North Carolina and The End of the World

After North Carolina recently voted to ban gay marriage in their state, there was an immediate uproar across Facebook from people "ashamed" and "embarrassed" at their decision.  I honestly wasn't that up on what was going on so I decided to do some reading on it, and in a rare moment of wisdom for me, hold my tongue until I decided exactly how I felt about the issue of gay marriage and the decision of the people of North Carolina.

First, let's establish what I personally believe are the facts.  My "facts" may not jibe with yours completely, but in order to figure out how I feel about something, I need to set a baseline, so here is mine.

#1.  Gay and lesbian couples want to be married so they can share in the same legal benefits as a heterosexual married couple.  By breaking that down, I'm assuming that means:
     A.) They want to be able to be listed as "next of kin" should something awful happen and a decision has to be made about the one they love.
     B.) They want to be able to provide health benefits to their partner on their insurance
     C.) Overall, they want their relationship to be considered as just as legitimate as anyone else in the eyes of the government.

Did I miss anything?

#2.  Christians who oppose gay marriage, oppose it based on what is written in the Holy Bible.  We are told that God designed marriage as such in Genesis Chapter 2:

^"21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs^[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib^[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
²³ The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man. ”

²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."

 So Christians are looking at marriage from God's perspective and what we are taught in the Bible.


Now, full disclosure for those who don't know (and you can stop reading now if this surprises or offends you) I am a Christian.  I love the Lord, and I believe in the scriptures.  I have many wonderful friends who are Atheists or Agnostics and I love them for their passion, their ethics and many other fine qualities.  They're all fine people, if they weren't, I wouldn't be friends with them!  I pray for them whether they want me to or not.  That being said, I also have friends and family who are homosexual or who have homosexual friends.


So, how does one like me reconcile my desire for my friends to be happy while still being faithful to my beliefs?  Well, if you re-read what I've outlined above there should be something very glaring there (again, unless I missed something crucial).  What the advocates of gay marriage seem to be longing for is all based on man made law and what the governments of the States or even our Nation define as "legal".  So are the opposing sides even talking about the same thing?  I guess my question is, if gay people want to have all the legal rights of a married couple, if they want to profess their love for each other and be legitimized in the eyes of the government, why can't that be done and called something ELSE?!?

Let's go with Civil Union.  Each couple, heterosexual or homosexual is joined legally in a civil union at the court house when the proper paperwork is filed and fees paid.  Once this is done, then have a nice life, enjoy the tax benefits, take care of each other on your insurance, in your wills, etc.  For Christians or any members of any other religions, go then and get married in a RELIGIOUS ceremony at your own church after the fact.

Now, why does this matter?  Well to the atheists it doesn't (or it shouldn't).  It's all about the government and the law of man.  To a Christian like myself, who has been married once without Jesus in the mix (and THAT was a dismal failure) and is now enjoying a beautiful marriage and a oneness with my wife that can only come from sharing our walk with the Lord, my covenant with my wife and God in front of friends and family was all about making Jesus part of this relationship.  I think this is where we, as a society, are faltering.  We have two groups calling two very different things by the SAME name.  It comes back to defining parameters and making sure everyone is on the same page.

So, without going into great detail about how government shouldn't have ANYTHING to do with the definition of marriage or who can do what with whomever they like, here's the way it would be in David Hooie's perfect world.  You want to denote your partner as the next of kin or the one who makes decisions for you in case you are unable?  That's called a Power of Attorney.  You want to provide health coverage for the one you love?  Who you pay to cover on your insurance should honestly be between you, your employer (if applicable) and the insurance company.  It's a business transaction after all  If all insurance companies were allowed to compete across state lines for our business, I think we'd find them becoming a lot more flexible on many fronts to get or keep our business!

If you are a Christian and believe that what you have in covenant with God and your spouse is not of this world, then be at peace with that and remember we are also taught that God IS love and Jesus told us to love our neighbors and treat them the way we would want to be treated.

Am I way off base here?  Did I miss some key information? Would love to hear your thoughts!


Take care,


David