Originally posted by Seagoon
As Adams himself put it: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Sea...I hope you don't mind if I jump in, but your quote attributed to John Adams (not documented by Adams himself, but rather a third party) got me to thinking. You are assuming that it is your flavor of Christianity that sets the tone for what is "moral and religious". I doubt your Christianity is what Adams had in mind considering he was a Deist and thought that human reason was supreme over faith (if you doubt that you should read the Adams letters...specifically those to Jefferson...they are very revealing).
And as long as we are looking at Christianity and it's history with same-sex marriage...can you tell me who Saint Serge and Saint Bacchus were? It seems that the Catholic Church had been performing same-sex marriages up until the 18th Century and documented as far back as the 10th Century. Contrary to myth, Christianity's concept of marriage has not been set in stone since the days of Christ, but has evolved as a concept and as a ritual. Take a look at the research done by Yale history professor John Boswell to see more examples.
Of course you can claim that Catholics or the Christians who performed those ceremonies were not "true Christians". But that opens up a whole new can of worms ultimately leading back to the question of: what makes you think your brand of morality or Christianity is the "right" one and better than anyone elses? In the end it is all down to interpretation of God's will (which, if He exists, I would say is probably far beyond any human's comprehension anyway...and to think otherwise is hubris)
Originally posted by Seagoon
In fact, the idea that our laws would directly contravene those of God or "natural laws" was considered repugnant for hundreds of years.
I think we have quite a few laws that contravene God...and personally, I am glad of it. It is against the law to offer up your child as a burnt offering regardless who tells you to do it (and the "God told me" defense doesn't hold up in court to well...even when the jury is made of Christians). It is against the law to pander your daughters for sex even if it is to protect some angels.
But I have to ask you, Nuke and the rest...why do you care if two fairies marry? Allowing same-sex marriage would not effect me at all...and I assume it wouldn't effect you either (unless someone is coming out of the closet). What I do see is that same sex partners do not receive the same benefits offered to hetero partners. They are not allowed to marry the person they love. They cannot then receive the government benefits and protections offered to hetero married couples (things like social security, estate probate rights, child custody, etc). They frequently cannot receive the same company benefits offered to hetero married couples (health benefits and even car insurance reductions).
So if you feel this is a sin...fine. Don't engage in it. But why do you want to legislate that choice for someone else...especially since God supposedly give us all a choice to sin. And even more so, when that sin does not immediately impact you or your life.
