Quote:
Originally posted by wolf
I disagree on the "would never be compelled by law to do so."
The way things are going, if gay marriage does become the law of the land, any church refusing to do so would be charged with a civil rights violation, or worse, a hate crime.
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This is not true. Things are not going this way. Nobody is trying to get the government to force churches to perform gay marriages. Churches always have been able to use their own criteria to prohibit marriages. In fact, the only way the government EVER interferes in marriages is to add more restrictions - ( against polygamy, incest, and interracial marriage ) - not remove them.
A church is perfectly within its rights to deny an interracial couple a church marriage. Likewise - and less controvercially - an interfaith couple. On the other hand, a church is capable of performing marriages prohibited by the government. There are gay couple now who have been married in their churches. They are just as married in the eyes of their God as any other couple. The only issue at stake is whether the government will also recognise their union.