David Blankenhorn, who contributed greatly to the defense of marriage and suffered for the cause, confesses his current state of mind with this one sentence: “As I look at what our society needs most today, I have no stomach for what we often too glibly call ‘culture wars.’ Especially on this issue, I’m more interested in conciliation than in further fighting.”
Regrettably, David has sought relief in a position that provides none. No one of sound mind supposes that same-sex marriage is being sought in order to bring sexual discipline to the homosexual culture (or the culture at large), or to enhance the institution of marriage and parenting. Whether it makes our stomachs churn or not, we must face the truth about the struggle that is under way and understand (as I have argued elsewhere) that no peace is to be had by capitulation. What is called for is rather “a recovery of nerve, and a new willingness to deal with the problem at its root.”
Read more here.
June 26th, 2012 | 6:51 am
The root of the problem is that the salt has lost its savor. In abandoning Scripture long ago, many or our ‘protestant’ churches followed the spirit of the times in caving in on divorce, adultery and women ‘pastors.’ And now they want to defend marriage? Too many are tasteless at this point.
Unless the church recovers the biblical, rather than chasing the worldly, sense of basics like love, there is no foundation on which to build.
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Prayer-Forgiveness-Basics-Heresies/dp/159467664X/ref=la_B001KMODGY_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1340707859&sr=1-3
June 26th, 2012 | 8:18 am
It’s a long battle, and we may lose. Mistakes have been made–agree with the author that resorting to arguments such as “it’s always been so” about traditional marriage automatically loses the argument for our side. Somehow we have to recover the sense of natural law’s instruction on the matter.
It is heartening to note that where it has been put to a vote, same sex marriage has been defeated. The battle is not over yet, no matter how bleak the trend line looks. We must all “brace ourselves to our duty”, as one said, also in the face of seemingly certain defeat.
June 26th, 2012 | 9:17 am
Thank you Douglas your encouragement to struggle to defend marriage and children. An outstanding saint whose feast day is today has additional wisdom for all people of good will. St. Josemaria Escriva wrote, “In national life there are two things which are really essential: the
laws concerning marriage and the laws concerning education. In these areas God’s sons have to stand firm and fight with toughness and
fairness, for the sake of all mankind.”
June 28th, 2012 | 11:39 am
It’s a long battle, and we may lose.
I believe it will be like it has been with abortion: the practice will become legal, but will not become “settled” – rather than merely getting used to it as the new norm, people will become increasingly aware that it is wrong, that harm is done, and that the critics who originally were dismissed as “Archie Bunkers” may have in fact been speaking out of real concern, not just the caricatured hatred attributed to them.
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