URGENT PRAYERS/PETITIONS:
Same -Sex "Marriage"- PLEASE PRAY WITH ME (every day untill the decision is revealed around mid-June) THAT THE SUPREME COURT WILL VOTE TO UPHOLD THE 2 LAWS REVIEWED SUPPORTING A TRADITIONAL DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE.. PRAY that the Court will resist any pressure to MAKE new law based on "cultural trends." PRAY as though the very future of the institution of the family is at stake because it is. PRAY! - for the sake of possibly millions of children, and for our country if it is to continue to be shown any more favor by our Heavenly Father, who I promise you will be very displeased if homosexual marriage is legalized; "GOD IS NOT [TO BE] MOCKED..." - (Gal. 6:7) - Stan [Be sure to check out my brief essay at post #478.]
CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR PASTOR SAEED (Iranian-born AMERICAN pastor) who just started an 8 year sentence for helping the underground churches in Iran) If you have not already, please join over 500,000 (was recently250,000) who have signed the petition for Pastor Saeed's release and tell your friends about it. http://aclj.org/iran/save-american-pastor-from-iranian-prison-sentence As the Lord leads, please pray: *For Pastor Abedini as he endures one of Iran’s most deadly prisons, potentially beaten and abused regularly, simply because of his Christian faith. *For the pastor’s wife and family and the Holy Spirit’s comfort upon them. * For God to visit his tormenters and all in his cell with him with supernatural dreams of the risen Christ, and use the pastor's actions and words to draw them to repent and turn to Christ; that God would use the pastor's time in that prison to spark a genuine spiritual revival that will bring scores of Iranians to Christ..*For the growing world pressure to finally obtain the pastor’s release.
LATEST Update - April 15 - 1)".. During the weekly prison visit today, Pastor Saeed's family reported that his physical condition is worsening - seeing first-hand the marks and symptoms left by the recent beating. These beatings and the internal injuries are causing Pastor Saeed frequent fainting spells. Iranian officials are telling Pastor Saeed it could be an additional two months before he will receive medical treatment. Such a delay is inhumane and a gross violation of Iran’s international obligations. ...In addition to refusing to give Pastor Saeed the medical care he needs, it now appears authorities are stepping up their physical abuse and psychological torture. Pastor Saeed reported that cellmates, who appear to have connections to the Iranian intelligence police, recently threatened they would suffocate Pastor Saeed in his sleep, making his death look like an accident. The daily threat that his life could be taken by his internal injuries or by the hands of cellmates, weighs heavily on Pastor Saeed. .."(http://aclj.org/iran/beatings-intensify-american-pastor-saeed-condition-worsens-in-iranian-prison PRAY that Pastor Saeed might finally receive the medical treatment he needs. 2) More than 550,000 people from 180 countries have signed the petition to Save Saeed. Your voice has moved the U.S., the European Union, and many others to call for his release. But as Pastor Saeed's May 7th 33rd birthday approaches, it's time to encourage him directly. At the ACLJ, they've obtained the address of Evin Prison, and their goal is to flood the prison with thousands of messages of encouragement for Pastor Saeed. Just write a letter (or simply sign your name to one proposed greeting) and they will be sure that its delivered. These messages will let Pastor Saeed know that we're praying for him and his release, as well as send a signal to the Iranian leaders that Americans will not give up standing up for him. Go to Save Saeed.org and add your name to those sending letters to him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[AS I SEE IT: The American Center for Law and Justice reported this past Monday, April 29 - "Last week the most pro-abortion President in our nation's history stood before the largest abortion provider in America and declared: 'Planned Parenthood is not going anywhere. It's not going anywhere today. It's not going anywhere tomorrow.' Planned Parenthood ends the lives of over 330,000 babies every year while taking over 500 million of our tax dollars. What did President Obama tell them? "Thank you, Planned Parenthood. God bless you." Outrageous.' To which I would add, what kind of self-professed Christian asks God to bless an organization known mostly for the innocent lives it takes every day, to a degree that makes the Sandy Hook massacre - if you'll pardon the expression - "child's play"? And this is the man we have leading this nation and the free world? How far has America fallen!!! As we note the National Day of Prayer for our nation tomorrow (as has been since President Reagan designated every first Thursday of May), may we ask God's forgiveness for the many trangressions of this nation and the lack of wisdom and godliness of so many of its leaders. May God extend this nation grace to once again have leaders who not only recognize Him as our Sovereign King but who also CHOOSE to lead with such wisdom that God might bless them with. - Stan]
Claims that legalizing same-sex “marriage” is a slippery slope to polygamy have been met with scoffs. We really hate to say “we told you so...”
