http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=1653
Faithfulness in Homosexual Marriages
| by | Dave Miller, Ph.D. |
The first same-sex couple to receive a legal marriage license in U.S. history two years ago (2004) now have terminated their “marriage” (Bone, 2006). The lesbian couple acted as plaintiffs in the 2003 case that led to the Massachusetts State Supreme Court legalizing same-sex “marriage” (Abraham and Paulson, 2004). While the legitimacy of same-sex marriage may not be called into question strictly on the basis of this couple’s actions, it surely is suggestive of the larger picture.
In his book Outrage: How Gay Activists and Liberal Judges are Trashing Democracy to Redefine Marriage, Peter Sprigg argues that homosexuals are less likely than heterosexuals to enter into long-term relationships, less likely to be sexually faithful, and less likely to stay together for a lifetime (“Books and...,” 2006). In the recent ruling by the Washington State Supreme Court which repudiated same-sex marriage, Justice James Johnson noted: “Direct comparisons between opposite-sex homes and same-sex homes further support the former as a better environment for children. For example, studies show an average shorter term commitment and more sexual partners for same-sex couples” (Andersen v...). That explains why less than half the homosexual couples in Massachusetts have bothered to “marry” even though they now have been granted the legal right to do so (Perkins, 2006). Nevertheless, normalizing sexually deviant behavior will inevitably alter how people conceptualize marriage itself. Legalizing illicit sexual activity cannot help but undermine the foundations of the marriage institution, which is characterized by and dependent on commitment, sexual fidelity, and dedication to permanence.
The Designer of marriage has indicated that one man for one woman for life is the very essence, nature, and character of marriage (Genesis 1:27; 2:24). Any other arrangement is “against nature” and the result of a “debased mind” (Romans 1:26,28). Those who engage in same-sex relations have been given up “to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves” (Romans 1:24).
REFERENCES
Abraham, Yvonne and Michael Paulson (2004), “First Gays Marry; Many Seek Licenses,” The Boston Globe, May 18, [On-line], URL: http://www.boston.com/news/ local/articles/2004/05/18/wedding_day/.
Andersen v. King County, Nos. 75934-1, 75956-1 (Wash. July 26, 2006), [On-line], URL: http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/pdf/759341co2.pdf.
Bone, James (2006), “First U.S. Gay Couple to Marry Have Broken Up,” The Times, July 22, [On-line], URL: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2280221,00.html.
“Books and Booklets” (2006), Family Research Council, July 22, [On-line], URL: http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=BK04H01&f=WA06G20.
Perkins, Tony (2006), “Plaintiffs in Landmark ‘Marriage’ Case Split Up,” Family Research Council: Washington Update, July 21, [On-line], URL: http://www.frc.org/ get.cfm?i=WU06G13.