Why I'm Still a Christian

[Lek]

That sounds like a fairly dismal appraisal of one's own inner demons to me, Lek. As much as the irony would tickle me, and as tempted as I'd be...it being you and all, afraid I simply couldn't. Can't speak for the dead, of course. Does it help you to imagine that others toil under the same lack of moral fortitude that you find in yourself?

Nothing to do with inner demons, just common sense. I'm doomed to eternal destruction with no way to get myself out of it. Jesus comes along and says that he'll forgive me, take care of the punishment for me and give me eternal life. It has nothing to do with moral fortitude, but rather with accepting forgiveness. If someone wrongs you and he comes to you asking for forgiveness, will you forgive him? If you do will you keep him indebted to you for the rest of his life or tell him to forget it? I'm so morally deranged to accept God's atonement for the sins I've committed!

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I think fraternities and sororities are a silly comparison. Marriage is an agreement between spouses enforced by the state. It isn't a club to which all married people belong. Whether other people are married does not affect your marriage.

This nation has changed what it means to be married progressively over time. It has never only applied to Christians as Jewish people and involuntarily imported Africans were here pretty early and marrying. Not to mention American Indians. Many states banned inter-racial marriage with the same vehemence you want to ban gay marriage. That too has changed. For a while Utah had polygamy (theoretically that's over now).

Originally the marriage law in this country could be summed up this way: man and his wife are one person before the law and that one person is the man. That has thankfully ended. Simply by giving spouses equal rights in a marriage, we changed the definition of marriage radically.

Okay. You folks have made some good arguments concerning what the institution of marriage is for people as a whole. Like I said in my original post on the thread, I believe we're all entitled to equal rights and protection under the law and that's what I want to see. I know the definition of marriage is going to be changed, so I guess I won't like it, but I still have to live with it. Like the Christ said, his kingdom is not of this world. We live in this world, but our kingdom is not of this world.