Warning: political post to follow. Ignore if you're only here for the information design :) ... maybe I need some kind of icon, like Lou's hotdog icon, when I go off topic.

Anyways, by now, if you're gay or if you have any gay friends, you've probably seen this circulated around. Seems there is a Presidential Prayer Council and one of their prayers on February 26th was:

Now that the President has declared his decision to work for an amendment to the Constitution that will codify marriage as being between one man and one woman, pray for this effort. Pray that biblical values will be honored in this endeavor, and the the support needed will arise from many corners of the Nation.

Sigh. Truth be told, maybe it is the Catholic upbringing I can't shake off (try as I might) but I must admit that for me, it's not exactly obvious that there needs to be gay marriage. That said, I've no trouble with the idea that gay couples are entitled to all the same rights that marriage grants. If that's a civil union, fine. But if it needs to be a marriage, then that's what it should be.

Anyways, if you haven't seen it, here's the liberal response to the Presidential Prayer Council (thanks to swimfins for the HTML). If "biblical values" are an important part of marriage in the US, then perhaps the following should also be considered:

1. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women.(Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5.)
2. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
3. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed (Deut 22:13-21)
4. D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden.(Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
5. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be
   construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9)
6. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen. 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10) *"

All of this reminded me of something I'd heard a while back from Alan Dershowitz, who had this response in a debate with Alan Keyes on religion in America. It was a letter to Dr. Laura that he'd found while Internet surfing:

Dear Dr. Laura, Thank you so much for trying to educate people regarding God's law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:12 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

But I need some advice from you regarding some of the other specific laws and how best to follow them. When I burn a bull on the alter as a sacrifice, I know it creates a 'pleasing odor for the Lord' (Leviticus 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with this? I would like to sell my daughter into slavery as suggested by Exodus 21:7. What do you think a fair price would be? I know I'm allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Leviticus 19:24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but some women take offense. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I obliged morally to kill him myself, or may I hire a hit man? I know you have studied these things extensively, and so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Now if you're still with me, you may be interested to know that the Republican National Committee is trying to get TV stations to stop airing MoveOn's ads against President Bush:

The RNC charges that because the ads are designed to help defeat President Bush, the group cannot pay for them with unlimited "soft money" contributions but only with contributions raised in amounts less than $5,000. ...

But MoveOn.org says it has raised $10 million for advertising from 160,000 donors, in amounts averaging $50-$60. It is running two ads in 67 TV markets in what its Web site describes as 17 "battleground" states.

If you're so inclined, you might want to visit MoveOn.org and donate an amount less than $5,000 to help MoveOn get its message out.

From my perspective, the good news is that the RNC wouldn't be working this hard if they weren't really concerned that MoveOn was having a real impact. Not into donating cash? Then maybe you can sign up for the MoveOn PAC.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled IDblog :).

08:41 PM | linkme | home