the marriage between a Man and a
Woman, which space wouldn’t allow me to add, I’m sure that the above scriptures
will serve as a start to your own personal study.
Further
Reading:
1. Will Churches be forced to conduct Gay
Marriage?
2. The Archbishop of York says don't force
through Gay Marriage
3. 78% of the British Public say don't force
through Gay Marriage
4. The Christian Institute
5. Christian Concern
6. The Coalition for Marriage
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