- Why true Christians disagree with same-sex marriages.
Same-sex marriage was back in the news recently. In January, "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson made his views on homosexuality known in an interview for GQ Magazine, resulting in a temporary suspension from A&E executives. Earlier this month, Brendan Eich, was forced to step down as CEO of Mozilla for supporting California's Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage. Prior to this, such admissions were considered harmless until 2012 when President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage, thereby politicizing it.
The gay community cannot comprehend why anyone would not endorse their position and are ready to pounce on those opposing it, regardless of their religious convictions. By doing so, they have put gay rights on a collision course with religion via the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment addressing freedom of speech and religion.
In the Christian world, practitioners view marriage as a sacrament, a religious ceremony used as a sign of divine grace. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul:
* "man to leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one," (Gen. 2:24)
* "So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew 19:6).
Thus, marriage bestows the sanctity of the joining in the eyes of the Lord and their families who consent to the coupling for propagation purposes. From a purely biological perspective, this makes sense as homosexual couples obviously cannot reproduce. I cannot speak for other religions, but I cannot imagine a true Christian who doesn't accept this position. It is simply unfathomable to them and an affront to their sensibilities. Because of this, Christians have difficulty applying the word "marriage" to homosexual couples. Perhaps another word is in order, such as "union," "partnership" or whatever, a label which would not offend the senses of Christians. Same-sex marriage advocates obviously will disagree over this interpretation, contending only love is necessary to form a marriage.
Attacking Christians for possessing their beliefs is obviously an affront to the First Amendment by denying religious freedom. Further, the 14th Amendment guarantees religious civil rights:
"Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
This guarantees "equal protection of the laws" for every person, including religious civil rights. Frankly, I'm surprised people such as Phil Robertson have not invoked the 14th Amendment to defend themselves.
As long as there are people who consider marriage a religious institution, the concept of same-sex marriage will remain abhorrent, and disagreements will perpetuate. If you consider it something else, such as a political or social concept, you will have no trouble accepting it. Unless the government negates religious freedom, the followers of Jesus Christ will continue to resist it, and strong disagreements will continue unabated in the same vein as abortion.
The media has taken same-sex marriage to new levels of political correctness, thereby manipulating public opinion. The growing acceptance of it is indicative of the decline of religion in this country. Regardless of what you call it, to Christians it is not "marriage."
We must then ask what is the real issue here, marriage or the right to transfer property and benefits to another person legally? I suspect the latter. Surely legislation can be written to provide for legal partners of gay couples. Christian America should have no problem with providing for the rights of all of its citizens. They may not agree with their lifestyle and consider it unnatural, but the gay community is not going away anytime soon. The biggest problem for Christians is simply the distortion of the meaning of "marriage."
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
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Copyright © 2014 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
NEXT UP: CELEBRATING THE MONTH OF MAY - One of my favorite months of the year.
LAST TIME: FAREWELL SNOWBIRDS
- We hope you enjoyed your stay, but it is time to go home.
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Well, it's that time of year again. Of course I'm talking about the migratory return of the snowbirds from Florida to their northern roosts. Actually, they began to return by the end of March, just as the Major League Baseball season was beginning, but it is now time to gently nudge the remaining folks out of their nests and back home. It's almost May for God's sake!
When I first went to Japan, I found it fascinating how so many people could get along in a small amount of space. For example, if you take the subway in Tokyo during rush hour, you better not be claustrophobic, as people are jammed in with you any way they can. Fortunately, I'm tall enough where I can keep my head above the fray and get some fresh air, but down below are Japanese pushed into my navel (and just about everywhere else). Remarkably, as close as the quarters are on the subway, the Japanese try to respect the privacy of the people surrounding them. I've always admired the Japanese for this; quite simply, there is great respect for the concern of others. Because of the small amount of available space, I guess they really have no alternative.
I have been writing about the addictive properties of technology for several years now, even going so far as to label it a drug. Although several people have congratulated me on my essays, there are still people who are skeptical and reluctant to admit excessive use of technology can lead to an addition, particularly young people. Recently, more evidence has surfaced in the press describing the effects of excessive use of technology.
Last month, the Gallup organization published a study entitled, 
April 18th represents the anniversary of many key events in history; in 1906 it marked the destructive San Francisco earthquake and fire, Yankee Stadium opened in 1923 ("The House that Ruth Built"), in 1943 Japanese Admiral Yamamoto was shot down by American flyers over Bougainville, and in 1983 a suicide bomber destroyed the American embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. To me though, April 18th primarily means one thing, the 
Following the release of one of my more politically inclined columns, I was accused by a reader of being an ultra conservative. The reader based his comments on established stereotypes of conservatives which I personally find distasteful. Such images have become rather old and tiresome, but were still effective in the last presidential election. These stereotypes were concocted by the Media over time and inevitably raise their ugly heads during election time. What concerns me though is these images are simply fallacious and aimed at misleading people away from the true issues at hand. Let me give you some prime examples of conservative stereotypes:
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In these troubled economic times we're always looking for a way to make a little extra cash. To this end, many people like to purchase buildings, condos or apartments and then rent them out. This type of investment is appealing for several reasons:
I have described the differences between liberals and conservatives on more than one occasion. More recently, I examined their 
In the movie, 
The society pages in the newspapers and magazines are one of my favorite sections, and I actually think they are funnier than the comic strips. I particularly like it when they report on a big ball or some innocuous charity gala of some kind. There is normally a lot of pictures taken at such events where you see people trying to act and pose like movie stars, but actually look a lot worse for wear. I don't know why people find it important to have their names and faces in the society pages, probably to feed some starving egos, but this nonsense has been going on for a long time now.