I wrote before that religious groups are now trying to reverse policies that have long been declared to be unconstitutional, such as the use of class time and facilities to teach the Bible, something that was disallowed as far back as 1948. Now four members of the Republican-controlled legislature in North Caroline have introduced a bill that would outlaw same-sex marriage, although such bans were declared to be unconstitutional in 2015.
The bill says that the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the country “is null and void in the State of North Carolina.” The sponsors argue in the bill language that it’s “clear that laws concerning marriage are for each state to establish and maintain severally and independently.”
The bill quotes the Christian Bible and says the ruling “exceeds the authority of the court relative to the decree of Almighty God that ‘a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24, ESV) and abrogates the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history.”
North Carolina is the state that passed the infamous HB2 bathroom bill that required transgender people to use the bathroom of their birth gender identification. That caused such an outcry and led to costly boycotts of the state that the bill was repealed and the repeal was signed by the new Democratic governor who had defeated the Republican incumbent Pat McCrory. McCrory would definitely have vetoed the repeal.
The Republican leadership in the legislature, clearly wary of getting into that kind of hot water again, have quietly killed this latest move. They may wish to discriminate against the LGBT community but they love money more.
The New English Translation of that same verse is “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife, and they become a new family.” with the comment “This statement, introduced by the Hebrew phrase עַל־כֵּן (’al-ken, “therefore” or “that is why”), is an editorial comment, not an extension of the quotation. The statement is describing what typically happens, not what will or should happen. It is saying, “This is why we do things the way we do.” … The narrator is using hyperbole to emphasize the change in perspective that typically overtakes a young man when his thoughts turn to love and marriage.”
That is, it seems like the NEW translators don’t regard that verse as a “decree of Almighty God.”
Moreover, “the clear meaning and understanding of marriage in all societies throughout prior history” includes polygamous marriage, plural marriage, and fixed-term/temporary marriage. For that matter, it would include Dutch culture for the last 16 years, where same-sex marriage has been legal.
Quoting Shaw, “Pardon him, Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.”
What was the reason same-sex marriage was originally outlawed in the past? Was it specifically based on the bible? Because that I can sort of understand. They referred to the relevant parts of the bible in the secular laws, right? … right?
But then, why was mixed-race marriage outlawed? There is still some opposition to mixed-race marriages. What is their excuse? Do they admit that it’s based only on racism? There’s no biblical support for outlawing mixed-race marriage. Even Ken Ham agrees with that. He may be crazy, but he definitely knows the bible. There’s even precedence: Moses was married to an Ethiopian, and when his sister complained about it, god gave her leprosy as punishment for being a racist (Numbers?).
If they are going to use the bible as basis for allowed marriages, then they also have to outlaw marriage between a Christian and a non-Christian (2 Corinthians 6:14). And let’s not forget that pesky divorce thing.
Not that it matters, the bill is dead on arrival. I wonder if that counts as abortion.
“They shall become one flesh”? Those Christians sure loves them some kinky sex! I’m blushing right now.
Ken Ham is as selective in his interpretation of the Bible as anyone else. It should take a minimum of searching on Bible and miscegenation to get you to the relevant chapters and verses. It didn’t take me long to find this:
Miscegenation