Great post. As a Christian, I never understood why other Christians were so opposed to gay marriage. I was taught that the institution of marriage was a spiritual union under God. So it stands to reason in my mind that for anyone who wasn’t part of a faith tradition, marriage was merely a civil union whether gay or straight. I could never figure out why Christians were so mad about gay people getting married but not “unbelievers” getting married. If it’s about making a mockery of a sacred tradition, shouldn’t they be mad about EVERYONE doing it?!
True. My suspicion is that white evangelicals hold following their rules around sex as the main test of faith, much more so than other "sins." This despite the fact that Jesus rarely mentioned sex, never mentioned homosexuality, and admonished his followers dozens of times to care for the poor and marginalized.
I really appreciate this commentary on marriage and relationships (whether between adults in a romantic relationship or parent/children, etc.). While T and I were married in a fabulous ceremony, surrounded by our friends and family, we didn't do it because it was legal, we did it to celebrate love and commitment with people we love. Now, does it help that we get tax breaks because we're married and we can benefit from one another's health insurance, etc? Yep. People are distracted in thinking that marriage is simply a social contract for money and property, it can't define a person's relationship. But damn, I do appreciate not being seen as different in the eyes of the law cause those tax benefits are sweet for a pastor who isn't making bank.
Yeah, getting married has so many layers--there's the legal & tax stuff (nothing to sniff at) then there's a spiritual component (for some) and finally the publicness of this commitment. At our wedding, the pastor had all in attendance rise if they vowed to support us in our marriage and I got totally choked up. I think that was part of what made the wedding special. It is a big, real step.
Great post. As a Christian, I never understood why other Christians were so opposed to gay marriage. I was taught that the institution of marriage was a spiritual union under God. So it stands to reason in my mind that for anyone who wasn’t part of a faith tradition, marriage was merely a civil union whether gay or straight. I could never figure out why Christians were so mad about gay people getting married but not “unbelievers” getting married. If it’s about making a mockery of a sacred tradition, shouldn’t they be mad about EVERYONE doing it?!
True. My suspicion is that white evangelicals hold following their rules around sex as the main test of faith, much more so than other "sins." This despite the fact that Jesus rarely mentioned sex, never mentioned homosexuality, and admonished his followers dozens of times to care for the poor and marginalized.
I really appreciate this commentary on marriage and relationships (whether between adults in a romantic relationship or parent/children, etc.). While T and I were married in a fabulous ceremony, surrounded by our friends and family, we didn't do it because it was legal, we did it to celebrate love and commitment with people we love. Now, does it help that we get tax breaks because we're married and we can benefit from one another's health insurance, etc? Yep. People are distracted in thinking that marriage is simply a social contract for money and property, it can't define a person's relationship. But damn, I do appreciate not being seen as different in the eyes of the law cause those tax benefits are sweet for a pastor who isn't making bank.
Yeah, getting married has so many layers--there's the legal & tax stuff (nothing to sniff at) then there's a spiritual component (for some) and finally the publicness of this commitment. At our wedding, the pastor had all in attendance rise if they vowed to support us in our marriage and I got totally choked up. I think that was part of what made the wedding special. It is a big, real step.