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Re: Same-sex Marriage & Amendments
A Letter to
Newspaper Editor
By
Pastor Glenn Guest
On Friday, March 12 , 2004, a letter in
the "Opinion" section of a local newspaper opposed amending the
United States Constitution in order to limit marriages to those which
are between one man and one woman.
The first argument the writer makes against amending the Constitution
to prohibit "same sex marriages" is, "Since our Bill of Rights was
adopted in 1791, the U. S. Constitution has been amended only 17
times." This implies that amending the Constitution is an endeavor
rarely undertaken. With the use of a little basic math we find that
the Constituion has been amended, on average, once every twelve
years.
However, another error in the letter can only be perceived to be due
to ignorance, or a deliberate attempt to mislead the casual reader.
The letter states " Each time it was amended, it was done to expand
rights, not restrict them". The facts are that at least three of the
twenty-seven amendments restricted freedom, and in no conceivable way
expanded rights .
These three are :
The sixteenth amendment, which grants the Federal Government the
power to directly tax income, allows for confiscation of our
property, and its' subsequent redistribution. This " Robin Hood "
philosophy is taken directly from the Communist Manifesto. No other
act in our nation's history has done such harm to the cause of
freedom.
The eighteenth amendment prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or
transportation " of "intoxicating liquors" within the United States
or it's territories. This amendment was later repealed by the
twenty-first amendment.
The twenty-second amendment which prohibits the people of the United
States from electing the presidential candidate of their choice to a
third term.
In light of the amendments to the Constitution that have already been
adopted, any argument that amendments have only been adopted " to
expand rights, not to restrict them " is invalid.
The next, and more profound error found in the letter is the
statement, "Marriage is a constantly evolving social institution".
Marriage did not originate from views or opinions held by society,
nor did marriage begin when governments passed laws concerning
marriage. Marriage originated with, and is established by our Creator
[ see Genesis chapter 2 ].
Since marriage is an institution established by God, only God can
define what a marriage is, or is not.
The Word of God clearly defines marriage as a union of one man and
one woman, which can only be dissolved only by death, or in the case
of adultery, by divorce [see Matthew chapter 19]. Any other union,
even if it is accepted by society, or made legal by government, can
never be marriage because it is contrary to God's requirements for
marriage.
The issuance of a license and participation in a ceremony does not
create a marriage. The issuance of a divorce decree does not grant a
divorce, unless it is in agreement with God's requirements.
The control of marriage by government through the issuance of
licenses and the passage of laws which establishes it's requirements,
in the place of God's requirements for marriage and divorce, has
brought to our nation both confusion and harm.
No doubt some believe that applying our Creator's requirements to
marriage would be a violation of the separation of Church and State,
but in fact the government has intruded into matters of the Church by
presuming to define and regulate marriage. Marriage is an holy union,
between one man and one woman, sanctified by our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, and pre-dates any earthly kingdom or government.
Therefore, any definitions or laws concerning marriage that are
contrary to God's requirements, are invalid, and there is a Judge who
will hold us all accountable.
Pastor Glenn Guest
6924 Highway 172
Comer , GA 30629
Telephone 706-783-5942
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