Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
Same Sex Marriage: Legal Marriage Has NOTHING To Do With Love, with Frank Turek

Same Sex Marriage: Legal Marriage Has NOTHING To Do With Love, with Frank Turek

Last updated on: October 13, 2015 at 2:49 pm by Christian Podcast Central

Same Sex Marriage: Legal Marriage Has NOTHING To Do With Love, with Frank Turek 2015-10-13T14:49:42-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Summit Lecture Series Slider

To purchase the entire DVD set of the Summit Lecture Series, visit summit.org.

Andrew Sullivan, perhaps one of the most prominent advocates for same-sex marriage said in 1996:

“If nothing else were done at all and gay marriage were legalized, 90% of the political work necessary to achieve gay and lesbian equality will have been achieved. It’s ultimately the only reform that matters.”

In other words, once gay marriage is put into place, or the government promotes same-sex marriage, homosexuality is considered on par with heterosexuality. And then the force of the law will be used against those who disagree to comply.

So, as I said in our earlier post, the debate is really about validation and normalization.

And I don’t blame them for this one bit. I actually very much relate and can see that side of the argument clearly.

I had a friend – we grew up together in New Jersey – who was gay. We buried him at the age of 36 – dead from AIDS. And nobody ever said to him, “Mark, you know… you probably shouldn’t be doing this.” Everyone just said, “I want to be loving. I want to be tolerant.”

I think that’s cowardly.

I think sometimes you need to tell people what they need to hear, even if they get angry with you.

This brings me to the first of the “Four P’s” which will help in any discussion regarding gay marriage. The first “P” is “Purpose”. marriage 1

For what PURPOSE does the government promote marriage between a man and a woman?

It is NOT because two people love one another. This is NOT why the State endorses marriage.

The reason why the State promotes marriage is because of many benefits: It creates children; it raises children by a mother and father, which is known to be best for the children and society; it civilizes men and focuses them on productive pursuits; it protects women from uncommitted men; and it perpetuates and stabilizes society.

In fact, there would be no society if men and women didn’t come together, and there certainly wouldn’t be a civilized society if men and women didn’t come together and stay together for the benefit of their children. We’ve already seen in the past 40-50 years a breakdown of the family at amazing rates, which has led to all sorts of other problems in our society. This is one reason why you cannot bifurcate the financial and moral issues of our culture. When the family breaks down (a moral issue), the government bloats to such an extreme and deficit spending takes over (a financial issue) which leads to increased welfare, crime, poverty and other social issues that create incredible strain on the economy.

You can’t separate or divide moral issues and societal, especially economic, issues.

So, the reason why the government has historically promoted marriage between one man and one woman is because it gets great benefits. When our marriages are strong, our country is strong. When our marriages are weak, our country is weak.

So, then someone might ask, “How can you say that no one’s civil rights are denied by saying that traditional marriage is the only relationship worthy of promotion?”

Well, let’s look at it this way: The government has three options when it comes to any behavior. The government can either –

Prohibit a behavior.
Permit a behavior.
Promote a behavior.

When the government promotes marriage between a man and a woman, it gives those married couples special financial benefits, rights, and special treatment under the law because society receives great benefits from that relationship.

On the other hand, some relationships are prohibited (polygamy, incest and pedophilia to name a few). These relationships are actually detrimental to society.

When the government permits certain relationships, such as unmarried heterosexual relationships and same-sex relationships, it neither promotes NOR prohibits the act. Therefore no person is being discriminated against. Everybody has the same equal right. Everybody has the right to engage in the promoted and permitted relationships, if they want to. Whether or not they choose to get married, so long as it is not prohibited, it is their choice.

No one is denying anybody their rights.

You see, these are all behaviors, they are not people.

Laws address behaviors, they don’t address persons. Laws say “This behavior is a behavior that is beneficial, therefore we will promote it. These other behaviors are behaviors that are fine and permitted. These final behaviors are harmful and we will prohibit them.”

They do not discriminate against any person or individual.

In fact, the reason we need laws is because people behave in ways that are harmful to others and so some behaviors are prohibited.

Previous Post

October 13, 2015

The Daren Streblow Comedy Show Mini-Cast 112: Video Games, David Beals & David DiMuzio

Next Post

October 13, 2015 Ouxano 100: If You Teach Your Kids to Brush Their Teeth, Teach Them to Follow God

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz