Marriage
I have performed dozens of weddings over the last 15 years. While I was an active local pastor I performed several a year. I still perform 2 or 3 a year. I am mentioning this because next Monday I will be performing another.
I think it ironic that I have married so many people yet cannot be married myself. My mate & I have had a "holy union", but no wedding. Our relationship was blessed by a pastor from the MCC with my UMC (at the time) pastor present along with many members of the UMC we attended. The ceremony had to also be at the MCC as such ceremonies are not allowed in UMC buildings or on UMC property.
Although I would be quite happy if the UMC allowed such blessings, I can accept that churches do not necessarily bless or condone such ceremonies.
My big beef is the state side of the issue. I do not understand why there is no legal marriage for same sex couples. No church is required to bless such unions just as no church is required to marry divorced persons or persons of another faith. No pastor is required to perform any marriage ceremony. I can accept various religious groups arguments against performing such rites. I do not agree with many of the teachings of many faiths, but this does not mean that I cannot respect their right to such beliefs.
I have yet to hear an intelligent argument by the anti-same sex marriage people from a civil standpoint.
The reasons I usually hear against same sex marriage are:
1. "Marriage has always been between one man and one woman."
2. "It is a slippery slope and before long people will be marrying animals and
relatives"
3. "Same sex marriage will destroy traditional marriage"
My reply:
1. Marriage has not always been between one man and one woman, sometimes it has been between one man and 2 women or a dozen women and there are cultures where a woman can have multiple husbands.
2. Just because 2 people can marry will not automatically lead to people marrying animals.
3. This is the one that really gets to me. How will my marriage destroy your marriage? I would really like someone to give me a reasonable answer to this question. I would love to see the statistics from nations, provinces and states to see if the heterosexual divorce rate has changed since they began having same sex marriage. I would also like to find out if any heterosexuals feel any less married now that some gay & lesbian people have married members of their own sex.
I am awaiting an intelligent answer to that question.
I have performed dozens of weddings over the last 15 years. While I was an active local pastor I performed several a year. I still perform 2 or 3 a year. I am mentioning this because next Monday I will be performing another.
I think it ironic that I have married so many people yet cannot be married myself. My mate & I have had a "holy union", but no wedding. Our relationship was blessed by a pastor from the MCC with my UMC (at the time) pastor present along with many members of the UMC we attended. The ceremony had to also be at the MCC as such ceremonies are not allowed in UMC buildings or on UMC property.
Although I would be quite happy if the UMC allowed such blessings, I can accept that churches do not necessarily bless or condone such ceremonies.
My big beef is the state side of the issue. I do not understand why there is no legal marriage for same sex couples. No church is required to bless such unions just as no church is required to marry divorced persons or persons of another faith. No pastor is required to perform any marriage ceremony. I can accept various religious groups arguments against performing such rites. I do not agree with many of the teachings of many faiths, but this does not mean that I cannot respect their right to such beliefs.
I have yet to hear an intelligent argument by the anti-same sex marriage people from a civil standpoint.
The reasons I usually hear against same sex marriage are:
1. "Marriage has always been between one man and one woman."
2. "It is a slippery slope and before long people will be marrying animals and
relatives"
3. "Same sex marriage will destroy traditional marriage"
My reply:
1. Marriage has not always been between one man and one woman, sometimes it has been between one man and 2 women or a dozen women and there are cultures where a woman can have multiple husbands.
2. Just because 2 people can marry will not automatically lead to people marrying animals.
3. This is the one that really gets to me. How will my marriage destroy your marriage? I would really like someone to give me a reasonable answer to this question. I would love to see the statistics from nations, provinces and states to see if the heterosexual divorce rate has changed since they began having same sex marriage. I would also like to find out if any heterosexuals feel any less married now that some gay & lesbian people have married members of their own sex.
I am awaiting an intelligent answer to that question.
posted by Conrad at 6:31 AM
1 Comments:
I hope that some day you can be legally married, RevRad.
Last weekend, I was sitting having lunch with two lesbian friends who are planning their Civil Union in December. The UK has decided to give gay and lesbian couples the same rights are married heterosexuals as long as no-one calls it marriage. But as far as my friends are concerned, they are planning a wedding.
There was a point during the lunch when we all ended up in tears as one of my friends spoke about how she never thought she'd have the right to be married and about how much it meant to her. We all tried to understand why someone would be so scared of gay people marrying.
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