Great image of Ireland
Nations go through huge social upheavals as they adapt to the
ever-changing world scene. The Republic of Ireland is one such;
successfully independent from the United Kingdom for close on 100 years,
modern Ireland is a secure
part of the European Union. Internationally admired for its warm
hospitality, its music, its literary giants and well-educated vibrant
people, today, as the proposal to legalise same-sex marriage is about to
be decided by a national referendum on 22nd May 2015, Ireland stands at
the crossroads.
part of the European Union. Internationally admired for its warm
hospitality, its music, its literary giants and well-educated vibrant
people, today, as the proposal to legalise same-sex marriage is about to
be decided by a national referendum on 22nd May 2015, Ireland stands at
the crossroads.
• CHANGE
The imminent referendum is about
giving equal rights to same-sex partnerships as presently exist between a
married man and woman. There has been a strong demand for this equality
and it looks to be a fair and compassionate response to grant it.
Compared with 30 or 40 years ago, Ireland has become a very pluralistic
nation, used to the idea of welcoming and accommodating
people with their own beliefs and cultures from around the world. And
when we think how religious influence, once extremely strong is now
quite shallow, and how once taboo issues like LGTB life-styles, are
openly discussed, what a change! Welcome to the Ireland of 2015.
people with their own beliefs and cultures from around the world. And
when we think how religious influence, once extremely strong is now
quite shallow, and how once taboo issues like LGTB life-styles, are
openly discussed, what a change! Welcome to the Ireland of 2015.
Clearly,
secular views are becoming dominant and there is a perception that a
'traditional' view of marriage is a strict religious construct that
needs to be deconstructed and made available to same-sex partners in a
new-look format. What this overlooks is that traditional marriage has
been established in many wide-ranging cultures for thousands of years,
and as such, is not only a Christian belief, but grounded in the
inherent complementary nature of men and women. Christians believe
marriage was ordained by God right back at the beginning, but it's as
well to recall that marriage is not a 'church' creation, but something
special, given to the whole human family.
• FOUNDATION
Christians
who accept the authority of Scripture as God's word, believe; 'So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male
and female he created them' (Gen. 1:27). Our uniquely wonderful
humanity, where male and female complement each another, is not an
accident of evolution, or a product of an ever-adapting society, but the
creative climax of the all-wise Personal Creator, who has defined the marriage relationship,
'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his
wife, and they shall become one flesh' (Gen. 2:24). This is the
foundational biblical teaching on marriage and the family, and the basis
for a secure home and a well-ordered society.
,
'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his
wife, and they shall become one flesh' (Gen. 2:24). This is the
foundational biblical teaching on marriage and the family, and the basis
for a secure home and a well-ordered society.
• COMPASSION
However,
we live in times when the boundaries have become blurred, when people
who still believe the traditional view of marriage feel they ought to
show compassion to the many voices calling for equality and same-sex
marriage. How should we react - is this really compassion? Christian
belief calls us to show understanding and deep compassion to all people,
while it sees same-sex marriage as a confusion of God-given identities.
However, an increasingly secularised Irish Government
desires to treat all citizens equally, including minorities, in areas
of morality that, in this instance, are in clear breach of biblical
Christian teaching. The Irish Government is simply not authorised to
request a 'yes' vote, hoping to take the moral institution God has
ordained and offer it to same-sex partners to give them an equal
standing with traditional marriage.
desires to treat all citizens equally, including minorities, in areas
of morality that, in this instance, are in clear breach of biblical
Christian teaching. The Irish Government is simply not authorised to
request a 'yes' vote, hoping to take the moral institution God has
ordained and offer it to same-sex partners to give them an equal
standing with traditional marriage.
