Gay Marriage and Pinterest

I'm tired.

I'm tired of hearing about gay marriage.  I'm tired of thinking about gay marriage.  I'm tired of hostility toward those opposed to gay marriage.  I'm tired of  all the pointlessly silly pins on Pinterest making light of an important issue.  They try to use sarcasm and humor to paint a picture of those opposed to gay marriage as unfounded and ridiculous.  They undermine the intelligence on BOTH sides of the issue.  They make real conversation almost impossible.

I present this image as Exhibit A.  All I can say is, really?  Come on now.  Does ANYONE who is opposed to gay marriage think that a World War will break out, plagues will come, and terrorists will win?  No.

I am opposed to gay marriage.  It is not because I think gay marriage will lead to greater terrorism or some other kind of global disaster.  It's because I know that gay marriage is destructive to the natural design of sexual unity and family.  I'm not opposed to it because I want to prevent the collapse of society.  I'm opposed to it because I want to prevent the further collapse of the family.

Exhibit B.  This one is slightly less annoying because it at least raises an intelligent point: that there are a whole host of things in today's society that are damaging to the Institution of Marriage.  Porn.  Divorce.  Insanely short lived marriages.  Affairs.  They are all destructive to the Institution of Marriage.  In fact, they make the legal union of marriage a joke.  It bears almost no significance.

These things are destructive because they violate the life-long, committed, free, and total purpose of sexual unity.  Guess what.  So does gay marriage.

I don't want to get into an argument about which one on this list is worse.  The truth of the matter is that they are all wrong.  They are all destructive.  I'm no more in favor of porn, divorce, or affairs than I am of gay marriage.  This pin assumes that I don't care about those things.  I do.  But you wouldn't know that now would you, because you (Mr. Pinner that I do not know) didn't bother to ask.

Exhibit C.  "Claiming that someone else's marriage is against your religion is like being angry at someone for eating a doughnut because you're on a diet."  This isn't even a logically sound claim.  It doesn't use the same terms in its articulation.  I guess maybe the creator of this one knew that saying, "Claiming that someone else's marriage is against your religion is like claiming someone eating a doughnut while you are on a diet is against your religion" makes absolutely no sense.

Furthermore, while gay marriage is against my religion, that's not something I throw around with no cause.  It isn't an arbitrary claim that I put out there for dramatic flare.  It's the truth.  In the 2,000 year old unchanging doctrine of my faith, there is not room for gay marriage.  It was against my religion 2,000 years ago.  It will still be against my religion in 200,000 years.  It has nothing to do with your love for doughnuts and everything to do with an understanding of Truth.

Exhibit D.  Yes, because the people we spend the most time with are the deciding factor in how much like Jesus we are. 

Jesus loved unconditionally.  He loved the prostitute, the pharisees, the adulterous woman, His sinless virgin Mother, and the murders who died next to Him on Calvary.  He loves me.  He loves you.  And we are most like Him when we empty ourselves and love each other.  And, by the way, I do love you - no matter who you spend your time with.  I want all of the best things for you no matter how many annoying and fruitless little pins you have.

15 Years of Wedded Bliss

I'll keep waiting. Besides, I have still have a lot to surrender and learn.

Jon and Kate Plus 8

I don't watch the show often. When I do, it seems like I'm caught in a marathon event. Family life always has a certain level of captivating power over me. Tonight I watched the season premiere. I thought is was absolutely tragic. I came VERY close to turning off. I found it completely devastating to watch Jon and Kate's marriage fall apart before my eyes. I cannot imagine having to live what they are currently going through. I do NOT want to make judgments. I do NOT want to criticize. Jon and Kate are merely the stimulus for this train of thought I'm riding on; what follows here is in no way meant to be an analysis of their lives. I think that divorce is one of the most heart-breaking realities of our times. I cannot imagine having a marriage entered into with such hope, joy, dreams, and deep love fall apart. I cannot imagine the pain that must be involved when one looks back, as his marriage falls apart around him, on something that was entered into with such promise. A lot of times I have heard attempts to justify divorce with the claim that it will be better for the children. Somehow people think that if they end their marriage but remain friends, their kids will learn that they are important and loved. Perhaps the kids will learn that. However, I cannot agree with a claim that says that that situation (involving the destruction of the very foundation of society) is better than doing everything to fight for a marriage. I am not married. Nor am I close to it. I know that marriage is significantly harder than I could ever pretend to know it to be. However, I also know that self-giving love is the answer to the difficultly. It doesn't eliminate the difficultly, but it does provide a constant direction. It enables an individual to know at least the first step to solving marital problems: by dying to yourself. I think that it all begins with finding fulfillment in Christ and in learning not to seek fulfillment in your spouse. What the world is desperately crying out to understand is that no human can give you everything you need. That is not how we were created. We were created for a supernatural end, and it is only in the supernatural (only in God) that we can find satisfaction.