Adam Behnke BITH 111 Mr.

Shin September, 15 2008 Through the Christian Lens In his op-ed entitled The Power of Marriage, David Brooks states, We shouldn't just allow gay marriage. We should insist on gay marriage. He feels it is our moral obligation to free people from contigency, and therefore we are in the wrong because marriage is free to everyone besides the homosexual community. In examining Brooks article closer, his argument and evidence become less convincing, even from a non-Christian viewpoint. He talks about how marriage makes us better than we deserve to be, and how each person deepens the others life. After this, he talks about the state of marriage today, which consists of half of all marriages ending in divorce, and many relationships (even with children involved) never entering into marriage. These facts somehow lead into how we, as Americans, should insist on homosexuals getting married. Even though divorce rates are sky high and the homosexual community carries the stigma of being uncommitted to just one partner, Mr. Brooks tells us we should insist on gay marriage. He calls marriage a powerful and enobling institution in the paragraphs specifically focused on homosexual marriage, while earlier he points out the high divorce rate. This contradiction weakens his argument. To incorporate a Christian worldview into this debate, I would like to first look at whether the homosexual nature should be looked at as sinful or as natural. Christians should look to find answers to all questions in the scriptures. It explicitly states in three verses

(Leviticus 20:13, Leviticus 18:22, and Romans 1:27) that God disapproves of homosexual actions. He views as detestable relations where a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman. In Romans, Paul tells of men turning away from natural relations with women to be with other men, and how this is a perversion. For a Christian, this should end the debate. If God detests homosexual actions, than, consequently it would be wrong for a Christian to approve or support homosexual marriage. It should be noted that in the course of discussion on this topic, Christians should interact with everyone, including homosexuals, in a loving a caring way. God calls all Christians to love everyone, no matter what. Some Christians, for some reason, hate homosexuals. They turn them away from their churches, treat them rudely, and therefore do not display the redeeming and forgiving love of God. There is nothing in scripture that can justify their actions. The fact that homosexual marriage is even being discussed is a sorry reminder of how fallen our world is. However, this reminder should be an incentive for all Christians to participate in discussions on the topic, using Gods Word to lovingly disapprove of homosexual marriage.