Which is where the famous phrase "hate the sin not the...
Should gay marriage be legal
I accept my opponent's challenge, and hope we can understand the importance of the issue at hand. 1. Born that way This is an often an argument presented. To be "born that way" it must be in your genes, which makes you who you are. "Michael Bailey and Richard Pillard who focused on identical twins, non-identical twins, non-adopted siblings and adopted siblings"; and "They found a 52% concordance rate for the identical twins which means that for every homosexual twin, the chances were about 50% that his twin would also be homosexual. For non-identical twins, the rate was about 22%, showing that about 1 in 5 twins who were homosexual had a homosexual brother also. For non-twin brothers, the concordance rate was 9.2%. Interesting enough, Bailey and Pillard found that the concordance rate in adopted brothers was 11.2%" [1]. First, if homosexuality is genetic then it should be 100% with identical twin, who share all the same genes. Second, "The concordance rate for identical twins on measures of extroversion is 50%, religiosity is 50%, divorce is 52%, racial prejudice and bigotry is 58%" [1]. Homosexuality just like those other things are due to heavy environment influence. Further, Homosexuality being genetic poses a real problem with natural selection. Natural Selection is "the process by which plants and animals that can adapt to changes in their environment are able to survive and reproduce while those that cannot adapt do not survive" [2]. Since, homosexuals can't reproduce with each other how then could they pass on their genes? They couldn't, so natural selection would have "selected" them out of the gene pool. Concluding, homosexuals are not born that way any more than people are born religious or racist. 2. Religion I think my opponents reference about loving everyone is about Matthew 22:39, which states "And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" [3]. This is based on a misinterpretation. Honestly, there are lots of things I do that, I hate, and that part I don't love about myself. Which is where the famous phrase "hate the sin not the sinner", because I will treat everyone with respect, but I can still hate actions they do; This would be loving thy neighbor like I love myself. Further, if we are suppose to love everyone no matter what should we also endorse incest, or polygamy because this same conversation could be used to support either of those even those both of those are condemned in the Bible? Also, wouldn't that also mean I would have to love, without passing judgement, a child molester or rapist? If it does, this is certainly no religion that would ever want be serious because it pardons everyone from their sins without punishment. Concluding, the bible doesn't say love everyone no matter who or what they are. 3. Marriage is more than love "Mutual affection and companionship between partners is a common, although not universal, feature of marriage" [4]. "A core purpose of marriage is to guarantee that, insofar as possible, each child is emotionally, morally, practically, and legally affiliated with the woman and the man whose sexual union brought the child into the world." [4] This shows that marriage is about procreation. This why the government regulates it. "'[S]ex makes babies, society needs babies, and children need mothers and fathers.' Connecting sex, babies, and moms and dads is the social function of marriage and helps explain why the government rightly recognizes and addresses this aspect of our social lives." [4] Sources [1] http://www.fairmormon.org... [2] http://www.merriam-webster.com... [3] http://biblehub.com... [4] http://www.scribd.com...