Same-Sex Marriage in Canada

Marriage is the joining together of one man and one woman. Nowhere in the Bible does it say its the joining of 2 men or 2 women. The Bible says for this reason a man leaves his mother and is joined to his wife and the two become one. I have yet to find anything in the Word that says God agrees with the marrying of man to man or woman to woman. He did say that in the last days men would lay with men and women with women so all thats going on in the world today is simply a fulfillment of prophecy, but it does not make it right in the eyes of the Lord no matter how anyone wants to cut it.
 

1. The literal definition of marriage is:
a) the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife
b) the state of being married; wedlock
c) a common-law marriage
d) a union between two persons having the customary but usually not the legal force of marriage; a same sex marriage
2. a wedding
3. a close union

In my opinion marriage is the union of two people into one, the acceptance of another person in whole, no questions asked. That being said, I cannot say that I am an advocate for the rights of same sex marriage but I also would not be able to condemn it. The law now recognizes that people of the same sex can share a bond equivalent to that of a traditional marriage. How can we disagree? Just as I choose to unconditionally love my spouse, a father chooses to unconditionally love his child and so on how can anyone say that it is inappropriate for a man to unconditionally love another man, sexual or not? If they feel that this fulfills their life and makes them happy how do we argue and how can we persecute them? Their are many references in the bible to sexual relations, interpretations of the bible say that man should not lie with another man like he lies with a woman, revelations tells us this will happen in the end of days (as mentioned in an earlier posting)....but this is all interpretation of the words written in a different time and language, are our interpretations of this correct, if so are we living in the End of Days?. I believe the bible also states that we should not have premarital sex; a child born out of wedlock was considered a mortal sin. 60 years ago families would hide an unwed daughter would got pregnant, they would be ashamed. Times have changed and we now grow to accept this and do not condemn, will we soon grow to accept same sex marriage in the same fashion?

I struggle with the thought of same sex marriage; I think it is difficult for most people. Is it difficult because it is very different than what the majority believe? How does any person truly know what God thinks about the subject? It is all conjecture, interpretations and assumptions. We are all entitled to our own opinions and thoughts which is what makes our country so diverse.
 

Another interesting question raised: is same-sex marriage difficult (for Canadians) to accept because it's so different?

I'm hesitant to say this is the reason it's difficult for Canadians to accept. A couple of references have been made already in two postings that the issue of homosexual relationships, though not always connected to marriage, were also an issue for the early church in the first century. It was also a fairly prominent issue, and one that prompted severe punishment, in the Old Testament. In addition, Canadians have battled through this issue for many years, though not nearly as publicly as we do now. (This subject started gaining stronger momentum as early as the 1960's.)

All of this to say, there seems to be quite a bit of familiarity with the issue. Enough, at least, to say that the difficulty in accepting the issue goes deeper than this.

I'm also intrigued by the connection between the Bible (which when speaking of itself says it stands forever and is inspired by God himself [cf., Isaiah 40:8; 2 Timothy 3:16-17]) and our culture. The Bible, as we know, hasn't changed. Our culture, as we know, has changed. Does this mean the Bible means something different today than it did 60 years ago when getting pregnant out of wedlock was considered "shameful"?

Important questions to consider.
 

To respond to some of what Kevin said, I am of the opinoin that same sex nmarriage is difficult for Canadians to accept because it is wrong, not because it is 'different'
You are right in saying that the Bible has not changed, yet we have, and therin lies the problem. We as a generation have become much more tolerant of things like, same sex marriage, adultery, living together before getting married, ect, the list goes on and on but you get the picture. People in general today are more afraid of upsetting their neighbour than standing up for what they believe in. In days gone by, as far back as the days of Christ walking the earth, people were thrown in jail or stoned or worse yet hung for their beliefs, so I do wonder if today, any of us would be willing to stand up for what we know is right, whatever the concequences may be! Jesus did say that if we were ashamed of Him then He would be ashamed of us before His Father. I do think that the majority of people do not agree with the same sex marriage issue but they just find it easier to make excuses and go along with it rather than to face the persecution that comes with being 'different'How would any of us ever have survived back then?
 

That is true!
How could any of us have survived back then. I think that Canadians have previously had a hard time accepting same sex unions because it is morally wrong, according to Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions (and possibly Eastern religions as well?) Our country Canada was founded on a Judeo-Christian religious base. Even now Canada is condider by the world to be a "Christian Country".

