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Gay Marriages In Georgia

Thanks to the passage of legislation in the Georgia Legislature, we will have the opportunity to vote on November 2nd on a constitutional admendment that would limit marriages in the state of Georgia to one man and one woman. As quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Rep. Bill Hembree, a republican from Douglasville said, "We cannot let judges in Boston or officials in San Francisco define marriage for the people of Georgia." He said the ban will build a "wall of defense around the institution of marriage" and is needed to "protect the family structure that has existed for 6,000 years."

While many do not understand the impetus behind these laws, there is a pressing need to defend "traditional" marriages as recognized by the Christian community. The Bible teaches that God ordained the sacrament of marriage in the Garden of Eden. We recognize traditional marriage as a covenantal relationship between a husband, a wife, and God. The current debate seeks to redefine marriage and move it from being a covenantal relationship into a contractual relationship, building on the anti-traditional marriage changes that were wrought through "no-fault" divorce.

Under a traditional view of marriage as a covenant, each spouse makes a unilateral promise to the other and to God to always faithfully live in the marriage covenant until death. Those who oppose traditional views of marriage would prefer marriages to be dependent upon the action of the other parties. In other words, "I will love you and live with you in marriage unless you are unfaithful or I don't feel love anymore or I'm not happy anymore." Marriage ceases to be a binding promise and becomes a contract that can be terminated at any point and for any cause.

Any changes in the structure or understanding of marriage that does not support the covenantal view of marriage undermine the sanctity and holiness of the act. This includes not only gay marriage, but no-fault divorce, trends for couples to live together prior to marriage, and polygamy.

Please take this opportunity on November 2 to stand up and defend traditional marriage.