I am sure that many of you have been waiting with baited breath for me to weigh in on the current events involving the Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage. After careful consideration and a review of my personal beliefs, I have now decided to opine on it.
Before I begin, let me say that I am a conservative. I believe in a conservative interpretation of the Constitution. I am also a Christian. I believe that we should all try to live our lives as best as we possibly can to emulate Christ. Thirdly, I am a straight, white man. So, in keeping these things in mind, here is what I think about gay marriage:
First, the government has absolutely NO business determining who gets married to whom. There should be no “marriage penalty” or “marriage benefit” to the tax code. The entire concept of the government regulating marriage was to keep people from marrying “undesirables” such as outside of their own race.
Second, I believe the term “marriage” originated from God and is defined as 1 man and 1 woman BUT, the term has become so ensconced in our lexicon to mean partnership that I can understand the interchangeability of the two terms. I would much rather see ALL marriages considered as “civil unions” in the eyes of the government.
Third, whom anyone decides to love and share their life with is between themselves and God. Call it marriage, civil union, hooking up, whatever you want. I don’t care. The bible tells us to “judge not, lest ye be judged”. It is God’s job and His alone to judge us. Jesus commanded us to love God and love each other as ourselves. He showed this by even loving those that persecuted and crucified Him. Remember that He begged forgiveness for them as He was hanging on the cross.
In conclusion, love everyone. Do not judge people based on their sexual preference. Do not judge people based on their religious preference. Just plain and simply, do not judge people. That is God’s job and His alone. Live your life as though Jesus were coming tomorrow because some day that will be true.
That is all. This is my edict. The arguments are settled. Now go about as you were.
5 replies on “Gay Marriage (from 2015 but still poignant)”
I think we have lost the distinction between judgement and condemnation. Justice requires judgement. Charity requires us not to condemn or denounce people in our personal lives. If we never judge, then moral relativism wins. But we should not rush to judgement, and we should temper our judgement with humility and mercy. And of course there is also the useful distinction of condemning sins but not sinners. There is a big difference between Westboro Baptist “church”‘s vile “protests” and condemnations and, for example, praying outside an abortion clinic.
Exactly right. I hear a lot of people say “don’t judge” as if that means you should never point out that another person’s actions are wrong, and I think that is a oversimplification and gross misinterpretation of Bible. There are different kinds of judgement, and the most basic just means “the ability to judge, make a decision, or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, especially in matters affecting action; good sense; discretion.” There is nothing wrong with judging people in that way! The thing that is wrong is when you look down on someone and condemn them as a person, when you are just as guilty in the eyes of God. I wish more Christians could articulate the difference between these two kinds of judgement so that they wouldn’t be shut up when someone says something like “Who are you to judge someone for being gay? The Bible says don’t judge!”
Good post. Out of curiosity, what exactly is a “civil union?”
Civil Union was something that Vermont created in 2000 to extend “marriage” benefits to gay partnerships.
Civil Union is also something introduced throughout Europe in the 20th century, in the interest of “separating church and state.” In most European countries, every couple must undergo a “civil union” (at some kind of municipal or registry office, performed by some kind of civil authority like a registrar or judge) to be legally married, regardless of religious ceremonies. I think in some countries the civil union is required before the religious ceremony, even the day before.
There is definite public interest in the registering of marriages by a unified civil authority. These are: (1) to prevent bigamy (the parties must depose under oath that they are free to marry); (2) to prevent the spread of venereal disease (a certification by a doctor is required); and (3) to prevent unnecessary dispute in the case of divorce or inheritance. (A past reason which has been eliminated or at least ignored in all states is miscegenation.) Some of these requirements are debatable in how or whether they are enforced today versus how they were in the past. And the registration is arguably a different question than regulation.