Landmark gay marriage trial starts today in California

You keepo saying all of these things about Marriage as they relate to your religion.Even if we assume that your god has decreed that homosexuals cannot marry, why should I care? Why should your religious law affect me, a nonbeliever? Why should the law incorporate your religious beliefs?It sounds like you want the Christian version of Sharia Law. If you agree that forcing Muslim religious law onto non-Muslims (or even Muslims who have different beliefs) is wrong, then you must also believe that forcing your brand of Christian law onto non-Christians (or Christians with different beliefs) is also wrong.The COnstitution assures the freedom of religion and bars the establishment of a state religion...which includes Christianity. The State cannot decide who can marry and who cannot based on any religious view.And all that's been "forced" is that the State issue marriage licenses. You can still call them whatever you want. You can still refuse to participate in the ceremony. You can still call it a sin.You just can't legally block them from getting the same piece of paper granting the same Government recognized (as differentiated from Church recognized) rights, privileges, and responsibilities that are given to heterosexual couples.Hate speech is still not illegal in the US. As long as you don't make homophobic slurs while committing an illegal act (making it obvious that you committed the illegal act because of the sexual orientation of your victims), you won;t go to jail in the US. So if you beat up a gay man while spouting homophobic slurs, yes, you'll be charged with a hate crime because it will be obvious that you beat him for being gay. But if you stand up in your church or your home or even on the street and just say the homophobic slurs and tell them they're going to hell or whatever (you can use the Westboro Baptists as an example here, you all seem to agree), you'll be fine. You'll call people names, other people will call you a bigot, and nobody will go to jail. That's the Freedom of Speech.

You're going to have to provide chapter and verse for that one, jar, God never commanded polygamy, and never told Hagar to return to Abraham. And Hagar had taunted Sara for being infertile, let's get our facts straight here.

I say these things about marriage as they relate to my religion in answer to others who brought up the subject. I didn't bring it up.Christian law WAS the law of the US and the UK and many European countries, and still is to some extent; funny there's now a question about "imposing" it on anybody. All your freedoms derive from it. Not going to be the case when Sharia kicks in.Yes, we're no longer a Christian country, we're pagan as all get out and soon to self-destruct for it. Enjoy.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

Christian law was never the law of this country. It may have been the law of some considerably smaller groups prior to the formation of this country, but it was never a part of the law under the Constitution which formed this country. Really? So you believe woman's suffrage derives from Christianity? Clearly not. It's also clear that slavery is completely compatible with Christianity as well. So, no, there might be a couple of freedoms that don't derive from Christianity.

Marriage has nothing to do with making babies. On top of that, homosexual couples are raising children together as we speak.

No one is redefining marriage for the whole of society. If a couple says that they are married then all we are asking is that the state accept their claim and treat them the same as other couples who claim the same. It is society defining marriage for itself. It is couples deciding for themselves if they want to be married or not.If you want, you can personally decide that they are not married. That's fine. No one is trying to force you to accept them as being married.

That's hilarious given that the First Amendment tells everyone that they are free to ignore the First Commandment.

All your ignorance does too.- Oni

You really haven't read the Bible have you?Genesis 16:

quote:

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6 Your slave is in your hands, Abram said. Do with her whatever you think best. Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.

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7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?

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I’m running away from my mistress Sarai, she answered.

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9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, Go back to your mistress and submit to her. 10 The angel added, I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.

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11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:

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You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward\[b\] all his brothers.

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13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: You are the God who sees me, for she said, I have now seen[c] the One who sees me. 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi[d]; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

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15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

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And traditional marriage, even in the Bible, was a secular business contract.Edited by jar, : fix quote box

Where did Christ do this exactly?And what about the tradition of rape? There are clear commandments from god for rape and genocide victims to marry their attackers.Please Faith, help defend the traditional Biblical views on marriage. God commanded it this way so it must be moral.This society has slid so far into corruption that we actually allow rape victims back into the dating pool and fathers of rape victims don't get ANY compensation for the loss of their property. Outrageous!

Not pagan, Faith, but secular. Sorry, Faith, no self-destruct here. We'll muddle throught just fine. Right on through your (continually) pending End Times^TM without even noticing.

Not only was Christian Law NOT the law of the US, it was in fact unconstitutional to have "Christian Law" in the US.The US has NEVER been a "Christian Nation", thank God.

No, no, polygamy was one of those things God disapproved of secretly, like slavery, genocide, the rape of prisoners of war, etc.He's a funny chap, y'see, on some issues, such as picking up sticks on Saturday or wearing mixed fabrics he gets all outspoken and smitey. On other subjects, such as polygamy, he comes over all bashful and is afraid to speak out. Indeed, so far from him openly disapproving of polygamy, he set special blessings on such polygamists as Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, without even mentioning to them his preference for monogamy ... no-one would ever have guessed that he was secretly disapproving of their marital arrangements.

Are we talking, again, about the days when the median age of consent in the US was 10? Er ... bollocks. Have you gone completely mad?

Perhaps if you read the Bible more often you wouldn't hold it in such esteem.