Bookworm wrote: Well, I've been thinking about why gay marriage should not be legal, and I understand you want me to explain it without using God or the Bible. Here goes. Gay marriage should not be legal because it is not marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Now I suppose you want me to explain marriage without using God or the Bible. I say, you people are never satisfied. Well, I'm not even going to try that one. For the majority of Americans, marriage is not just a civil union but it is also a religious rite. If marriage was just a social institution that has slowly evolved over time, then the terms and definition of marriage could change as well. But if marriage is an institution that was established by God, then God has the authority to establish the terms and definition. Here is a portion of the concluding paragraph of a magazine article I just finished reading. "God has a perspective on marriage that He clearly communicates in the Bible. Cultures may change, opinions may vary, but individuals who honestly research what God's Word teaches regarding marriage will come away with a clear understanding of God's ways. The real issue in today's culture does not center in understanding what God teaches about marriage. It centers in man's willingness to obey God's teachings." I understand that some people may not agree with my stand on the authority of the Bible. That's fine. But the fact that you disagree with me doesn't automatically mean that I am wrong. And asking me to explain my perspective on an issue without using God or the Bible is like me asking you to explain why stealing is wrong without using the words "infringe" and "individual" and "rights." From your perspective, you would need to use those words, and from my perspective, I would use the Bible.
First of all Bookworm, I appreciate your thoughtful effort.
Second, me using the words "infringe" and "individual" and "rights" is nothing like you using the words "God" or "the Bible" or "Sin." The reason I say this is because of the meanings behind those words. When I say "It infringes upon an individual's right to..." I am giving direct evidence of a "wrong" in that it causes harm or damage to another person or group of people by violating what we as a society have determined to be a basic set of undeniable human rights (i.e. life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, etc.). When you say "In the Bible God says it's a Sin to..." you are giving evidence of absolutely nothing except what it says in that book. It would be like me saying "Murder is wrong because it says it's illegal in our Minnesota Statutes and Codes." That fact has nothing to do with
WHY it's wrong, it simply points out the fact
THAT it's illegal. When you say, "Gay marriage is wrong because it says it's wrong in the Bible," you say nothing in respect to
WHY it's wrong, you're simply pointing out
THAT according to this book
it's incorrect. One approach actually addresses the question of
WHY, the other does not.
Finally, I think that article you read got you a little off topic of what exactly it is that we are talking about here.
Red wrote: Figured if they're legalizing pot and gays might as well keep this trend going!
Red wrote: Obviously smoking pot and being gay is worse, common. Obviously if you're hacking into the pentagon to launch missles it's a different story
Red wrote: Gaymess affects familes, so does pot.
Red wrote: And unless your entire family is gay, I'm sure if you turned gay or/and got addicted to drugs it would make a big impact on your family.
Red wrote: So legal or not hacking should not be something that affects anyone as much as drugs, gays, murder etc. Gays also tend to be sexual predators, though it's not always the case so I can't stereotype. Either way they're gross and I keep my distance.
I think "marriage" was just mentioned for the first time in this thread just now when you posted that argument to make it illegal. We aren't talking about gay marriage here, Bookworm. We're just talking about being gay and how it's much much worse than hacking into someone's personal computer. So again, as much as I do appreciate your honest and genuine attempt to justify outlawing gay marriage, perhaps you'd like to try again and address the real issue and not the one you happened to just finish reading an article about.
Archived topic from Anythingforums, old topic ID:1377, old post ID:18100American geographic knowledge never ceases to amuse me. I don't even think they have internet in the tundra. LOL. Temps there are about the same as winter here, but the problem is there's hardly any snow which probably explains the permafrost. The ground is frozen all year round instead of about half the year so it makes the possibility of any infrastructure very hard to impliment, but I suppose it's possible with proper equipment and at some point part of the ground slightly defrosts.
I guess insecure people just need to tear people down. Though I'm sure he'd have no problem joking about Texas being a desert... 
