Jude 2

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27677272/

The court ruled 4-3 on Oct. 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples.

And, this is a reason why I hold the opinion that government doesn't belong in the marriage business. Now the mantle of marriage is wrapped around homosexual couples. And, it is not an illegitimate conclusion that to deny them that right is a sexual-based discrimination. There are no other basic rights of citizens that are denied based on gender alone. The only difference in marrying heterosexuals and homosexuals is the gender of the couples. In the eyes of the Connecticut Supreme Court at least, no one has offered a sufficiently compelling reason for the discrimination, and the government has failed to demonstrate that the discrimination is as narrowly drawn as it can be without continuing the unconstitutional distinctions (unconstitutional according to Connecticut's state constitution, which the Connecticut Supreme Court has the power to apply in this manner).

States are not bound to recognize these decisions of sister states. Alabama can flatly deny marital status or treatment to Connecticut to same-sex marrieds. That doesn't answer the question, though, about whether government should decide what is a constitutional marriage. As long as marriage is subject to civil government, it will be subject to rulings such as this one. Over time, the usual case is that as government allows, society follows. This could be an exception, granted. But, there is no reason to believe that it will be. Government allowed no-fault divorce, and we have this indefensible divorce rate within the church decades later. Government quit prosecuting adulterers, and illegitimate births happen to the best and worst behaved and sexually-active people, inside and outside of the church of Jesus. Now, adultery as a crime has been all but killed off by the United States Supreme Court. Government may not invade the bedroom by making specific sexual conduct between consenting adults illegal, but it may invade the sacrosanct relationship of marriage so that homosexual couples may qualify for it. And, because government CAN do that, it DOES do it, and the institution of marriage becomes less and less about either religious or societal structure and more and more about people wielding power and forging newly recognized rights. In short, it is a means to an end, and that end is the legitimization of homosexuals as marrieds as opposed to merely allowing them to form some civil entity that is not marriage.

As valid as Tim Elston's arguments are, and they are worthwhile ideas that nail down the historical truth, they do nothing to save marriage. It isn't because the ideas are faulty as he expressed them, but because the church has failed in its duty to be the authority of first resort in all matters of life for believers except for the very narrow and limited question of salvation.

The most recent item of interest on this topic is the stupid radical gay group that protested inside a church while people where trying to worship. They unrolled a banner from the church balcany and shouted at those gathered below all the while tossing pamplets down on the congregation. The pastor and congregation are more forgiving than I would have been.

So...are you moving to Conneticut Crisp?

PastorDaniel wrote:So...are you moving to Conneticut Crisp?

Maybe that's the change I need in my life . . . a new orientation . . . I wonder if it's like going vegan . . .

crispfinagin wrote:

PastorDaniel wrote:So...are you moving to Conneticut Crisp?

Maybe that's the change I need in my life . . . a new orientation . . . I wonder if it's like going vegan . . .

Thanks for taking that in jest Crisp....but to answer...No...I don't think it would be like going vegan...this is a totally different veggie all together....matter of fact...it would be a fruity choice...

PastorDaniel wrote:

crispfinagin wrote:

PastorDaniel wrote:So...are you moving to Conneticut Crisp?

Maybe that's the change I need in my life . . . a new orientation . . . I wonder if it's like going vegan . . .

Thanks for taking that in jest Crisp

Well . . . for a moment I thought of conjuring up some fake umbrage, something along the lines of "How dare you, sir" and "I won't even use public toilets so no one gets any ideas" but I decided it'd be too much work and I'd have to apologize sooner or later. I can dream though of what might have been . . .