Saturday, July 2, 2011

“Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That”

In a classic episode from his program in the 90’s, Jerry Seinfeld pretended to be gay. When his pretense was revealed, he said the now famous line, “I’m not gay!....Not that there’s anything wrong with that! ”.No, there isn’t. But, if you’re gay and want to marry another gay of the same sex, well…

Consider what happened in New York State, the 6th state to legalize gay marriage.

Gays feel they have the right to marry. Ah, the right. We seem to have a “right” to everything these days. Claiming a right conjures up the Bill of Rights and gives it the patina of an untouchable privilege. But, I think there is a difference between a “right” and “permission”. If the gun lobby, for example, would claim they should be permitted to own a gun just as we are allowed to own a car, the revolvers would probably be put back in their holsters and the gunfight would end. I’m just sayin’.

However, when we speak of the right of gay marriage, we’re not only speaking about a loving, long-term, committed relationship, we’re also usually talking about the physical sex that expresses that love. Otherwise, we’re simply talking about roommates. We must assume the “marriage” that gays seek is more than two roommates seeking equality under the law for all the benefits enjoyed by heterosexual couples since those benefits are readily available to them with civil unions in many states.

So, why do gays want their relationships called “marriages”? Could it be gays are looking for the “Seal of Good Housekeeping” or, more relevantly, an Imprimatur? They long suffered in the closet, came out and were welcomed by a different society and now want our blessing on their lifestyle. And that is why Christians, mainly, are opposed to granting them that “ right ”.
Why? Well, first, it is important to distinguish between beinghomosexual and acting on that condition by engaging in sex with someone of the same gender.

Christian beliefs state that people with homosexual tendencies are to be embraced but homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered ”-contrary to the natural law-and close the sexual act to the gift of life. That’s key to understanding why there is opposition to these “marriages”. Natural law or the law of nature means natural is that which operates according to its nature.

Which brings me to the human reproductive or sex organs. You might say they were made for each other. Literally. There is a certain beauty, an elegance, in these reproductive organs. The operative word, of course, is “reproductive”. Even if you did not believe in God the Creator, you must marvel at the complexity of how women produce human eggs and men produce the seeds that fertilize those eggs and give them life. To reproduce the species is their purpose. It is theirnature. That does not mean that every sex act must result in childbirth. It doesn’t always, but, that’s not germane. Sex between same sex partners is, therefore, unnatural.

Gays point to their many long-term commitments and argue that almost 50% of traditional marriages end in divorce. However, to recognize that commitment of gay relationships as a reason to call them "marriages " is to reveal a frightfully poor understanding of marriage.

Christians believe marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman by which they establish between themselves a partnership for life that, by its very nature-there’s that word again-operates toward the procreation of offspring.

So, let me be clear. Christians oppose gay “marriages” not because they threaten “traditional marriages”. No, Christians oppose the sanctioning of gay relationships as “marriages” because acceptance would be tacit approval of the unnatural sex that is presumably present in those relationships.

That’s strong stuff, granted, and is probably why it’s left unsaid.

So, there can be “something wrong with that ”.

Sorry, Jerry.