Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Traditional Marriages Future - What say you?

I never would have imaged that just a decade ago the bed-rock of every civilized culture – the definition of marriage and the family unit – would be under going such an assault as has exploded around the world and now in the American family life. Sure our traditional marriages are not perfect, but I dare say that the new age alternatives being offered up will be the downfall of mankind.

Even if one does not believe as I do from a Biblical world view, that marriage was God’s design for his creation of man-kind for a man and a woman - how can anyone turn a blind eye to the basic anatomy of a naked man and woman united together? This perfectly created union that so righty fits together -- as God says for our completeness, and for procreations.

On one side of the argument we have today’s gay-rights advocates saying, in the name of “Sexual Liberty”, they have a politically-correct better idea (like Ford, McDonalds, and the Wal-Marts of the world agree) that same-sex marriage is a self-declared right that cannot be denied. Today it is marriage between two of the same-sex and tomorrow’s will be the desire for the first “legal” trio-sex union and beyond. Can we not see the slipper-slope back to the days of Sodom and Gomorrah?

The Massachusetts and California Legal Systems have started the battle for same sex marriages across the entire United States of America. Take for example California’s Proposition 8. This proposition is on the November 4th ballot to overturn the State’s Supreme Court decision and restore the definition of marriage that was approved by a mere 61% of voters. The ballot title originally approved for Proposition 8 described the proposal as a state amendment "to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Now Democrat State Attorney General Jerry Brown has managed to change the title to describe the proposal as amending the state constitution to "eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry." No matter how it’s worded I believe the correct vote is YES!

On the other side of the argument are basically those with a Biblical world view. The following organizations represent my beliefs and I hope yours also. As Bill O'Reilly would say, ”What say you?”

A "Yes on Proposition 8" video produced by the American Family Association @ http://www.afa.net/prop8video/index.html



Restoring Marriage and Protecting California Children @ http://www.protectmarriage.com/

The Campaign For Our Children, Inc., says YES @ http://www.marriageworksusa.com/



Marriage and Family Defense @ http://www.family.org/socialissues/Marriage/



"For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." Gen. 2:24-25


Saturday, August 2, 2008

The State of Marriage Now & Then

"MARRIAGE IS TO BE HELD IN HONOR AMONG ALL..."
Hebrews 13:4a (NASB) Nancy & Bill Jones

So, what is marriage, what is the state of marriage in our country today, and what does God say?

Today's OneNewsNow Weekend Poll: Need for a federal marriage amendment asks this question: Because of developments in Massachusetts and California on the issue of homosexual 'marriage,' is a federal marriage amendment needed more now than ever? The early Saturday morning results from only 4312 responses was yes - 91.84%, no - 7.07%, and unsure 1.09%. What would you expect from a overwhelming religious audience. So what do you think? Can we or should we legislate morality?

Today from the current (2008) Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary we see some of the following definitions:

  • marriage (14th century ) 1: the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law 2: the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage .
  • Boston marriage (1980) :a long-term loving relationship between two women
  • celestial marriage (1862) : a special order of Mormon marriage solemnized in a Mormon temple and held to be binding for a future life as well as the present one
  • civil marriage (1820) : a marriage performed by a magistrate
  • common–law marriage (1888) 1 : a marriage recognized in some jurisdictions and based on the parties' agreement to consider themselves married and sometimes also on their cohabitation 2 : the cohabitation of a couple even when it does not constitute a legal marriage

It has been said that in 1928 Noah Webster single-handedly rescued the English Language from the corrupting political and social influences of the European Nations, in the Webster's Dictionary. But we have NOT continued to do that until today? I don't know the definition from the 1928 version, but I'm sure it is very much different from what we see in today's society of moral relativism. I'll bet it even mentioned God!

Going back to the English Book of Common Prayer (1662), a wedding service begins with the minister addressing the congregation: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God…to join together this man and this woman in holy Matrimony." Again and again, the couple and witnesses are reminded that God is witness to this union. Here I we see marriage as a holy union or covenant between a man and a woman.

Now let's go back to the beginning. Back even before the ten-commandments were written, where we see that marriage is God's design - The union of one man for one woman, as we read in Genesis - the book of beginnings: (from the NAS)

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.…1:26 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; …2:18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."

Then a bit later in creation we read in Genesis 2:21-24: So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

So again, what is marriage? Well since everyone else seems to want to define it for me, let me share my own definition. I see marriage as the holy state of being united and joined together with a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a life-long covenant relationship, both created and saved through God's Love.

So now what is the state of marriage? Well I believe that Jesus says -- "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:21b)

So what do you readers (if there be any) have to you say, or better yet what do you do -- here and now in our little part of this earth which God created for us? As for Marlene and I, we are Marriage Builders.

This posting would not be complete on Marriage without a special word of thanks and admiration to Rev. Dr. Bill and Nancy Jones (pictured above) for your long term leadership and example of commitment to Christ and to each other, in covenant love and marriage.