In a scene from Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm, the mathematician skeptical about whether the park is a good idea, watches the T-Rex burst out of its enclosure and says, “I hate being right all the time.” Princeton Professor Robert George and other defenders of traditional marriage understand these sentiments. For years, they’ve warned that redefining marriage beyond the union of one man and one woman wouldn’t—indeed couldn’t—stop with same-sex unions. The same reasoning that extends marriage to same-sex couples would easily be applied to polygamy and polyamory also. The standard response to these concerns was scoffing and accusations of fear mongering. Well, the fences are down and the beast is loose.
On Valentines’s Day, the Scientific American published an article claiming that polyamorists could “teach us a thing or two about love,” and the only reason to oppose it was bigotry because of outdated views about love and sexuality. As I said on my Point commentary about the article [see link noted below], the flow of the argument sounded far too familiar.
And now, as if on cue, Slate magazine published an article on April 15 by Jillian Keenan [see link noted below] arguing that polygamy should be legalized. As Keenan notes, the arguments about gay marriage being a “slippery slope” that will lead to legalized polygamy is something “we’ve been hearing about for years.” To which she adds, “We can only hope.” She continues: “While the Supreme Court and the rest of us are all focused on the human right of marriage equality, let’s not forget that the fight doesn’t end with same-sex marriage. We need to legalize polygamy, too. Legalized polygamy in the United States is the constitutional, feminist, and sex-positive choice.”
Keenan adds that legalizing polygamy would help to “protect, empower, and strengthen women, children, and families.” How? By ending the “isolation” where “crime and abuse can flourish unimpeded.” That is, if polygamy is legal, she says, victims of abuse would be more likely to report abuses to the authorities.Finally, she argues that respect for religious freedom requires legalizing polygamy. It isn’t only fundamentalist Mormons she’s concerned about: she cites “academics” who “suggest” that there may be between 50 and 100,000 Muslims in the U.S. who practice polygamy.
What’s most significant here isn’t the quality of Keenan’s arguments. The quality is poor. The treatment of women in countries where polygamy is legal makes her optimism about the impact of legalizing it seem dangerously naive. And her appeal to religious freedom is—shall we say—selective. There are plenty of law-abiding Americans whose religious freedom is under genuine threat who could benefit from this kind of solicitude.
No, the most significant thing about Keenan’s argument is not, to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, that it’s made well, but that it’s made openly. As Dr. George pointed out in “First Things,” when Christians pointed out the logical link between same-sex marriage and polygamy, proponents of same-sex marriage rejected the connection. They insisted that “no one is arguing for the legal recognition of polygamous or polyamorous relationships as marriages!” George writes in response, “That was then; this is now.” The “then” he referred to was last week; the now is today.
George predicts that Keenan’s article “will not produce a single serious critique by a major scholar or activist from the same-sex marriage movement.” Now he would love to be wrong. But defenders of traditional marriage know that the enclosures that kept marriage a “monogamous and exclusive union” are being dismantled. And no one should be surprised by what emerges, least of all those doing the dismantling.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
Further Reading and Information
We Hate to Say We Told You So: Same-Sex Marriage & Polygamy - Next StepsAre you interested in defending the traditional one man, one woman understanding of marriage? If so, it will take perseverance and courage, and it will also take knowledge. Start by reading Robert George’s article “Beyond Gay Marriage,” and buy a copy of What is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense. Other great resources are listed below.
Books:
What is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense, Sherif Girgis, Ryan Anderson, Robert George | Encounter Books | December 2012
Articles:
Beyond Gay Marriage, Robert George | First Things blog | August 2, 2006 http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2006/08/robert-george-beyond-gay-marriPolyamory: from Creepy to Normal, John Stonestreet | The Point | March 6, 2013 http://www.breakpoint.org/listen/broadcast-archive/entry/38/21655
Calvin Klein Ad: Are they selling jeans or a polyamorous life-style?, Kim Moreland | BreakPoint.org | July 7, 2009 http://www.breakpoint.org/tp-home/blog-archives/blog-archives/entry/4/7261
Domestic Disturbances: The Rising Polyamorous Culture Is Out to Get Your Children
Patrick F. Fagan | Touchstone | January/February 2010 http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=23-01-042-c
Polygamy Versus Democracy, Stanley Kurtz | The Weekly Standard | June 5, 2006 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/266jhfgd.asp
New Sexual Revolution: Polyamory May Be Good for You, Stephanie Pappas and LiveScience | Scientific American | February 14, 2013 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-sexual-revolution-polyamory
Legalize Polygamy!, Jillian Keenan | Slate.com | April 15, 2013, http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/04/legalize_polygamy_marriage_equality_for_all.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment