Republican lawmakers on Monday proposed asking voters in November to amend the Arizona Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in the state, which was the first to turn down such a measure.
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Ariz. Leaders Mull Gay 'Marriage' Ban Anew
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Paul Davenport
Associated Press Writer
Tue, Feb. 12 2008 01:56 PM EST
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Comments
test
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them...(Genesis 1:27, 28).
"...but I would feel that society has compromised the meaning of marriage. " That ship already sailed when we started allowing quickie marriages in Las Vegas, and even quickier divorces. The fact that gay people even want marriage considering what heterosexuals have done to it is a miracle in itself.
"The government should not be used to make the majority except the opinion of the minority." And yet, that's exactly what happened when interracial marriage was legalized in 1967. Of course, racist people still get to voice their objections even today.
For all who live in Arizona we need to get behind this and see to it that this bill gets passed. If you don't live here,but know someone who does, make sure they know about this. The government should not be used to make the majority except the opinion of the minority. But there are others who think other wise and need to be stopped.. Nor should government be used to give special rights to a select group of people, all people should be treated equal under the law. The gay agenda is misusing and twisting our laws to their advantage and our detriment, this needs to end.
xiz,
You bring up a good point. If you go onto campuses today, many young people are saying, "what is the value of marriage?" They think that it is valueless and they decide that sometimes it is just easier to be in a "sexual relationship" with whoever they want. I have argued that homosexuality does not specifically disrupt marriages, rather it attacks the very core of marriage. I won't decide someday that I will divorce my wife because homosexuality is made legal, but I would feel that society has compromised the meaning of marriage.
Rand503,
It's called an analogy.
Marriage is devalued for everyone and didn't I address a specific? To recap: homosexual marriage IS NOT ordained by God. If you want something more personal, here you go. My sister has decided to never marry, because it doesn't mean anything to her, it holds no value.... why? Because marriage is treated so flippantly, including homosexuals who want a same sex union.
Amen, Q.
God's grace (which the 'homosexual christians" have ran through the mud) is sufficient for those who's desire it is to change. It's not sufficient for those who want to remain in sin, and have no desire to change. So they can yak about God's love and acceptance all day long. God's love is enduring. So much so, that Jesus is tarrying...hoping for people like the homosexuals to give their lives to Him.
"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Second Peter 3:9
The militant homosexual movement accuses the church of hatred and slings wild hyperbole to bolster their arguments that fly in the face of both scripture and reality.
There is no hatred, only Christians whose hearts ache to see those that would be their brothers and sisters in Christ, repent of their sin and be welcomed in fellowship.
I can think of no other sin where the sinner has the nerve to walk into a church and in pride and boasting, outright deny scripture, deny that his sin is a sin, and demand that those of the fellowship compromise their view of scripture to accomodate him, else be labelled a hater, bigot, etc.,etc., etc., ad nauseum.
The way is narrow, Christ's claims are exclusive and God is the intolerant one- intolerant of sin.
Repent.
Maranatha!
Chicago24,
"Nor
Malakos = of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man, OR of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness OR of a male prostitute
Nor
Arsenokoites = one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual."
...shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
I will never accept a homosexual relationship as a "marriage". Call it what you will. I can call myself a Chrysler; it doesn't make it true. No matter how loud you whine, I will not accept your relationship. My kids will not be allowed to play at your house. I will not refer to you as husband and husband.
The three main components of a marriage are: Legal rights and responsibilities of a civil partnership; love; and the spiritual blessing of God. All marriages have the first part, more fortunate ones have the second, and those of us who are truly blessed have all three, but all marriages have that potential.
Homosexual relationships will never have God's blessing. Any attempt to call such a relationship a "marriage" is naught but an attempt to confuse, obfuscate, and compromise both secular definitons and the expressed Word of God.
x: " I could make the same argument for diamonds and cubic zirconium, or gold and "fools gold", or even coffee."
And yet, you can still get a great cup of coffee in the US, or buy real diamonds and real gold. The value of those things has not been diminished one bit by fake diamonds.
Everyone who says that marriage is devalued by same sex marriage never ever come up with specifics. Even if it is true that it is devalued, then devalued by whom? Hetero people? Seems that heteros still keep getting married in Canada and Massachusetts. Just ask any person in Canada or Mass whether marriage is somehow devalued, and in what way, and you will get a blank stare.
Amen, my friend. His mercy endures forever.
Thank you.
