for my fellow Christian conservatives: we haven’t got a moral leg to stand on. Our divorce rate is identical to the national average. We allow our churches to be used as elaborate stage sets for bridezilla productions, often with just pro forma premarital counseling or sometimes none at all. When our fellow church members get divorced, we do not counsel them adequately. We fail to create a culture of marriage in our youth and twenty-somethings. We have shown massive disrespect for marriage. When we demand others respect it, it’s not surprising that we’re not taken seriously.That's pretty strong, but I think it's on target.
I've often made a similar point, that you can't condemn gay sex as a sin and then wink at fornication and adultery. Who you choose as a partner isn't the issue. The commandments forbid sex outside marriage. I can see where this might be an argument in favor of gay marriage, but the commandments also include "multiply and replenish the earth."
If two lovers want to formalize their relationship, I've got no problem with that. If they want to tell people they're married, that's fine too. But I don't believe it's marriage, and I don't think I should be forced vis-a-vis state or Federal law to accept it as such.
