Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Wed May 22, 2013 4:30 pm  

Dally wrote:

So you appear know what I think now!?

I doubt that anyone in this forum has posted quite as much about this topic as you have … and your views have become very obvious.
Do you deny what I said?

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 7:58 am  

El Barbudo wrote:

I doubt that anyone in this forum has posted quite as much about this topic as you have … and your views have become very obvious.
Do you deny what I said?

Well?
Do you ?

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 8:29 am  

I have no dramas with gay people wanting the same rights as hetrosexual people.

Civil partnerships = good thing.

What I don't understand is why people are now trying to change the definition of marriage.

Correct me if I am wrong, but marriage is an age-old religious institution, which has (in Western society) meant one man and one woman.

If you have sausages and mash potato you can call it bangers and mash. If you replace the sausages with fish fingers you no longer have bangers and mash. You have fish fingers and mash.

Why do people want to change the definition of marriage? What (if any) extra rights are afforded in a marriage over a civil partnership?

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 8:40 am  

The Video Ref wrote:

Correct me if I am wrong, but marriage is an age-old religious institution, which has (in Western society) meant one man and one woman.

You are wrong. Religion doesn't hold the rights to the word or the concept of marriage, and even a cursory reading of the Bible would show the whole 'one man one woman' thing to be nonsense.

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 8:44 am  

Rock God X wrote: You are wrong. Religion doesn't hold the rights to the word or the concept of marriage, and even a cursory reading of the Bible would show the whole 'one man one woman' thing to be nonsense. Untrue. Jesus was big on faithfulness. See his chat with the woman at the well. He also spoke of the church being the bride, so the concept of marriage was there from the outset. Here is a very useful summary of the history of marriage.

Rock God X wrote: You are wrong. Religion doesn't hold the rights to the word or the concept of marriage, and even a cursory reading of the Bible would show the whole 'one man one woman' thing to be nonsense. Untrue. Jesus was big on faithfulness. See his chat with the woman at the well. He also spoke of the church being the bride, so the concept of marriage was there from the outset. Here is a very useful summary of the history of marriage.

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 8:51 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

Untrue. Jesus was big on faithfulness. See his chat with the woman at the well. He also spoke of the church being the bride, so the concept of marriage was there from the outset.

Ignoring the Old Testament, are we? Regardless of Jesus' views on marriage, there are plenty of examples in the Bible where marriage takes place other than between one man and one woman.

The Bible aside, modern man has been around for a couple of hundred thousand years. There were plenty of marriages before Yahweh was even invented, yet Christians seem to think they own the word.

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 8:52 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

Untrue. Jesus was big on faithfulness. See his chat with the woman at the well. He also spoke of the church being the bride, so the concept of marriage was there from the outset.

Mankind and variations of marriage existed long before 0 AD, so Christianity has no patent on it and has no right to define it for everyone else.
Also, faithfulness is not gender-specific.

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 9:21 am  

Rock God X wrote:

Ignoring the Old Testament, are we? Regardless of Jesus' views on marriage, there are plenty of examples in the Bible where marriage takes place other than between one man and one woman.

The Old Testament refers to the time before Jesus. Without Jesus there is no Christianity. Jesus initiated a change in emphasis where relationships were concerned and not just romantic relationships. However, it has been some while since Jews were involved in polygamy either.

The Bible aside, modern man has been around for a couple of hundred thousand years. There were plenty of marriages before Yahweh was even invented, yet Christians seem to think they own the word.

Christians do own the word, as it has been understood for centuries in this country, because it was the Christian church which devised the modern marriage construct. I don't see what the big problem is with that. It is just part of this country's heritage.

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 9:34 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

The Old Testament refers to the time before Jesus. Without Jesus there is no Christianity. Jesus initiated a change in emphasis where relationships were concerned and not just romantic relationships. However, it has been some while since Jews were involved in polygamy either.

Oh, you see, I was under the impression that The Bible was supposed to be the 'word of God'. Are you telling me that it's not? Or was God wrong to condone the marriages that didn't consist of one man and one woman? This is a typical attitude where Christians are concerned - take the bits of The Bible that suit your agenda and ignore the rest.

SaintsFan wrote:

Christians do own the word, as it has been understood for centuries in this country, because it was the Christian church which devised the modern marriage construct. I don't see what the big problem is with that. It is just part of this country's heritage.

Christians most assuredly do not own the word. Marriage was around long before the invention of the Christian religion, and is a feature of many other religions besides Christianity. Hijacking a word/concept and attempting to define it for everyone does not give you ownership of that word/concept.

Re: Referendum on gay marriage? : Thu May 23, 2013 9:41 am  

Either way, marriage has been around for a long time and was largely accepted to mean the union of a man and a woman,

Rock God X wrote:

Hijacking a word/concept and attempting to define it for everyone.

Seems to be exactly what is happening at the moment. People are attempting to redefine marriage.