Oh goodness, you've covered about everything I could say on this issue, so I really have nothing to add to that except WOOOOORD.
That, and I was discussing all this with my dad today, whose opinion I really value since he teaches religion on a daily basis and it's his job to study all this in all kinds of contexts. I've noticed that the Yes on 8 people and the Religious Right people have trotted out this belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that's the way it ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE because it's sanctioned by God.
...Except that's not in the case. In the Old Testament, the very same Bible that people like to thump, polygamy was considered normal. There was no one man and one woman situation all of the time; men took multiple wives if needed. Heck, there was even an Old Testament LAW that if two brothers were married to two different women, and one of the brothers died before fathering any children, the brother left alive was required to father children for his brother's widow! Nowadays, that would be considered reprehensible!
The point being? Culture back then was way different then than it was today. Culture is constantly changing as our technology, our environment, and our society changes. To say that heterosexual marriage is the only option because it's ALWAYS been that way is flat out untrue. To say that it's the only way that's ever been sanctioned by God is untrue, unless you just want to dismiss certain chunks of the Old Testament. What's important is that we strive to love as God loves.
That, and I was discussing all this with my dad today, whose opinion I really value since he teaches religion on a daily basis and it's his job to study all this in all kinds of contexts. I've noticed that the Yes on 8 people and the Religious Right people have trotted out this belief that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that's the way it ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE because it's sanctioned by God.
...Except that's not in the case. In the Old Testament, the very same Bible that people like to thump, polygamy was considered normal. There was no one man and one woman situation all of the time; men took multiple wives if needed. Heck, there was even an Old Testament LAW that if two brothers were married to two different women, and one of the brothers died before fathering any children, the brother left alive was required to father children for his brother's widow! Nowadays, that would be considered reprehensible!
The point being? Culture back then was way different then than it was today. Culture is constantly changing as our technology, our environment, and our society changes. To say that heterosexual marriage is the only option because it's ALWAYS been that way is flat out untrue. To say that it's the only way that's ever been sanctioned by God is untrue, unless you just want to dismiss certain chunks of the Old Testament. What's important is that we strive to love as God loves.
And on the subject of Prop 8: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/37706prs20081105.html Hope springs eternal! Come on, California courts, don't let me doooown!
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