In not understanding why churches are anti gay marriage?

[BlingLoving]

I don't agree with, but do understand, why churches will refuse to sanctify gay marriage. The Church ultimately decides what's right for its individual practitioners.

But I don't understand why they feel gay marriage must not happen full stop and why it supposedly undermines heterosexual marriage? The catholic church does not agree with pre-marital sex but it isn't out there trying to stop the rest of us.

I genuinely would like to understand why some religious groups think same sex marriage harms their heterosexual relationships. If simply makes no sense to me.

YABU. The church (catholic especially) believes that homosexuality is a sin. So of course they can't support gay marriage.

The fact that they are wrong is irrelevant.

I have the right to protest against things I am against. It is only fair that thd church has the same rights.

Don't you know that gay people have gay babies? The pope and the arch bish of Canterbury are saving the world from fine furnishings!

Because if one thing is sacred, another similar but to you completely wrong thing can't be held up as the same, can it?

But they don't campaign against pre-marital sex?

But really, that's not my question - I get why they don't like it. I just don't get the "undermines heterosexual marriage."

Because they are still foolish enough to believe, or powerful enough to twist, the words of a book that was written hundreds of years ago.

Religion is a comfort tool for the frightened. And is a control tool for the masses.

Because if you believe marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman, then allowing a man to get married to another man inevitably undermines that. So, for example, if we started allowing people to marry their siblings or to marry animals, most people would feel that that undermined the institution of marriage as a whole. It would be saying, "your marriage, as a woman, to a man, has no more value than a marriage between a man and a cat." That's how the churches, as I understand it, feel about gay marriage.

Very good question, Bling. What business is it of the Catholic church to dictate the rules for civil marriage? And what on earth makes them think they have any right at all to talk about morality, especially sexual morality, when their church is responsible for abusing thousands of children across the world, hiding and enabling paedophiles, threatening and silencing the victims? And when they are still protecting paedophiles and enabling them to escape justice?

The Catholic hierarchy claims to act in the name of Jesus, yet clearly none of the bastards actually believe a word He said. Particularly not the bits about harming a child being one of the most wicked things one can do, and one of the worst crimes against God.

They obviously feel that they can do more about a potential change in the existing law, than creating a new one to ban pre-marital sex. And a law against premarital sex would go nowhere anyway.

Hackmum, no-one's asking the Catholic church to 'allow' civil marriage. Civil marriage already exists and is none of their damn business. They don't have the right to allow or disallow it.

edam: "They don't have the right to allow or disallow it."

I didn't say they did. But they still have the right to have an opinion on it.

Everyone has the right to an opinion on it, whether we like those opinions or not.

Don't you know that gay people have gay babies? The pope and the arch bish of Canterbury are saving the world from fine furnishings!

This always makes me smile, just think all the parents of gay children must really be gay as well. Better start praying for my lesbian friend who have children with a gay friend, this the beginning of the end of the world.

When did the OP specifically bash the catholic church on this subject?!

Anyway, If they were to stop shouting about how wrong it was then it would be "normal" and we'd all turn gay, of course.
It's not just Christians that are anti homosexual either, many religions are. Some humanists are.
The ancient Greeks believed love between two men was the most divine and pure though.

As I understand it, the church is tying itself in knots about this because of the marriage ceremony being a sacrament of the church - so somehow, (& this is the bit I don't really get) this means they feel they also have dibs on civil marriage & the right to interfere in that too.

The sooner church & state are separated in the UK, so that the church can have influence over nothing but itself, the better, in my view. Of course presumably they would continue to block gay Christians who wanted to get married in church, but at least liberal leaning church groups like Unitarians and Quakers are already hosting civil partnership ceremonies, so that's something positive.

"so somehow, (& this is the bit I don't really get) this means they feel they also have dibs on civil marriage & the right to interfere in that too."

I think if the churches were being completely consistent, they shouldn't really approve of a civil marriage between a man and a woman, as the marriage hasn't taken place in the sight of God.

I don't think I could support marriages between siblings but do know it wouldn't undermine my marriage. And that's what I don't understand. How does what other people do affect the credibility of my life?

It doesn't. Because you are a reasonable person with a firm grip of your own life!

It is funny with how much heterosexual people disrespect the sanctity of marriage- divorce, adultery, DV, etc- religious people still seem to think that gay people will undermine the concept of marriage :)

Good point, amy.

I think Christians pick and choose the bits of the Bible that justify their views, rather than their views being based purely on its teachings/message/rules.

I would expect that most people who live by strict (antiquated) rules do the same.

Yabu In the bible a marriage is between a man and woman, Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve, you cannot change the bible like you cannt change any other religious texts such as the Koran and Torah. That is the way it is in the church, synagogue and Mosque

www.gaymormon.com/theology/scripture/thebible/hypocrisy.htm makes for some interesting reading.

Ultimately the church esecially the catholic church believe to be truely married is on the eyes of god in a religious setting

YANBU. There are many Christians who have no problem at all with gay marriage and find there is no conflict between this and their faith. Unfortunately the church has yet to catch up.

Adam and Eve weren't married....