Comments for Marriage: straight or gay, religious or civil? at http://www.pres-outlook.org , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.pres-outlook.org Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:03:55 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.pres-outlook.org/opinion3/guest-commentary3/9756-marriage-straight-or-gay-religious-or-civil.html#comment-5331 For Kazimeirz being a theological student, I am a bit concerned that there is no theological reasoning this commentary. Instead, it is based on Roman law and the evolution of that law over time. However, the Romans did not invent marriage. The scriptural witness in both the Old Testament (Abraham and Sarah for example) and the New Testament point to marriage being both much older than the Roman Empire and also for faithful believers between a man and a woman (Gen 2:24; Mt. 19:5; Mk. 10:7-9). It seems to me that for pastors, candidates, and inquirers, our starting point on issues should always be what does Scripture lead us to believe and do? I am concerned when a candidate, or other Christian, instead, takes a secular approach to theological issues, or tries to dismiss scriptural texts due to a "different culture and time." We may not always appreciate what a scriptural text says, but I do not believe we can dismiss it. Instead, I think we need to seriously engage the text, which sometimes means accepting things with which we personally struggle. David McCann Ada, Okla. - David_McCann Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:25:13 +0100