Friday, March 29, 2013
United States National Government should legalize gay marriage. Many of the arguments made against the legalization of same sex marriage are that same sex couples would ruin the "institution of marriage" because the bible states that marriage is to be between a man and a woman. Although this would be a valid point for a Christian it has absolutely no meaning to someone who is not. Since marriage is regulated through the government and one of the main points in the constitution is the freedom of religion and separation of church and state is a big issue in modern government. Shouldn't it be said that if you have no religion, then religion should play no role in being able to wed the person you love? Isn't it only fair that if radical religious activists are allowed to protest outside of slain soldiers funerals and harass their families that people who choose not to have a religion should not be bound by a law that was based on Christianity. Another point that could be made against anti equality supporters would be that although they say that it is completely wrong because it is what is stated in the bible there are many many scriptures which ban certain things that people practice anyways. Such as wearing clothing made of mixed cloth (Leviticus 19:19), shaving your beard (Leviticus 19:27), divorce (Luke 16:18), and premarital sex (1 Corinthians 7:2). What makes these scriptures different from one that says man shall not lie with man?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The first issue that jumped out at me when I read this was "one of the main points in the constitution is the freedom of religion and separation of church and state." Where in the Constitution does it say anything about the separation of church and state? Guess what, it doesn't! The phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from a letter written by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to Baptists from Danbury, Connecticut, and published in a Massachusetts newspaper soon thereafter. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." The only thing the constitution says about religion that might lead people to believe that what Thomas Jefferson said refers to that phrase in the Constitution is "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."(First Amendment)
ReplyDeleteNow I would like to address the statement “although they say that it is completely wrong because it is what is stated in the bible there are many many scriptures which ban certain things that people practice anyways.” The verses about beards and mixed cloth have to do with Jewish rituals. Other verses that state laws that people “break,” such as in Leviticus 11 where God tells them what they can and cannot eat, are resolved later, as seen in Acts 11:5-10.
I understand what you meant when you said “Although this would be a valid point for a Christian it has absolutely no meaning to someone who is not.” For a society to survive, there must be some level of morality. If people don’t realize that what they are doing is a sin, why would they feel guilty about it? It makes me think of something I read once: “Gun laws would prevent shooting sprees? Please tell me more about how criminals follow laws.” I think that is a somewhat similar idea.
Just because people break God’s law doesn’t justify breaking others.
I am not going to say that I understand where you are coming from because I really do not. Although I do respect the fact that you are allowed to have your own opinion on this matter. You have made the point that if people don't realize that they are sinning then why should they feel guilty about it? My point in writing this article is that gay people should not have to feel guilty about being able to marry the person they love. Divorce is something that is expressly prohibited in the new testament yet people do it literally every day, and no one seems to feel guilty. So if the other things that are outlawed and considered sin in the Bible were over turned when Jesus came in the New Testament, then why isn't divorce illegal? Why do people feel the need to pick and choose which bible verses they follow. Again I will say that pre-marital sex is not illegal. Why? That is the one question I have for people who discriminate against gay people. Also, who are Christians to say that their Bible is the ultimate moral code. People choose their own sets of morals, and how is being gay immoral? It doesn't effect anyone, nor does it harm anyone. Love is love and should be treated as such! Do you agree with people protesting outside of fallen soldiers graves because they believe that they are defending the Bible and spreading God's word?
DeleteI once saw a TV documentary called "The Most Hated Family in America" from Westboro Baptist Church Topeka, Kansas and I was amazed on how this family could do such things as to protest on fallen soldiers funeral just for being gay. By calling them horrible things, if their saying that they had sinned, wouldn't they be sinning as well by standing there at the funerals doing that. I stand in your opinion, the government is not to decide on who we can marry. I'm Catholic even though is not something openly accepted by the church, still I was tough to love and respect everyone above anything no matter what their believes or decisions where in their lives as long as they are happy. If they love is with the same sex, is because they are happy. Most of them don't have the support of their families still, and having people that talk bad about them me myself really don't like it. It makes me really sad that we have to go go through something like this. God created the man and then women so the man wouldn't be alone, for him to have someone to live with and love. But to love their is no gender to whom you want to spend your life with, and us we have the freedom to decide that.
ReplyDelete