tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13323795.post114969789068618038..comments2023-09-19T10:31:04.810-04:00Comments on beloved before time: What do our votes say?Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03215174193221101678noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13323795.post-1150170299406048112006-06-12T23:44:00.000-04:002006-06-12T23:44:00.000-04:00P.S. I'll respond to your super-long email someti...P.S. I'll respond to your super-long email sometime this month, hopefully. Life is crazy. Michigan is glad to have you back! Let me know when you want to meet your future wife.... ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13323795.post-1150170103564089332006-06-12T23:41:00.000-04:002006-06-12T23:41:00.000-04:00I'm going to use Proposal 2, voted through in Mich...I'm going to use Proposal 2, voted through in Michigan in 2004, as my example for this comment. The wording: "A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO SPECIFY WHAT CAN BE RECOGNIZED AS A 'MARRIAGE OR SIMILAR UNION' FOR ANY PURPOSE. The proposal would amend the state constitution to provide that 'the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.'"<BR/><BR/>The wording of this proposal not only rules out marriages (an expressly religious word - from its outset, at least) for homosexuals, yet also rules out any sort of civil union, thus COMPLETELY denying homosexuals rights that heterosexuals can obtain through marriage (tax breaks, insurance, etc etc.) "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...." By denying homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals, you are denying that God has created us ALL equal, that we have ALL sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that NO ONE seeks God. Next we'll deny rights to those who divorce (50% of professing Evangelical Christians, by the way), then to those who kill, then to those who covet, then to those who lie.<BR/><BR/>It seems from your post as though you, in good moral conscience, can not vote to allow same-sex marriages. I, in good conscience, can not ban them. To vote to ban homosexual marriage means that I have to vote to ban divorce, that I have to vote to ban anyone who lies to their spouse from getting married, that I have to vote to ban anyone who is human from entering into a marriage bond. People will be held accountable for their own sin, it's not me that has to prevent them from sinning.<BR/><BR/>If asked by a homosexual friend, I want to be able to say, I think you are a human being. I acknowledge that you feel that this is a right lifestyle. I support your rights as an American and as a child of God. Although I disagree with the path you've chosen, I will love YOU with the love of Christ. Like you said in your post, it's not my responsibility to defend God's honor. It's my responsiblity to love Him and love others, and Lord willing, He will give me the words to say in such a situation that communicate that I am not here to condemn the world, but to point the world to He who can redeem them from sin.<BR/><BR/>(On a separate note, what happens if, 50 or even a hundred years from now, the Religious Right has fallen out of power and popular opinion and, say, an LGBTA political party rises? Say they amend that same constitutional amendment to say that only same-sex marriages shall be recognized by the state? Say it gets voted through. Are you still voting yes on proposal 2?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13323795.post-1149836911662298512006-06-09T03:08:00.000-04:002006-06-09T03:08:00.000-04:00Interesting questions, both. Usually, I'm the one ...Interesting questions, both. Usually, I'm the one who debates and debates before I decide what I think on a given issue, but for me, these were actually easy choices.<BR/><BR/>I'd vote for a ban on same sex marriage were it an option. The issue, for me, is whether or not it is clearly forbidden in scripture, which it is. So, I cannot,with a clear conscience, support anything that is forbidden in scripture.<BR/><BR/>For DaVinci - the debate actually lasted a bit longer. I teach in the medical and graduate schools of a Jesuit university. It's about as secular an environment and as supportive of inclusion as I've ever seen. I decided that there was more potential harm done by allowing others to discount my opinion(s) of the movie because I had not actually seen it than the harm done by my going- so I went - and found the movie to be poorly done in multiple aspects and rather boring. That anyone would actually believe such poorly disguised gobblety goop just goes to prove your point that darkness does not desire to be any where close to light.<BR/><BR/>I hope your trip back to the states will be easy and that you will not have a difficult time transitioning back into American life. I have been told by the missionary that we help to support, that it is frequently a very difficult thing to adjust to "re-entry".Halfmomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06335655101343184062noreply@blogger.com