This past Wednesday I joined thousands of
conservatives from across the nation who went to Chick-Fil-A and showed their
support of traditional marriage. I stood for an hour and fifteen minutes in a
line that started outside and wound its way slowly to the counter. I was
completely amazed that people would stand in triple-digit heat to buy some
chicken, but this was about much more than chicken. My impressions of what I
saw that day and from what I read are encouraging. I believe the overwhelming
response to defend our beliefs was a grass roots effort to say we have values. This
was about defending our right to speak out and have religious freedom. For far
too long conservatives, and especially Christians, have been openly
discriminated against, and it’s time we stood up for our right to speak out. If
we don’t, we will lose this wonderful gift that God gave us. In my opinion,
last Wednesday was a preview of the November Election. Let us be vigilant and
encourage all of our families and friends to register and be prepared to vote
in this General Election on November 6, 2012.
I, for one, would like to say that I am not anti-gay,
and I condemn anyone who discriminates against gays. However, standing for
traditional marriage as defined as one man and one woman who make a life-time
commitment to each other is not discrimination against gays, regardless of who
says so. To the contrary, it is the Biblical definition of marriage, and as
Christians, we cannot and will not forfeit our beliefs for the sake of
political correctness.
Maggie Gallagher defines marriage this way:
Marriage is everywhere the word we use to describe a
publicly acknowledged and supported sexual union between a man and woman which
creates rights and obligations between the couple and any children the union
may produce. Marriage as a public tie obligates not only the fathers, but the
father’s kin to recognize the children of this union. In every society,
marriage is the sexual union where childbearing and the raising is not only
tolerated but applauded and encouraged. Marriage is the way in which every
society attempts to channel the erotic energies of men and women into a
relatively narrow but highly fruitful channel—to give every child the father
his or her heart desires.
…Marriage is the fundamental, cross cultural
institution for bridging the male and female divide so that children have
loving, committed mothers and fathers. Marriage is inherently normative: it is
about holding out a certain kind of relationship as a social ideal, especially
when there are children involved. Marriage is not simply an artifact of law;
neither is it a mere delivery mechanism for a set of legal benefits that might
as well be shared more broadly. Laws of marriage do not create marriage, but in
societies ruled by law, they help trace the boundaries and sustain the public
meanings of marriage.[i]
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