A word on the same sex debate and the church

[Richard A. Kent]

 

The following is an argument about the state not having any authority over a ceremony and term belonging to that of God.

Marriage, what is your definition of the word? To most, it is the union between two people. It is two people, making a conscious choice to live out their lives together. To promise to stand with each other, to love each other and to support each other, these are just a few of the promises people proclaim as they engage in the ceremonies of marriage.

Where does marriage originate however? Is the modern term marriage any different then what it was say two thousand years ago? Are we safe to say that the term marriage originated in biblical times and that the ceremony itself and all that comes with it, originated from the will of God directly and his requirement for the union of two people wishing to bound together forever? If we look we will see this throughout the word of God, long before any notion of what a constitution or bill of rights would even look like.

I bring up this subject, not only due to the high increase in divorce, but more so due to the ever increasing comprising of the term itself. What was once solely a church ceremony and performed by that of only a pastor or priest has now sadly been adopted by the state which now moves to remove the entire essence of God himself from their ceremonies, and to do so under the authority of itself. I ask this question however, if marriage is truly a biblical term and originated from God himself, how can the state make laws concerning what is of God ,if there indeed a separation between church and state?

I hear the arguing that same sex marriage should be allowed and that it would be unconstitutional not to allow such ceremonies. The point I would make is that the constitution itself has no merit in the decision, due to the fact that the term marriage is a religious term and that the ceremony itself is as I said, of the church. The only way such ceremonies could be performed would be to use a different term and not that of one belonging to that of a religious faith. If we did wish to use the constitution we would simply refer to the U.S. Constitution Amendment- 1 where it reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Does the church owe the rights to the term? I suppose that would be the question. Did the church originated the ceremony and was it formally only a church function? That would be another question. We can argue all day about these issues however and still fail to come to a decision agreeable by all parties. The issue comes, due to the very religious nature of the issue, do they not? Some people believe in God and some do not. Some believe that homosexuality is a sin and some do not. As long as we have these differences we will have the same problems. But I ask again, if the term marriage is a term of religion, does anyone but the church itself, have any authority over it? If this is the case, has the decision to allow or not to allow, already been made by the church? Or is the church itself even torn in this decision?

I have often said that free will is the biggest gift God gave to man except that of salvation itself. Having said this, I believe each man or woman has the inalienable right to choose their path for themselves. No church or religion should ever dominate a people using their faith, but to covert only by consent and not by conquering. Should the state allow a union of same sex couples, that is for the state to decide, and the voters of each state. Should the church decide whether to do so, that is another question and is a much deeper and spiritual matter. It is one that should not be made lightly? The question on terms or titles might now the question.

I believe we need our churches to finally stand together as one, and to make our choice known on how we feel God would feel concerning the issue. Marriage is a term I personally feel is of God and belonging to only those of faith.

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