Calmer
You don't seem to distinguish between marriage as a legal term and a social construct, and the Christian form of marriage as a religious term and construct. Or are you saying that some of the vows taken within many Christian marital situations (including, I believe, that God
blesses the union, and the relationship created between God and the couple) are just made up by the pastors? Are you going to address, for example, its position as a Sacrament, in the case of the Catholic Church?
He is actually referring to the Christian form of marriage as a religious term and construct.
Christians have no right to do anything about secular marriage, as it has nothing to do with religion.
What he (and most of us) are stating is the following.
There is no biblical reason for any Christian sect to consider homosexuality wrong, and to prevent homosexual marriages to occur within the church, as well as outside of it.
So Christians that do so are bad Christians because they are going outside of the teachings of Christ, and even outright ignoring them in some cases.
The Catholic Church is especially guilty of this, as its dogmatic law contradicts Scripture in a lot of cases.
Quote:
Although some Christians do wish for non-heterosexual unions to be prevented from happening altogether in their countries (and therefore refer to marriage as a 'Christian institution' hence the straw man), there's a lot more concern about the types of marriage allowed
within their denomination.
We know.
Quote:
It would, after all, be ridiculous to put Churches in a position where they must bless marriages that their religions do not approve of, be they remarriages of legally (but not religiously) divorced Christians, or of non-heterosexual nature.
He's not saying (nor am I or any other) that Christian churches should be forced to bless marriages of divorced peoples or homosexuals.
He's saying that any Christian church that does not endorse a marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman is not following Christianity at all, but a form of Puesdo-Christianity.
This is more of a "shame on you, churches, for not actually following Jesus" thread then a "We will make you do this" thread