“Test everything”
(1 Thessalonians 5:19)
Just this morning over coffee, an atheist friend of mine asked
me what I thought about the new pope. He
volunteered his concern that Pope Francis was continuing the same outmoded
position of his predecessors that homosexual marriage is wrong. And he suggested that the old line of
thinking of the Catholic Church actually runs in the opposite direction of the
new wave of thinking that is building and gaining momentum. I replied that movements are not necessarily driven
by legitimate, serious reflection, and that in this case in particular, there
is very little thinking at all! The
letter that appears below exposes the double-standard that is so prevalent in
our time where, in contrast to their diligent research in other matters, many
of the social movers in our society fail to consider the potential
ramifications that follow from redefining marriage. Indeed,
I fear they don’t even know what the questions are. But I will now let my letter to the editor of
the “Everett Herald” speak for itself.
This entire matter is heightened most recently by both Ohio Senator Rob
Portman’s reversal of opinion on this matter, and Hillary Clinton’s outspoken support
for homosexual marriage.
Dear Editor,
As I write this letter I am hearing news of a highway
project being halted because of the discovery of an insect! Examples of caution abound in the
construction world whenever projects are proposed, all with the question
whether they might disrupt the natural order.
That is as it should be. But when
it comes to redefining marriage no such caution exists at all. The pro-homosexual marriage column on the
front page of the Opinion section of Sunday’s Herald failed to address even one
potential damaging consequence of redefining marriage. Tragically this same failure to address
consequences is repeated across the entire movement, including editorial writers and politicians. Homosexuals have the
right to live as they choose.
Accommodating visitation privileges for loved ones is a reasonable
request that society can work to achieve.
But the utter lack of reflection, and the judgment of politicians that
the overthrow of traditional marriage is the only way to achieve that goal,
must all be judged as gross incompetence.
Drop the nonsensical straw-man
assertion that redefining marriage has no impact on existing married
couples. No straight person argues
otherwise. The harm goes to children
and young people in need of a time-tested vision of what it means to one day
marry and have a family. The harm also
extends to parents who struggle to instill this vision. Government must not stand in their way, most
especially with the kinds of leaders that are intent on blindly pushing their
agenda ahead with no foresight at all.
Rev. Gary Jensen (Zion Lutheran Church, Snohomish, WA)
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