Politicians, can we please get over the lie that once we “legitimise” gay marriage then society as we know it will end?
Traditional Christian teaching (and, indeed, many religious perspectives) argues that homosexual sex is a sin and that, by extension, homosexuality is effectively ‘wrong’. Andrew Tiedt is one such believer. However, unlike many Christians speaking publicly on the issue, Tiedt has no objection to gay marriage being legalised. His argument is a common sense, but nonetheless refreshing, one: what people do in their lives is entirely their business. After all, many things that religions regard as ‘sinful’ are perfectly legal.
Tiedt goes on to dispel the typical refrain that marriage is an ‘institution’ to promote families, and that gays and lesbian shouldn’t be parents - that somehow, being exposed to homosexual relationships is intrisincally bad for children — or, at the very least, inferior to having both a mum and a dad. But this is pure bunkum. The link between marriage and child-rearing is a tenuous one: many married couples (whether by choice or medical condition) don’t have kids, while plenty of unmarried couples do. And, of course, there are plenty of happy, well-adjusted kids living in single parent households.
Regular readers of this blog (and my Twitter feed) would know I can be highly critical of organised religion. But I have no truck with religious people in general. Andrew Tiedt’s commentary today is a great example of why. While church leaders may seek to impose their values on the world around them, plenty in their congregations don’t. God, if he exists, gave us all free will. People should be allowed to exercise it.
