Dr. Bock is SUPER LAME for not responding to the earlier posts…

Christian view:
A. God gave Scripture to tell people about the state of their relationship with Him.
B. God gave Jesus to restore the relationship (everyone finds out, from A, that the relationship is broken)
C. God gave the Holy Spirit to affirm A & B.
D. Repenting of sin and believing in Jesus (both resulting from A thru C) is the only means of being given a restored relationship with God.
E. A thru D cannot be coerced by anything including law -- God’s or man’s.

“Outlawing” gay marriage does not prohibit gay marriage.
What it does is exclude a group of people from receiving legal rights AS WELL AS giving them legal responsibilities:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_and_responsibilities_of_marriages_in_the_United_States#Rights_and_benefits

“Outlawing” gay marriage does not prohibit the perceived ills that result from homosex because…
1) homosex will occur with and without the legalization of gay marriage,
2) some of the ills that are often referred to as the direct result of homosex are actually the result of promiscuity, which gay marriage would lessen to some degree,
3) the other ills are also not a direct result of homosex, but from the prejudice against it -- it’s like raising a child in a pet carrier, and then wondering why she behaves like a dog. OR, treating people like garbage and then wonder why they stink.

“Outlawing” gay marriage does not preserve a Christian nation because America is not Christian for many reasons. Some are…
1) abortion,
2) alcohol & tobacco (which support a lot of the government-run programs Christians use),
3) adult amusements,
4) dishonoring the Sabbath,
5) glorification of self that we eat up and support in pro-sports,
6) gluttony,
7) greed,
8) Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists, false Christians, etc. etc. etc…

“Outlawing” gay marriage does not protect the church because the church will still have a say regarding its membership. Today, a church can exclude a married couple solely on the basis that the couple’s marriage is not of the right type, namely remarried divorced people.

The way I see it is “outlawing” gay marriage allows its proponents to feel superior and exercise a kind of dominance over a group of perceived inferiors. It institutionalizes a restriction of religious beliefs and practice. It institutionalizes negative interactions between groups of people. It forces people to discriminate. It forces people to be untruthful.

I don’t see it as having any worth as far as what laws are supposed to accomplish within in a country that claims freedom as a top priority.