Barukh Adonai yom yom yaamos-lanu haEl Yeshuateinu.
translate
Blessed is the Lord who carries our burden from day to day, Jesus Lord of our salvation
I know Adonai, and I have an idea about Yeshuateinu, but not sure about the rest.
aritonang,
May I ask the translation of that?
Not only is a same sex union of no value, meaning that it's not backed by anything real, so is homosexuality itself. It's deviant behavior and we are being forced (forced meaning by declaring same sex unions law) to accept it as normative behavior.
'Prophet' got it right on target.
Barukh Adonai yom yom yaamos-lanu haEl Yeshuateinu.
xizwick,
I couldn't have said it much better. Of course, the pro-gay group will say "Are you saying that homosexual marriages are worth less? It has no value?"
To which I say: Yes.
Same sex unions are an attack on marriage because it gives the appearance that it is on the same level as marriage. Same sex unions may be compared to counterfeit money. Counterfeit money looks real, if created cleverly, it can be used to purchase merchandise... but what does it do to the economy? It actually hurts the dollar because counterfeit money isn't backed by gold, it's not back by something of real value. So it is the same with same sex unions, they are not backed by something real... in other words, it is not ordained by God. But it gives the impression that it is, that it is legitimate. And then it devalues marriage, because something cheaper, of less value, is given the same value. I could make the same argument for diamonds and cubic zirconium, or gold and "fools gold", or even coffee.
Is it okay for a brother and sister to have sex? How about son/mother? Or daughter/father?
The word Paul uses in Second Corithians is malakos, which means effeminate, or figuratively catamite.
As for summa's post about the risk of the population dying out if we all turned gay: ridiculous. We're meant to live together! We've never had a gay-free world and we're never gonna, despite Hitler's attempts to exterminate them along with the Jews. (Some of you don't go quite so far, you just want to exterminate it from their brains.)
I support the Bibles stance against homosexuality, but also for sociological, scientific, and health reasons as well. Homosexuality on the continent of Africa has fueled the AIDS crisis. Men engaging in sex with men are contracting AIDS and passing it on to their wives and bringing children into the world with this horriffic disease. To be fair, I know other diseases like Malaria and Cholera are to blame, but the number of deaths throughout the continent from these diseases pales in comparison to AIDS. Those who have AIDS and contract Malaria and Cholera do not have a fighting chance for survival.
Even within the US, homosexual males live 10 years less than heterosexual males. If our society continues to practice homosexual sex, then our world is in danger. Let's just ask ourselves, for what benefit does Homosexuality provide the world? If the world were entirely homosexual, then the world would cease to exist. But you may say that's extreme because not everybody in the world at the same time would be homosexual. Why not? Wouldn't it be unfair that only some could be homosexual and others could not? Many say no one has the right to say that a person can not be homosexual. If we put that free thinking to the test and all of us became homosexual, the human race would cease to exist.
Is homosexuality really a good thing?
1Co 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
Notice that it does not say, “...let every man have his own husband, and let every woman have her own wife.”
Prophet: The term Paul uses in Corinthians is "arsenoikoitai malakoi" which denotes a specific sexual act that was prevalent in Corinth at the time. That particular act is in no way related to a loving relationship between persons of the same sex.
That Gay couples seek to marry is not an attack on marriage. If anything it is an ENDORSEMENT of marriage, an acknowledgment that it far better to encourage couples toward monogamy and commitment, rather than relegating them to lives of loneliness and promiscuity.
Ask any Straight couple why they choose to marry. Their answer will not be, "We want to get married so that we can have sex and make babies!" That would be absurd, since couples do not need to marry to make babies, nor is the desire to make babies a prerequisite for obtaining a marriage license.
No, the reason couples choose to marry is to make a solemn declaration, before friends and family members, that they wish to make a commitment to one another's happiness, health, and well-being, to the exclusion of all others. Those friends and family members will subsequently act as a force of encouragement for that couple to hold fast to their vows.
THAT'S what makes marriage a good thing. Gay couples recognize that and support that. And those that want to prohibit Gay couples from marrying do so only because they don't want to allow Gay couples the opportunity to PROVE that they are up to the task.
For those who suggest that the issue of marriage is best left up to the states, it's important to remember that the federal government has a vested interest in married couples for the purposes of income taxes and Social Security benefits. From the fed's point of view, it wouldn't do for a couple to be considered married in one state, then magically "UN-married" once they decide to move somewhere else.
The fact remains that the term "marriage" does not occur in the Constitution of the United States. There is technically no "right" for any couple, Gay or Straight, to get married. And that is why, ultimately, the Supreme Court will have to address the issue of what constitutes a marriage, much as I'm sure they would prefer NOT to.
