About gay marriage?

Question

Read first: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070423/wl_nm/pope_gays_dc

If the Catholic Church or any bible teaching church decides that they do not want to grant, participate in, or oversee marriges for gay people but the state would recognize a union of sorts whereby a gay couple could have the rights of a hetoralsexual marriage but not call it "marriage" what would be the argument agaist the church then? In other words, the church is an organization of bible belivers that has been in exsistance for thousands of years, why should they be forced to allow something to occur in church that they have not believed in or supported since the church began (Acts 2)? Why can't it just be that the individual states who decide to recognize a gay union/a legal union with benificiary rights do that but leave the church out of it? I just don't think that the chuch should be forced to swallow the opinons and/or laws of man when the whole goal of the church is to obey and serve God?

Why does the gay community care what the chruch thinks if they can get the state to recognize their union?

Why not call it "marriage?" Because marriage is a covenant created and instituted by God since Adam and Eve and then adopted and sanctioned by the Church. And yes, to change the truth of God into a secular lie does taint the Holieness aspect of marriage and leaves a terrible taste in the mouths of belivers. In other words a marriage is not the Holy union, which is what marriage is, of a man and a man or a woman and a woman! Never has been! Why should that be changed now? Why should the Church be forced to accept it? Why not just call it what it is...a state instituted legalized gay union and again leave the Church (the Holy meaning of the word marriage) out of it!!?

Some of you call the Church bigot's if we do not accept gay marriage but my question is what are you called if you don't accept Jesus Christ or Christians? Remember the bible does teach against the gay life style so it is an oxymoron to say that you love God, which includes His Word, but willfully do what you think is right in your own eyes without repentance or even conviction! Are gay people or people who don't believe in God to be called bigot's as well because they do not accept God's truth/the bible (in many cases with a foul disdain)? You see, the so-called hate flows both ways my friends and you can't say that ALL this hate comes from Christians. I'll admit that not all people in the world who claim to be Christians are actually walking it out, but for those of us who are and are trying our best to live up to God's standards, why should the Church be raked if we do not accept the practice of a gay union?

According to state law the Churh does not have the right to define what marriage is. However, the definition of marriage that the Church condones is the one that has been accepted in American society since our government formed. I'll admit the Church, THANK GOD, had an influence on our early law makers but nothing was ever put into law concerning the definition of marriage. However, as much as I do not like our current President, he has in fact pushed an agenda to permenantly define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and I for one support him at least in that area. So back to my original question, why can't religion and marriage be left out of gay union? And if left out, why can't people just leave us alone?!!!

Answer 1

Forever, more liberal minded people have said that couples should just live together, that marriage means nothing, it's just a piece of paper. But now, gay couples just have to be married. I'm with you, if the state allows it, why do they care what the church says....

Answer 2

The time was when all marriages were consecrated by the church. It is only in very recent history that the government decided it had some vested interest in marriage… that interest being a way to get their hands in ones pocket. However, I digress.

IF a State legalizes same sex marriages, like Mass. It does not enjoin the church to perform a marriage ceremony. There are sadly many Liberal churches out there that will do so. IF a State enacts Civil Union legislation, again it does create or impose recognition by the church as “Marriage.”

As an aside, States that do not legalize same sex marriages are not required to recognize such a marriage. So if a homosexual couple is married in Mass and moves to another State where such marriages are not legal the “marriage” is illegal.

Answer 3

In reality - we are not asking the churches that do not want to grant, participate in or oversee marriages for us gays. We want the states to recognize the unions just as they do, and have for heterosexual couples. The trouble is most States don't, and that's wrong. But they certainly don't quibble taking our hard earned dollars out of our paychecks and spend wherever they want to on both state and federal funded programs do they? Like medicare, and Social Security for example. You certainly don't question how much of that would come from them for your retirement, and long term care. If we can't be accepted as human beings just like any other, then leave the money taken from our checks alone.

Answer 4

hmmmmmm... the key word in gay marriage is marriage and a marriage has been, and always will be, a religious ceremony; also, gays want to be religioius as well, just because they are looked down upon from the christian community does not mean that it is wrong to be gay, afterall the bible was written by men and then translated thousands of times over by the ever coniving catholic church which most likely put their own stink on it. I think that what you are referring to is gay unions which has all of the legal ties to marriage however is not an actual marriage. Also, only three states in the US allow gays to be married, and you have to be a resident and live in that state for it to even be worth anything.

Answer 5

As a Pagan bisexual woman who loves an atheist woman, I don't care whether a church or minister will marry us. They deny marriages for many reasons, from the couple being immature to one being from outside the faith to the church being all booked up. But those couples can go to the courthouse. That's what I want, too, and what I could have if I were with a man. It's stupid that I'm just the same with a woman, but am treated worse.

Answer 6

Technically, the arguement is that the definition of marriage has been set and cannot be changed is it not? Therefore, under that assumption, any wife is in fact property of their husbands. Marriage was created as a means of sale of a daughter, sorry, thats the definition... if marriage is now different than that definition then, what do you know... it can be changed... therefore, stop being bigots and allow all people equal rights.

Answer 7

Well technically, they dont have the right to tell churches what to accept, that would be a violation of the 1st amendment. However what should be of concern, is many "churches" have come out already in support of the gay agenda.

Answer 8

I don't think gay couples ever demanded that churches recognize them or perform the ceremony. The important thing is the legal, secular protections it provides.

Religions are free to discriminate; the US government is not.

Churches can do as they please, but gay marriage needs to be made legal on a secular level.

Answer 9

The church shouldn't have to - hence the separation of church and state. There are churches that accept it, but I don't think that should mean that ALL churches should have to accept it. If we're going to do that, then why have different religions? Is the state going to force the Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and all the other churches worship the same way too??

Answer 10

Nobody's asking to marry in churches that hate us. There is no trademark or copywrite on the definition of marriage, owned solely by one religious group, therefore we should be allowed to marry in places that will bless unions according to the beliefs of the people who want them. Not everyone agrees on your one narrow view of religion.

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