Standards For Living

There was a letter on today’s Opinion page of the local newspaper entitled:

Sanctity of marriage destroyed by congress

The lead sentence was as follows: The Congress of the United States just destroyed the respect marriage once held by passing the recent law.

Then, in another section of the paper was an article with this headline:

“Polygamous leader had 20 wives, many of them minors.”

As I was reading both of these submittals, I couldn’t help but wonder which marriage was the most disturbing — a marriage between two individuals of the same sex, an interracial marriage, or a marriage that included CHILDREN as wives.

For me, the answer was easy, but I guess for others … not so much.

Naturally, advocates for each position can scour the BIBLE and find support, but as we look at the situation from a modern perspective, which do YOU think is the most harmful … the most disturbing … the most immoral?

I often wonder if society will ever get past the idea that the BIBLE should serve as the standard for how individuals live their lives.

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Image by MasterTux from Pixabay

Just Wondering

Conservatives are adamant that marriage should signify the union between a man and a woman. They tend to react in horror when laws are passed that allow two people of the same sex to wed. They even discuss impeaching the judges who support the rights of all people to join together in matrimony. One individual even made the following statement about the recent Pennsylvania decision:

 This decision is absolutely outrageous and it reads like a parody. We have moved beyond judicial activism into judicial imperialism.”

So if “marriage” between same sex individuals is so horrific, why not call it something else? Surely someone could come up with terminology that would satisfy both sides and still maintain the dignity and respect of the marital union.

Any suggestions?

 

Christianity and Social Issues

Please tell me why Christians feel the need to be the world’s conscience.

NO ONE has the right to tell anyone else how to live their lives. And to pass laws that do so is reprehensible!

I lived in the Christian world for many years so I’m intimately familiar with the believer’s point of view on such contentious issues as abortion, the gay and lesbian lifestyle, same-sex marriage, etc. However, as a Christian, I never felt it was my place to force my beliefs on others.

From time to time, I did quote select scriptures to defend my convictions, but this was because I had been taught that God’s word is “living and active” and “sharper than a two-edged sword.” I just knew in my heart of hearts that when non-believers heard words from the bible, they would immediately see the error of their ways.

I found out later that the problem with this thinking, which I didn’t understand until I left the faith, is that not everyone believes the bible has ‘divine’ value. In other words, the ‘holy words’ I used to ‘prove my point’ provided no particular incentive for people to change their ways.

Today, I agree with many others that the bible was written in a different age with different views on social justice; thus, it cannot (and should not) be used as a source to set the standards for contemporary living.

And I strongly feel that no laws should be passed that are based on the moral biases of others.

In one of my other websites, I provide this quote by Friedrich Nietzsche: “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”

‘Nuf said.