Dr. Jerry Falwell was celebrating the ruling against same-sex marriage in New York in his most recent weekly e-mail message. To sum things up, he wrote this:
"But I have a question: if “every couple in a loving and committed relationship” should be afforded the right to marry, then do we not need to also allow bigamists, polygamists, Man-Boy Love Association members and all others in “alternative” relationships to marry? And if we do not afford them the same right, who are we to bar their inclusion into a diverse society? Of course, this is a nonsensical argument, but no more so than the attempt by homosexuals to gain the right to marry"
Isn't that typical. When you can't win a logical or intellectual arguement, you try to reach into the raw, base instincts of people. You try to promulgate fear, even if the assertions you use to do so are not based in fact. It doesn't matter if that is actually the nonsensical arguement itself as long as it makes people afraid and, out of that fear, they act the way you want them to. That is often the policy of the Republican Party in this country just as it is the Religious Right (often the standard bearers for the Republicans; or is the other way around? It's hard to tell anymore).
As effective as this approach is, just imagine if that's how Jesus had presented the gospel to people. Think how many more people would have accepted Him.
Think of how that would have diminished Christianity.
Look at how these modern day fearmongers diminish Christianity. Fortunately, they can't diminish Jesus.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Well, I think Dr. Falwell has answered his own question: allowing "every couple in a loving and committed relationship" to marry would, by his own words, not include bigamy and polygamy now, would it?
ReplyDeleteThe top courts in both New York and New Jersey raised the spectre of polygamy during oral arguments for same-sex marriage. Could legalization of same-sex marriage open the door for polygamy? We must admit it's conceivable, based on how the laws or the rulings are written. However, the legal organizations working on behalf of the LGBT community always remind the court that we are not asking for the right to polygamy, that polygamy is a wholly separate issue, and legalizing same-sex marriage does not at all legalize polygamy, which is a separate question for the court to rule on at a later time. Futhermore, in consideration of polygamy, there are a host of public concerns (inheritance, custody, divorce, property rights) that could potentially constitute a rational basis for continuing to ban polygamy that simply aren't present in the arguments for same-sex marriage.