Today the majority of our society is in ruins, mainly because every issue has become political. Today I believe many in our society have moved away from seeing a human and an individual, and now only see a body of political beliefs. There are several issues today that you are sadly best off not discussing because if you do not share the popular opinion of the day, you are labelled a bigot, a hater and a homophobe. One of the issues I am talking about is Gay Marriage.
This issue has successfully divided America over the years and last week Ireland held a referendum on gay marriage and it was very successful because not only did it pass, it was also very succeeded in dividing people and the hate was on full display for those who dared to have a different opinion.
The issue of gay marriage is always successfully framed by supporters as being based on love, equality, that we should not discriminate against those who have a different lifestyle and that opponents just hate gay people. I have zero hatred for gay people but I will always stand for traditional marriage which is accepted today as one man and one woman which means I do not support two couples getting married, three people getting married, a man marrying his dog or even a person having multiple spouses.
However the debate around marriage needs to go a lot deeper. Firstly one of the problems I have with the current gay marriage debate is the parameters of the debate. In Ireland you had one side arguing for gay marriage and the other side supporting traditional marriage. Are they the only two options we have in society? How about option three – let’s get government out of marriage or at least have a debate on the merits on government being involved. In the many years I have asked people this question; I have yet to hear a credible excuse. Of course you get the usual excuses like tax, financial and inheritance benefits that go with being married.
I firmly support not only abolishing the income tax but also inheritance tax, inheritance law and making it financially beneficial to get married. However even if you support the above laws, surely logic would dictate you make changes to the parts of those laws that “discriminate” against gay couples instead of ignoring those problems and changing the definition of marriage. After all who in society today would argue against changing the tax code or inheritance laws to include gay couples? Even a “hater” and “bigot” like me would have supported those law changes. The simple reason they are never suggested is because the result would be a united people and not a divided one and hence no political gain.
Secondly I believe the actions of the vast majority of Churches and religions have encouraged the attacks on marriage that we are witnessing today. Let me explain how. How do the folks who support traditional marriage define it? It is between one man and one woman. Is that correct? It that the only criteria? I believe this view is a highly simplistic view and one that is not accurate. I was brought up (as a Catholic) understanding marriage was a sacrament and was a union between one man and one woman who were joining together for eternity in the eyes of our God.
I am no longer a Catholic, nor do I belong to any religion. I am following a very different path in life and I am a proud non-denominational Christian. I sometimes worship in a Catholic Church (because it is nearest to me and I know people there) but I will worship God anywhere. I have no problems with any religion and want to work with all religions to promote God and Godly principles.
So I ask you to look at me closely and ask yourself two very important questions. Firstly Am I ENTITLED to be married? If I ever find someone special and grow close enough to think she might be a lifelong commitment, am I entitled to get married? Regardless of the religion my potential wife, whether it is Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Mormon etc. do I have a right to go to their Church and demand they marry me. Is that Church discriminating against me for refusing to marry me even though I don’t belong to their religion? If the day comes that I meet someone whom I love enough to think about marriage, I would not feel like a Church was hating or discriminating against me just because they would not marry us. Secondly how would you feel if I was married in your religion, even though I do not subscribe to its beliefs and traditions?
I hate speaking in generalities but one thing I have witnessed first-hand in Ireland and especially in the Catholic Church is how their standards today are at an all-time low on so many levels. I see people baptizing their kids purely because it is a day out and a way to get money and presents. I see kids making their communion and confirmation who don’t believe, never go to Church and solely being used by the family as a social occasion and in some cases a way to make money. Today many churches invite these attacks because they stand for nothing, preach garbage, offend no-one and act like they care about tithing and existing than growing closer to God and the scriptures.
Lastly I believe the majority of us in society have all played a role in inviting attacks on marriage. I would ask you to think about some of the recent marriages you have been to and ask yourself what was the priority and what was important on the day? Was the day all about the ceremony and standing in front of your friends, family, community and most importantly God and professing your love for someone else and creating that union? Or was it more like what we see on T.V today – that it’s the woman’s day, and the things that are important are how the woman looks, what type of dress she wears, where the reception is, who to invite, the cake, the honeymoon etc. How much do you ever hear about the most important part of marriage – the union of two people before God?
I don’t know what the future holds on this issue, but this part is clear to me – with divorce rates at all-time highs, Churches and Christians need to stand together and highlight the real meaning of marriage and start having standards again. To be clear I fully support the Churches right to marry whoever they want. If a Church decides (without any government coercion) to marry gay people, atheists, or an adult with 5 different wives – they should have that right. However I also support a Churches right to refuse service and I pray some start exercising that right again because society needs standards, stronger marriages and less divorces.
END NOTE: I am desperate to serve America and cause of freedom in anyway I can. However I limited to what I can do from Ireland so I would really appreciate any help and support you can provide the site in getting the message out to as many as possible. Please consider sharing this article and any other articles you like on social media or by email with your friends and family. Lastly feedback is always welcome on content, layout or any aspect of the site. God Bless over you always!