Prophet,
I do agree. The sins that we commit in our heart (via worldly desires) are just as bad as the sins we commit through our actions. Thus, even the lusts that we do not act upon. God will judge them both in the same way. They are evidence of original sin, and are part of the "whole" of sin which has viciously grown and cycled down through the generations.
Although we are redeemed by the blood of our Lord and Savior (praise His holy name), He will still be our judge. The unsaved will be judged, "Guilty". The saved (all who TRUST in Him and ask his help) will be judged, "Guilty ... Pardoned".
Prophet, I appreciate the continued insight, and the scriptural support; Any and all corrections, too. Keep it coming :^)
muggle,
Don't forget First Corinthians 6:9 that states "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind..."
effeminate means a male with female qualities. Do you not agree that having sex with, or even having romantic inclinations towards, a man is a female quality?
And aside from that, Romans is a good scripture. Although it does not necessarily condemn a person for being a homosexual, it does condemn a man for the sins that brought the "curse" of homosexuality upon them. Either way, they are judged.
The main concern (in short) of allowing homosexuals into marriage is that it contradicts the holy sacrament of marriage that God created for us.
A tertiary concern is that once gay marriage has been nationally institutionalized, discrimination laws (probably) won't be far behind ... which will undoubtedly try to force themselves into the church, attempting to make the "refusal" of a priest or pastor, standing with the Word of God, to marry a gay couple just another hate crime under "man's" fallible and finite legislation.
Grace, The Book of Romans tells us a lot of God's stance on homosexuality.
Rm 1:24-27 - "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."
This is quoted a LOT on Christian Post, but many try to sidestep it, or attempt diversion tactics with other scripture.
Basically, what you can extract from this (in line with other scripture) is that homosexuality is a curse, whether it's psychologically, emotionally or biologically (genotype or phenotype) derived. They have not been cursed by God, but the devil, who wishes to pervert everything that God has made beautiful and holy. This doesn't mean that gay people do not have beauty. Nor does is mean they are any more perverted than my warped mind, which I keep on a much shorter leash than I used to (I too am permeated by sin). Homosexuals are NOT sinners because they are homosexual. This IS what true Christians believe. They are sinners because they are human, like anyone of any sexual orientation. Unfortunately, their struggle is just made that much harder by virtue of this curse.
Seeking Zoe--
“When I went to nursing school, we were taught that a marriage and family were whatever the people involved in it said it was.”
What if someone said their threesome was a marriage? Or themself and their dog? What if someone wanted to marry their toaster? Are you in the habit of letting anyone redefine words that have been around for centuries?
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" Romans 6:1-2
"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Romans 6:12-16
Grace,
Who was that directed at?
Why is it your concern? Why do you think your opinion matters? And...it is just an opinion. You have no fact to back it up.
Ahh, yes. But He may be more sinless than you think He is. But I like the way you think..."a marriage and family were whatever the people involved in it said it was." Is that how you view it? Because that is not Biblical. It is a lack of accountability in a world full of lazy people.
Homosexuals #1 argument: (Let's see if I can get the whining sound correct) "But that's the way God made me."
They do not know God. They know nothing about Him. And it's really inane to blame someone you know nothing about. But let me put it simply enough that even the un-saved can understand it.
They way you were "created" and what God wants you to be are two completely different things.
I was "created" a lustful, pornography loving, fornicating, lying, angry drunk. It's a good thing I didn't stay that way. Because I know God. I know Him personally and deeply. And I know about His power to change people. But I guess I'm different from the rest, because I WANT to change. it didn't happen over night. It was a long and wearisome battle. It was/is a daily crucifying of my flesh. The Word of God says to offer up our bodies as a living sacrifice. The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps trying to crawl off the altar. Just do as I do...just keep throwing it back up there to be burned by the holy fire of God.
I get a kick out of articles that pertain to Gay marriage. They always put the word marriage in quotation marks...to inform us for the nth time; "they" ( whoever "they" may be) need to remind us yet again, that two homosexuals living together in happiness isn't a true or real "marriage" when a lot of heterosexuals are trapped in anything BUT a real "marriage" where love and respect and commitment prevail. When I went to nursing school, we were taught that a marriage and family were whatever the people involved in it said it was. If their explanation of marriage and family is good enough for the homosexuals involved in it, why isn't it good enough for the rest of us mortals? I say, let God sort it out. He might be more forgiving than we think...maybe?