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Originally Posted by ajmccarrell
That statement isn't true. Most of the evangelicals I know believe gay marriage would destroy America because they believe it would weaken the family, which causes crime, etc. I do agree that the view is misguided, as marriage is already weakened by other cultural forces much more powerful than gay marriage. Also, statistics don't bear the view out, as children of gay marriages are not more likely to commit crimes, however they do report lower levels of happiness and contentment. To me gay marriage is irrelavent because I don't think that the government has any business in relationships one way or the other. The evangelical argument is that government has a vested interest in the success of marriage because stable families are more likely to rear children that are law abiding citizens. I disagree with that point, but calling that view "extreme" IS extreme, IMO. Certainly there are SOME who hold the view you describe as much as there might be some on the left who hold views, like Nancy Pelosi has admitted, where they believe that redistribution was mandated by Jesus, which I think also misstates Jesus' actual teachings. The basic point is that evangelicals do want what they think is best for America. My view is that Jesus never commanded government to do anything, but commanded us to do things individually.
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I completely agree that Jesus never commanded the government to to anything, and that he told us how we should live. It is also true that government has no business interfering here; this is just as personal a decision as religion or political party. I may not like the way you live, but I have no place telling you who to marry, what to believe, what music to like etc. I certainly am not saying that everyone who is Christian, and is against gay marriage is only like that because they have been told that by the Church. I just do not think that it is fair to say there is not a relation between church and party (I can only imagine what what percentage of certain religions like Christianity must be Republican, and there are religions that lean to the left). The values associated with the Republican party line up more closely with those of the Christian church, some of those people can back up their beliefs with facts (like you) and others cannot, which is what I have a problem with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajmccarrell
BTW thank you for having a respectful debate with me.
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Well we can't have a respectful debate unless both sides are doing so
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