Much of the opposition to same-sex marriages is fundamentally religious in nature. Evangelical Christians argue that marriage between two members of the same sex is, from their perspective, simply invalid - and therefore civil marriage law should conform to their ideas on what marriage is. But what, exactly, would a real biblical marriage look like?
Public Nuisance offers us a good idea by creating a Constitutional Amendment on marriage that reflects what the Bible says:
1. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives.
2. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden.
3. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce.
4. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law.
Do you suppose that anyone will go for it? No, I don't think so either... people are certainly free to believe in the validity of requirements like the above, but almost no one believes that such requirements should be imposed by the government and become a part of civil law. They are, quite simply, religious laws which citizens must be free to ignore if they wish.
Gay Rights & Gay Marriage:
- Marriage: Religious Rite or Civil Right?
- Gay Rights & Marriage News
- Gay Rights Polls
- Books On Gays, Homosexuality
- Gay Rights & Marriage Timeline
- Evangelical Christianity & Homosexuality
- Catholicism & Homosexuality
Arguments Against Gay Marriage:
REVELATIONSHIPS
(THE BIBLE AS A GUIDE TO FINDING A MARRIAGE PARTNER)
While there are several mentions of wedding feasts in the Bible, nowhere is a “religious marriage ceremony” set forth; it was a business contract between the father and bridegroom, a simple exchange of property.
Perry Deane Young, God’s Bullies
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TOP 16 WAYS TO GET A WIFE ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE
1) Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she’s yours. (Deut. 21:11-13)
2) “Lay hold on” a virgin who is not betrothed to another man, and have sex with her, but afterwards pay her father a sum of money. Then she’s yours. (Deut. 22:28-29)
3) Find a prostitute and marry her. (Hosea 1:1-3)
4) Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock.–Moses (Ex. 2:16-21)
5) Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal.–Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)
6) Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife.–Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)
7) Have God create a wife for you while you sleep.Note: this will cost you a rib.–Adam (Gen. 2:19-24)
9) Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law’s enemies and get his daughter for a wife.–David (1 Sam. 18:27)
10) Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you’ll definitely find someone.–Cain (Gen. 4:16-17)
11) Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest.–Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)
12) When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, “I have seen a woman; now get her for me.” If your parents question your decision, simply say, “Get her for me. She’s the one for me.”–Samson (Judges 14:1-3)
13) Kill any husband and take HIS wife. (Prepare to lose four sons though.)–David (2 Sam. 11)
14) Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It’s not just a good idea, it’s the law!)–Onan and Boaz (Deut. or Lev., example in Ruth)
15) Don’t be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity.–Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)
16) A wife?…NOT!–Paul (1st Corinthians, chapter 7, see below)
It is good for a man not to touch a woman [sexually]… For I would that all men were even as I myself… I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I… But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn… I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be… Are you loosed from a wife? seek not a wife… The time is short: it remains that they that have wives be as though they had none… He that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married cares for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit… that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
- 1 Corinthians 7:1,7,8-9,26-27,29,32-35
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SAINT AUGUSTINE ON WHY ALL MEN SHOULD ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
In the first times, it was the duty to use marriage… chiefly for the propagation of the human race. But now, in order to enter upon holy and pure fellowship… they who wish to contract marriage for the sake of children, are to be admonished, that they use rather the larger good of continence. But I am aware of some that murmur, “What if all men should abstain from all sexual intercourse, whence will the human race exist?” Would that all would… Much more speedily would the City of God be filled, and the end of the world hastened. For what else does the Apostle Paul exhort to, when he says, “I would that all were as myself;” or in that passage, “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remains that both they who have wives, be as though not having: and they who weep, as though not weeping: and they who rejoice, as though not rejoicing: and they who buy, as though not buying: and they who use this world as though they use it not. For the form of this world is passing away.” (1 Cor. 7:7-8, 29-31)
Saint Augustine (c. 354-430), On the Good of Marriage, Sections 9-10