I heard the suggestion today that Roman Catholic priests should be required to get married just so they can have an advance taste of hell on earth
I too am a christian and am obviously going to agree with you NC. There are some very interesting posts in this thread and my opinion has been very much on the fence on this issue. There is one side to my opinion that is from the scriptures that says homosexuality is wrong, but it also states that everybody has sinned. Then there is a side where I have gay friends and while I would feel offended if they married gay people in my church I think it is pretty harsh to not let them have certain legal rights such as DD stated i.e. letting them visit in hospitals. Marriage to me is a sacred event where a man and a woman come before God to commit their lives together.
I am not for or against it. I think people should be able to marry who they love, but I can see it goes against some beliefs, laws, etc.
Those who say some nebulous power called "God" cannot possibly condone same-sex relationships are obviously not aware that our closest genetic relatives, the Bonobo chimps, have a lot of gay sex, both male and female. Oh wait, I forgot, Christians don't believe God has anything to do with animals - he only created humans because we are somehow "special." That's why so many Christians spend their free time hunting -- the ten commandments don't apply to "animals." Same goes for homosexuality. Those monkeys do it and it's perfectly natural, but for "God's children" it is blasphemy. I am not gay but this whole "it shouldn't be defined as marriage" is so absurd to me. Americans are entirely too hung up on words. It's so typical for us to say, "Well, we can pretend it doesn't really exist if we don't use the actual word." Maybe it's "God's" natural way of thinning an increasingly overcrowded population. Maybe not everyone has to procreate to be a "worthwhile" member of society. So if a union between a man and a woman produces no children, should that not be called a marriage?
Not much. But it provides great story lines for SitCom's and provides a market for the television networks. What would Oprah and "The View" talk about otherwise? Plus, if they help elect John Kerry and defeat the Bush family I could not care less if they get married. Getting married is a business agreement in this world today, nothing more. If you don't get legally married there is no need for pre-nup, nor do you have to worry about your partners bad credit or legal problems. Marriage can be a real mess exactly because of the above. Mergers always have legal issues to worry about.
God did create the animals. So your statement is very much incorrect and stereotypical of your view of Christians. The 'word' issue is something called law. You need the 'words' and definitions of those words to keep the peace and society in place. What if all of a sudden societies opinion of the word speeding wanted to change. Speeding all of a sudden meant not doing over 40 miles an hour more of the posted speed limit. I know I am stretching but hopefully you get my point. My wife and I will never have children. We both understand that we are not of the ilk to raise children. If we had them, we would be great parents ( ) but we are not the type of people to have and raise children. Chiara, I just ask you to consider adults and children who are 'convinced' they are in love and why should we then get in their way from changing the word marriage. It is those words that is keeping that from happening and for good reason.
It's not an argument, Minstrel, I'm just stating my personal feelings. I don't expect my emotional reaction to sway anyone on either side. I just feel very strongly about the subject and made my opinions known. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of an opinionated kinda guy.
I think you're off base on this one. After all, this is what makes or defines a society. An agreement between a group of people who collectively decide what is and what is not acceptable. Using your argument, I would say that I am offended by stop signs and because it's my personal morality and judgement, therefore I do not need to stop at any intersection where there there is a stop sign. Too bad for you if you happen to be crossing the intersection when I come along. Society has to have rules, those rules are agreed upon by the majority and the society then lives by those rules, however flawed or imperfect they may be.
Disagree strongly here AC, I married my life because I love her and want to spend the rest of my human existence with her. Anyone who has ever been in love or happily married knows what I am talking about. I will say this though, too many people get married for all the wrong reasons and I believe that is what leads to all the issues with divorce. People get pushed into it by society. You have been dating for HOW LONG??? When are you getting married? Then one party or the other has the seed planted and feels that is the right time. INCORRECT! Know your partner, know who they are what they are about etc... Take as much time as necessary. I met my perfect match, and she is cute to boot. Like beauty and the beast.... me at 6"5' and about 295lbs and her at 5"2 and about 100lbs.... I guess opposites to attract.
All of the Christian holier-than-thou responses in this thread are exactly why this country is going down the tubes. Somebody said Christians believe God created animals, too -- yeah, you believe he created them so you could eat them. Isn't that right? I've heard so many Christians say that animals can't go to heaven because only humans have that special right. Well, thanks much, but I'd rather go wherever the animals are going.
I'm not christian. I never had a religious upbringing. But I have to say that I find your post rediculous. I have read the posts by the People, and I don't believe any of them to be unkind or unnecessarry. These are people's beliefs that you are talking about. You have no right to condem someone for what they believe. Personally I have no problem with Gay Marriage (or whatever you want to call it). If two people love eachother, no matter what sex they might be, who am I to criticise. But I do respect other people's beliefs and think that each person has the right to think what they want. At the end of the day, gay marriage does not effect me, and even if it did - who am I to say that when two people love eachother that the fact they do can't be recognised. Gay couples who love eachother and are in a long term relationship should have all the same rights as straight couples. Full stop.
I've got to side with SEBasics response here... I not a christian. But having read the responses of those who declare themselves as such I find them thoughtful and open to debate, which is refreshing. I may disagree with them, but they appear to be tolerant of that too. There are few things that I find myself intolerant of, but intolerance is definately one of them.
Again Chiara, you are stereotyping 'all Christians' with your pets don't go to heaven. I do believe that he created them to be food in some instances, but also they can be pets. As for where they go when they die, no idea, not my call. Does that make you feel better? Most Christians I know have many pets and do eat animals for food.
I am just angry because people are saying gay marriage cannot be called "gay marriage" and that homosexuality is not natural. It drives me freakin bonkers because this country is at the mercy of a bunch of religious people like our current president. I feel like I'm being held hostage. My whole point about the animals is that many Christians make a distinction between animals and humans. They also make a distinction between straights and gays. It's this old us vs. them mentality. I'm sorry that so many of you think the "it shouldn't be called marriage" thing is okay. It's not.
Yes that's right, animals were created for the sole purpose of feeding humans. Nevermind that the Bible says we should be guardians of animals and we should have the fruit of the trees to eat. As usual, the church and organized religion corrupts everything, just like they have corrupted the teachings of Jesus so that now the Christian church is a hate-mongering organization.
Are you even listening to yourself? You are making a complete fool of yourself. If you do not care, please carry on, but my exact comment that you quoted was so the only corruption seems to be your one sided anti-christian view of society. I am happy to agree that animals can be pets, I loved my dog....
Do you see me getting angry that you feel it should be changed? No... so maybe someone such as yourself should look into anger management. You are saying you are being held hostage, yet it is you who wants to hold us hostage. We that agree with the current term marriage, you are trying to change and hold us hostage 'your way'. You are extremely hypocritical.
I really think gay couples should be allowed to marry in a civil ceremony. I can understand a church not getting involved; I don't expect churches to go against their beliefs. As for marriages being a sacred event before God, as some have said, my sister and her boyfriend are doing a civil ceremony in December when they get married. Does it become less of a marriage because it does not happen in a church? I assure you, she is taking it quite seriously. Yes, she is atheist. No, I am not.