1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans ™ always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.
7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
I found this list online and couldn’t help but find the hypocrisy both amusing and sad. If anything, this list should help open the eyes of a lot of people. I believe if we are truly going to live in the land of the free, we should allow homosexual couples to marry. If it is an adult, consensual relationship, then who are any of us to dictate or interfere with it? Whether we believe it is sinful or not, it is not our place as Americans to forbid people from entering into such relationships if they should so choose. And as Christians, we cannot impose our beliefs on others.
4 comments:
The *real* question of course, instead of "will gay marriage ruin society?" is the far more important question, "Does Scripture alone define what marriage is for the Christian?" If the answer is "yes," then the next question is, "Does Scripture actually define it?" If yes, then "what does it say?"
Cute list, I guess, but not really concerned with a best-presentation of the "other side's" ideas and not terribly helpful in the discussion. Shouldn't those who care about the Gospel and mercy take the moral high ground and be more winsome? I know it's a challenge in my own life.
My preferred brand of humor tends to be sarcasm and the completely random and ridiculous. I found this list (which I did find elsewhere--I didn't make it up) to be humorous in that sarcastic and ironic sort of way. But I also found it helpful to the discussion in that it should show people how they set a double standard. A lot of the arguments against gay marriage can be broken down very easily, as was done through this list.
As for the bible, I think it shows us a standard for what marriage should be. One man, one woman. I know people always want to point out all of the imperfect marriages and relationships described in the bible, but I think the message we should come away with from reading about them is that we should avoid getting into those sorts of relationships or doing things that will ruin our marriages. As a Christian, I cannot say that gay marriage or any other form of gay relationship is okay, or not sinful. However, as an advocate of freedom and someone who believes in adhering to the constitution of this country, I cannot say that my Christian beliefs should be imposed on others. I do not want the US to be a Christian country, anymore than I'd want it to be a Muslim country. Instead, I want the US to be a free country in which people have the right to live peaceably as they see fit. I don't believe gay marriage is okay for me or anyone else, but I will defend others who do wish to enter into that sort of relationship. My rationale behind this is that I don't want other's to impose their beliefs on me, so I won't impose mine on them. For instance, I wouldn't want gay people becoming the majority some day and then saying straight people can't get married. It could happen that way. So, what I want is to allow people to live freely as they choose. Whatever they choose to do in life, I will hopefully set a good example for them along the way by how I live my life.
Brandon, the list is not a response to the arguments against same-sex "marriage" but a caricature of those arguments. It is the classic rhetorical fallacy known as "straw man."
If marriage as the union of man and woman were exclusively a biblical teaching, then to insist on it might properly be characterized as imposing our beliefs on others. But this is what marriage has been around the world and throughout history, in cultures which knew nothing of Chrstianity or the Book of Genesis. Aristotle, for example, knew and taught that the union of man and woman was the basis of civil society. Our faith merely assures us of the truth that many people know about marriage — a truth which can be upheld in a pluralistic society without relying on faith-based arguments. See, for example, the following from one who had faith but does not argue from the Bible but from human nature.
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/opinion/article_eea21848-a1cb-11e0-9e17-001cc4c002e0.html
Naturgesetz,
I can't say I agree with the views of the man whose site you directed me to. I've heard those positions before and, still, they just seem like rewording of the same ole lines against gay marriage.
Just because something has always been a certain way, doesn't mean that's the only way it can be or should stay. There are a lot of societal differences today from those espoused during the time of Aristotle and the like.
In terms of recognizing marriage, perhaps that is honestly something in which the government should just stay out of entirely--neither recognizing straight or gay marriages, but allowing people to enter into whatever sort of consensual adult relationships they choose to have. But I really don't see that happening.
The point is that not everyone sees marriage the same way. But it goes deeper than that. Not everyone sees sexuality and relationships the same way. Some straight people don't even recognize a committed gay couple as even having a legitimate relationship. Likewise, I've even heard some people say that gay sex isn't even actually sex. To me, that is all just ridiculous. Sex is sex whether gay or straight, and two men are just as capable as having a for real relationship as any straight couple. But the differences in opinion and wording and the like whether religious in nature or not is where the problem is. Some people want to impose their views on the matter on others.
Here's what I don't get. If a gay couple want to be together, call their relationship marriage (if they indeed live in a married sort of state), and want to recieve all the same benefits that straight couples enjoy, then how is that any actual harm to anyone? Here's the thing, I know what it's like to live under someone else's thumb. It's a horrible way to live. And so, I don't want to do that to someone else. If someone wants to do something that is of no harm or disruption to me or others, then why shouldn't they be allowed to live and let live? I don't want to make others live under my thumb. And so, if some gay couple want to be married and want the same recognition and benefits of their relationship as is afforded to straight couples I see nothing wrong with allowing that. It doesn't mean I approve of that relationship exactly, but just that I wouldn't force others to adhere to my ideas of it all.
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