I think that the same-sex bill was passed because Canada has fallen away from it's Christian roots, and has become largely indifferent to morality. This is why we see a larger number of other "sins" such as teen pregnancy, and commonlaw cohabitation.

I hope Canada will turn back towards God. However, I hope that we will do so in love. Christianity in the past has been used by men to promote intolerance and hate. Crusades, witchburnings, klu klux klan, etc.

We should uphold Biblical marriage and sexuality. We should also reach out in love to those people caught in the sins of homosexuality, premarital sex, etc. We should accept people as they are, and love them regardless of how they choose to live. We can disagree with their choices (both personally and through legislature)while still accepting them as people.
 

That is so true, after all, Jesus loved us, despite our sinful nature he loved us just as we are, because we are all children of God no matter how we choose to live out our lives in this world. You are so right, we can, and SHOULD disagree with their choices, BUT love them regardless, that's what Jesus does, and their are some 'vessels' called for 'dishonor' and only God knows the reason for that and only He can judge anyone.
 

I believe that in the eyes of God a marriage is defined as that between a man and a woman, and that the sanctity of the marriage vows should be witnessed inside a church of the Lord. That being said, I truly feel that those in a same-sex relationship should be able to be respected and treated, in the eyes of man, the same as a hetrosexual couple are.
The same rights should be open to all monogamous couples, regardless of sex, but to be actually considered "married" applies to the union of one man and one woman.
Maybe there should be an alternative term used for same sex couples that indicates a partnership/committment,that in the eyes of the law, allows for the same privileges as to those who are married.
 

I believe that marriage is two people becoming one (a man and a women)
I have read the other posts and I agree that our society as a whole tends to not stand up for what is right as everyone is afraid to upset someone else. (even more so for legal complications which could arise if eg. you said prayers at school or asked someone their age on an application etc.)
I don't think you can interpret the bible different than it was written. It is what it is and says what it says. Even if people like it or don't. We are suppose to teach the bible in season and out of season. Today we are "out of season." People today just change it to say what they want it to say so they don't offend anyone. It hasn't changed the bible is the same yesterday, today and tommorrow. You can know what God truly thinks about the subject if you just ask Him.
 

This is a much more complicated issue for me now than it was a few years ago. Do I think that homosexuality is a sin? Yes. But I am not so much hung up anymore on whether or not homosexuals should be able to marry. Maybe the whole "what is the definition of marriage" debate isn't the most pressing issue about marriage facing the church and Christianity. It seems like the church is so concerned about protecting the definition of marriage that it is often forgetting that approximately 50% or more "Christian" marriages end in divorce. Yes, the bible leans heavily in favor of defining marriage as between man and woman. But it seems to me that the church is failing miserably in the area of Godly, strong, man and woman marriages. Is it possible that some people have turned to homosexuality because they see it as a better alternative to the failed opposite sex marriages they have witnessed? Maybe the church would have a greater impact if it focused more time on helping build up marriages within the church and less time getting all bent out of shape over homosexuals getting married. I am much more interested in looking within myself and the body of Christ to see where I/we may have contributed to the issue of homosexual marriage. How can the church tell homosexuals they can't marry and that they are living in sin when so many Christian marriages are failing and full of sin. Yes, I believe we as the church must deal with the issue of same sex marriage but I don't believe it is the most important issue facing the church when it comes to marriage. I am more concerned about how the church can help build stronger marriages.
 

I believe that marriage is a union of one man and one woman that is a commitment made for life. Of course, that is the short line on marriage.. there is so much more with love and honour being so much a part of the relationship. I also believe that it has it's roots from Genesis - that God decreed that woman should leave her family and be joined to her husband. However, the other significant part of a marriage is that it is a legal entity - sanctioned by the government with a liscence.
 

I believe marriage is is the committed union of a man and woman before God accepting the role of husband and wife.
This whole debate has raised another issue for me... In some countries the marriage process involves a 'civil ceremony' that satisfies the legal requirements of the law and then the couple, now 'legally' married, move on to a 'religious ceremony' to express there commitment before God and perhaps to satisfy the requirements of the Church. In Canada we could opt for one or the other, but I've been wondering... since this change in the legal definition of marriage, should the Church be recognizing civil marriages even between a man and a woman? Perhaps some Churches have not recognized these marriages in the past anyway, but with these changes in Canada is this something we should consider? Should the Church only recognize 'religious ceremony' marriages?
I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.