Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Bible (US residents only)

QUOTE:"God decided to destroy the city because of the wickedness of its inhabitants." UNQUOTE

You answered your own question. God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, because of their continued wickedness and their refusal to change from it. If they had turned from their wicked ways, God would have spared the cities. There isn't anything concrete about Homosexuality being THE wickedness that caused the destruction. Remember, God had already decided to destroy the cities BEFORE the angels went into the city. The cities weren't destroyed because of how the angels were being treated. Personally, I believe it wasn't about any one sin or wickedness, but an accumulaltion of varing wickednesses. I also believe that one day, the United States of America will also be destroyed for the same reason, for it's many various wickednesses and refusal to even acknowledge them as wicked,let alone turn from them.

QUOTE:"Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but $%!@mongers and adulterers God will judge". Why would you care if other people of the same sex got married?" UNQUOTE

This covers alot of areas. First that all marriage is honorable, and that sex between married couples is right. But $%!@mongers,(unmarried people having sex) and adulterers, (people who are married but having sex with other partners) will be judged, because that sex is not acceptable. So to answer your question, why do I care, is simple, because IF a same gender couple gets married, that implies that they are legal under God to have sex, but God specifically says that same gender sex is NOT acceptable. God is very specific about sex. Sex is only allowed between a married male husband and his own female wife. And I believe, if you take the time to do the research, it will be found that not only Christianity belives this, but most if not all other religious groups believe this also. Because we all have the same God.

QUOTE: "Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 "But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. Should divorce not involving sexual immorality (ie: inreconsiable differences, etc) be banned in the US?" UNQUOTE

To add to this, QUOTE: "And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto to them, ""For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. BUT from the beginning of the creation GOD made them amle and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife; And THEY twain shall be one flesh: so then they are NO more twain, BUT ONE FLESH. What therefore GOD hath joined together, let NOT MAN put asunder." UNQUOTE

Personally I think that is pretty clear. When a man and a woman, Marry under GOD, they are no longer man and woman, but a married couple, and God doesn't allow a divorce. And even under the law of Moses, a divorced person could NOT remarry.

Think about all the kids, that divorces have messed up. I wouldn't give a care, if it wasn't for the kids. But in todays society, the kids don't count. Adults get married, divorced, remarried, redivorced and remarried again, without one thought as to how it affects the kids. If a married couple find that they can't stand each other after they get married, TOUGH! Suck it up and live with your mistake. Get seperate bedrooms, but stay together, and raise your kids.

Then I hear the, oh my spouse is abusive, so I have to divorce. No you don't. Put the abusive spouse in jail. And that abusive spouse stays in jail, until they agree not to abuse anyone again. God doesn't say that we are allowed to make a mistake and then run away from it. We have to deal with the fruits of what we do. "Whatsoever you sow, you shall also reap."

I have alot more to say, but I'll stop here.

First of all I would say that anyone who has been married for some time knows that marriage is NOT PRIMARILY about sex. Marriage is not about acceptable sex or legalizing sex in any way. I would say that sex is not even a requirement in marriage. How many couples are married for years and years but never even has sex if they still could. Adam and Eve did not have sex until they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It would seem that people like Old Geezer are obsessed with the sexual habits and relationships of people they are not involved with.

Let us also put aside the fact that Adam and Eve were the only two people on the planet and that for humankind to survive reproduction was required. The primary purpose for the creation of a second individual was to be a companion to the first individual. And in order for humankind to be fruitful and multiply incest, polygamy and sex outside marriage and had to occur.

Genesis: 18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

If man and woman marry under god as you say then that would mean that religion not government would have authority over marriage. If the establishment known as religion has authority over marriage then two people of same sex married by their church are indeed married. The federal government which should not be able to take away the religious freedom of its citizens should remain out of the issue of marriage.

I agree TOTALLY with that statement.

And if a Church married a same gendered couple, they answer to God. I can accept that.

========== In Reply To ==========

If man and woman marry under god as you say then that would mean that religion not government would have authority over marriage. If the establishment known as religion has authority over marriage then two people of same sex married by their church are indeed married. The federal government which should not be able to take away the religious freedom of its citizens should remain out of the issue of marriage.

So much ignorance so little time

It amazes me, literally amazes me how clueless some are to both history and law.

Old geezer, your entitled to your opinion no matter how misguided and illogical it may be. Don't ever stop and actually do research or read that which may challenge you.

I am a christian. Not that this matters in what I'm about to say. You are 100% wrong in your comments on divorce. Read Deut, it clearly allows divorce and remarriage. It's very plain. So does Paul(are you bound to a wife, seek not to be loosed, are you loosed from a wife seek not to be bound, but if you do marry though has not sinned, and so does Jesus.

Virtually all biblical scholars(you actually have to read to find it) now state church tradition in regards to Jesus teaching is in error. It has to do with the tense of the words and the meaning of adultery. The adultery was in the divorce, the subsequent union was always a marriage. What you say doen't even make sense. It also aligns with Pauls & Moses teachings. Jesus said 'he who puts away a wife and MARRIES another' he recognized the marriage with his own words. The adultery is passive, committed with the divorce. Remarriage is never spoken in the bible only marriage.

The 'let no one put asunder' is a prohibition. Not an impossibility. If I say 'let yourself not go to bed angry' you can still go to bed angry. Thou shalt not commit murder is a stronger command but do you deny people commit murder.

The tradition will change, but all changing takes time. Marriage is meant to last but at times it doesn't. Many good second,third marriages exist and many horrid first marriages exist. The point is to have a good marriage not a bad one.

As to what a marriage is, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LEGAL contract. Since you claim to be so christian you likely remember the phrase 'wife of the covenant of your youth'. A covenant is a legal contract between 2 parties, vows in front of witnesses and the church/government which in the past where one in the same. You simply cannot have a real marriage minus it being a legal marriage. So stop the pathetic charade and grow up, if not physically intellectually.

Thundergod, you call yourself a Christian and then go on to rail against tradition? Have you read nothing about what St. Paul and Timothy said about authority, tradition, and keeping to the "faith handed to you"? Church authority determines what is and isn't acceptable to God in terms of divorce. As most protestants do, you are picking and choosing which biblical passages apply to the situation. You also say that tradition will change..what, to adapt to your viewpoint? You accuse Geezer of acting like a child, yet you are doing as much in "playing" a Church authority and biblical scholar. St. Paul would put you over his knee and give you a good spanking, l'il one!