Seasons

I just mean they're so weird that any message must be alien.

What? How can something called "Reality TV" be weird???

Prof: that would be totally doable, it'd just fit in the multi-part plugins section

The Marriage Discussion continues here!

Christianity did not invent marriage. The earliest evidence dates marriage back to roughly 2350 B.C. And if Patricia's information is correct, this modern definition of marriage and its connection to religion is a relatively new one.

Shady: If you're religious and think that marriage is a holy sacrament that's only meant to be between a man and a woman, you're always free to have the opinion that other kinds of marriage are invalid in the eyes of God.

Just me, I think both sides of this debate are taking the wrong approach. Instead of debating which marraiges the government should recognize, why bother recognizing any of them?

There's all kinds of legal means out there regarding child support, estate planning, property disputes when common-law couples split up, there's really no need for some official marraige to be on some government records. Just have everyone file their taxes individually (marriage is not a requirement to claim dependents anyway), maybe define some basic rules for property division when long-term relationships end, and the only people who should see any downside out of this would be divorce lawyers.

As it stands, two people can be called commonlaw spouses if they live together for a certain amount of time. If the legal definition of "marriage" were to change, then the church would be forced to wed same-sex couples in holy matrimony, due to pressure from outside sources as well as other things i can't think of right now because i'm sick

I hope no one's taking this personally

You mentioned it was for purposes of procreation, Shady. What if they're too old, sterile, or just don't want to have children? Why do they have to have children at all?

... And surely no one could compel the church to perform a ceremony it didn't endorse. That's silly.

Just curious...out of the people who think gay marriage should be legal, how many of you are religious? How do you reconcile your religious beliefs with your advocation of gay marriage, if these beliefs conflict? I'm sure ALL people who want gay marriage legalized can't be atheists or non-Christians, so it's obvious that SOME people have managed to make their beliefs compatible. In which case, it might not be as big an argument as most people think.

I personally believe in God, although most people wouldn't consider me religious because I don't go to church. (Organized religion sucks IMO, since there's no way millions of ppl can believe exactly the same thing.) I also believe that marriage isn't particularly sacred. If marriage was sacred, that means wife-beaters are sacred, and I can't abide the thought of that. And what about people of different religions who marry and coexist peacefully regardless of what their churches say? I think in a lot of cases, religion mainly serves to tell you who you can't marry. "Oh she's not Jewish, you can't marry her!"

I myself have a gay relative, and I believe gay marrige should be legal. I myself am not a religious person, and never have been. I see religion as a way of people coping with the bigger picture, something to believe in for reassurance, as the science theory is a bit too big to comprehend really.
If our religions were as true and righteous as they are made out to be, surely they would respect a persons feelings and emotions. What kind of religion would strike someone down for standing for what they believe?

I think you are right about religion serving to tell us who we can and cant marry. To be honest, I think it is wrong for a religion to dictate who we can become partners with.
Wouldent we have such a more peaceful world without religion? No beliefs to conflict about.

Just my 2pence worth.

*sings*

Imagine all the people...