When God is Removed From the Picture

For any readers who may not be aware, Australia will soon be undertaking a postal vote to determine whether same-sex marriage will be legalised.

This post is for Christians (like myself) who oppose any change to the Marriage Act.

It's tempting to think that if we could just come up with the right argument, we can persuade those who plan to vote yes. But any argument you come up with will just be rebutted.

You can argue that children will be affected, you can cite examples of children raised by gay couples who resent their upbringing. They will just provide examples of happy, well-adjusted (and heterosexual) children who have had two mums or two dads.

You can argue that Christians and other religions will be persecuted for their faith. They will argue that the gay community has been persecuted for a long time.

You can argue that many other cultures agree that marriage is between a man and a woman. They will argue that other cultures also have polygamy and that John Howard changed the Marriage Act.

You can argue that God created marriage when he created Adam and Eve. They will argue that God doesn't exist.

That there is the key point.

Those in favour of same-sex marriage argue that marriage is a human right, that the debate is about equality. Instead of arguing, ask them questions.

What is a human right?
Why should those things be human rights?
Where do your beliefs about justice, fairness etc. come from?
Why do you believe there is a right and wrong?
Why do you think your beliefs are right and mine are wrong?

Many people will say there's no God, but are adamant that there is good and evil, right and wrong. If there is no God then we're just blobs of matter.

The most important thing for Christians to remember is that we cannot expect non-Christians to agree with God's view and purpose for marriage. They cannot see, they are spiritually blinded. I remember when I first became a Christian, a good friend admitted that she'd been frustrated for so long, because I had so many Christian friends and I couldn't see what (or who) they were all about. I just replied, "I couldn't see, I was blind."

I didn't see because of witty, clever arguments. I came to see because God opened my eyes.

By all means, keep standing up for marriage to be protected. But don't forget to pray.