Christians and Marriage.
This is my own translation, taking a few liberties, of a Spanish blog post that everyone has read either in its original location or as an anonymous e-mail atachment. The Spanish original is here.
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Since the modification of the laws that apply to marriage, and the Christian views on the issue, are controversial these days, I am going to explain my own opinion:
I am completely in favour of allowing Christians to get married.
I think that trying to prevent it is unjust and a mistake.
Christianity is not a disease. Christians, even though they are disliked or mistrusted by many, are normal people and should have the same rights as everyone else, as if they were, lets say, homosexuals or computer programmers.
I am aware of the fact that many traits in the behaviour of Christians, such as their attitudes towards sex, many seem strange to the rest of us. I know that sometimes, reasons of health policy could be argued against them: for example, their dangerous, delibarate rejection of contraceptives. I also know that some of their traditions, like the public exhibition of images of tortured people, may make some people feel uncomfortable.
But all this, besides being an image transmitted by the media rather than the reality, is not a reason to prevent their marriage.
Some could argue that Christian marriage is not real marriage, because to them, it is a ritual, and a covenant with their god, instead of a contract for the union of two people. Also, since sex outside marriage is condemned by Christianity, some could say that allowing Christians to marry would encourage marriages in order to avoid shame in their communities or simply because they wish to have sex (forbidden to them outside a marriage), increasing domestic violence and dysfunctional families. But we have to remember that this is not exclusive of Christian families and that, since we cannot know the thoughts of others, we should not judge their intimate motivations.
On the other hand, to say that their unions are not true marriage and that therefore they should be given some other name is just a mean, petty technique to lead the debate towards semantic questions that are beside the point. Even among Christians, marriage is marriage and a family is a family.
And with this I will go on to another very controversial subject that I hope does not seem too radical: I am also in favour of allowing Christians to adopt children.
Some people might be outraged by my affirmation. A few are likely to reply, Christians adopting!? Those kids could become Christians!?
I see that type of criticism and my answer is: even though the children of Christians have a much higher likelihood of becoming Christians also (contrary to what happens to the children of homosexuals or computer programmers), I have already made clear that I believe Christians to be human beings like everybody else.
Despite the opinions of some and the hints that we have, there is no conclusive evidence that Christian parents are less well equipped to raise a child, or that the religiously biased atmosphere of a Christian home is a negative influence of a child. Besides, adoption offices judge each case individually so it should be up to these to determine whether a pair of parents is the right one or not.
In short, in spite of what some people think, I believe that Christians should have the right to get married and to adopt children. Just like homosexuals, or computer programmers.
***
Since the modification of the laws that apply to marriage, and the Christian views on the issue, are controversial these days, I am going to explain my own opinion:
I am completely in favour of allowing Christians to get married.
I think that trying to prevent it is unjust and a mistake.
Christianity is not a disease. Christians, even though they are disliked or mistrusted by many, are normal people and should have the same rights as everyone else, as if they were, lets say, homosexuals or computer programmers.
I am aware of the fact that many traits in the behaviour of Christians, such as their attitudes towards sex, many seem strange to the rest of us. I know that sometimes, reasons of health policy could be argued against them: for example, their dangerous, delibarate rejection of contraceptives. I also know that some of their traditions, like the public exhibition of images of tortured people, may make some people feel uncomfortable.
But all this, besides being an image transmitted by the media rather than the reality, is not a reason to prevent their marriage.
Some could argue that Christian marriage is not real marriage, because to them, it is a ritual, and a covenant with their god, instead of a contract for the union of two people. Also, since sex outside marriage is condemned by Christianity, some could say that allowing Christians to marry would encourage marriages in order to avoid shame in their communities or simply because they wish to have sex (forbidden to them outside a marriage), increasing domestic violence and dysfunctional families. But we have to remember that this is not exclusive of Christian families and that, since we cannot know the thoughts of others, we should not judge their intimate motivations.
On the other hand, to say that their unions are not true marriage and that therefore they should be given some other name is just a mean, petty technique to lead the debate towards semantic questions that are beside the point. Even among Christians, marriage is marriage and a family is a family.
And with this I will go on to another very controversial subject that I hope does not seem too radical: I am also in favour of allowing Christians to adopt children.
Some people might be outraged by my affirmation. A few are likely to reply, Christians adopting!? Those kids could become Christians!?
I see that type of criticism and my answer is: even though the children of Christians have a much higher likelihood of becoming Christians also (contrary to what happens to the children of homosexuals or computer programmers), I have already made clear that I believe Christians to be human beings like everybody else.
Despite the opinions of some and the hints that we have, there is no conclusive evidence that Christian parents are less well equipped to raise a child, or that the religiously biased atmosphere of a Christian home is a negative influence of a child. Besides, adoption offices judge each case individually so it should be up to these to determine whether a pair of parents is the right one or not.
In short, in spite of what some people think, I believe that Christians should have the right to get married and to adopt children. Just like homosexuals, or computer programmers.
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