Marriage should be between one man and one woman

To the Editor,As a Christian I obviously hold to the historic and traditional definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman for a lifetime. I could spend the next few paragraphs proof texting passages from the Old and New Testament that condemn deliberate and habitual homosexual behavior, but I will proceed to argue as an American citizen that is simply convinced of a Creator God.First of all, as an American citizen, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruling had no grounding whatsoever in Constitutional Law. To remind you of a few dissenting opinions: Justice Kennedy said the ruling is “lacking even a thin veneer of law.” And Justice Roberts so succinctly summarized this issue at hand with these statements, “Under the Constitution, judges have power to say what the law is, not what it should be.” The purpose of the Supreme Court is to interpret the Constitution, not to create new laws or read into the Constitution that which is not there. Unfortunately, this idea of the Supreme Court as Constitutional interpreter has long been abandoned and has disintegrated into a talk-show’s contemporary conversation. Its as if we are listening to the Supreme Court mirror the cast of “The View” as they promote progressive social change and simultaneously miss their one and only job; interpret the Constitution.Now, from the most basic religious point of view, and I’m not asking for any particular denomination or world religion, only the existence of a designing Deity. If a Creator God exists, then homosexuality is simply unnatural. It should seem scientifically obvious enough that God created man and woman to compliment one another for the purpose of procreation. Simple observation gives us this conclusion. And one doesn’t have to have their mind thinking too hard or too long to tell that gender is not a subjective standard like race. To compare gender with race and bring in Civil Rights to link the arguments is an absolutely nonsensical move. One’s race can be mixed into a variety of colorful combinations (and doesn’t always come out black or white), while gender never comes with a grey option — male or female. Gender won’t naturally mix like race; it’s naturally fixed. Homosexuality goes directly against God’s design of man and woman, and to attempt to join man and man or woman and woman in a way that is contrary to design is unnatural. Homosexuality is a deliberate denial of God as Creator, which is the most detestable act any creature could commit in the face of their Creator.And finally I cannot shy from my own Christian convictions, Pastor Rick Warren has so superbly said, “Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” My response to any homosexual is this: “You’re wrong, but you still have my love.” And the reason is this; Christians are called to pass along the truth as revealed by God in a loving manner. It would, ironically, be hateful for the Christian to keep the truth about the consequences of misappropriated sexuality to one’s self. For when God says any practice like this is sinful and down right detestable, we are all held responsible for the avoidance of practicing it and preaching against it. And to pass along this response to so-called same-sex marriage and warning against homosexuality as sinful and harmful would be the beginning of an expression of compassion. As a Christian my conscience is held captive by the Word of God, which will not allow for the approval of same-sex marriage. A conscience is a very precious gift. To act against conscience is neither right nor safe, for the conscience is compromised of one’s integrity and identity. And to be asked to abandon one’s integrity and identity in the name of “inclusivism” or “equality” is a sham. In closing, no government, no council, no court can redefine that which God has defined.Collin SmithTecumseh