Much ado about marriage
James D. Regehr
Special to CW
beckoned@mts.net
Recent decisions in Ontario and B.C. recognize same-sex marriages. While on one hand many "good Christian" people are outraged, on the other I sometimes wonder what the big to do is about.
Life in Canada includes freedom. This freedom is not dependent on religion. In other words, you do not have to be a Christian to be a Canadian. You do not need to be a Muslim, or a Jew or a Hindu in order to be a Canadian. You do not have to be religious at all in order to be able to enjoy the rights and privileges of citizenship in Canada. Citizenship is based on things other than religious convictions.
Canada is not a totalitarian state where one particular religion or morality is imposed upon all her citizens. Canada prides itself on its multicultural diversity. Canada has taken this respect of individuality so seriously that entrenched in the very constitution is a charter of human rights that insures our freedom and individuality.
The Hindu religion regards the cow as sacred and as such a devout Hindu person will abstain from eating beef in any form.Yet those who are Hindu in Canada, although having the right to believe and eat as they see fit, have no right to impose their values on those citizens of this country who do not share their beliefs.
In the same way, Judaism regards pork as "unclean" and therefore the devout Jew abstains from eating any form of pork. Yet those who are Jews in Canada, although having the right to believe and eat as they see fit, have no right to impose their values on those citizens of this country who do not share their beliefs.
Every culture and religion has its own set of standards and morals. No one culture or religion has the right in Canada to impose its values on others.
Canada respects the distinctions of our multicultural society. On the other hand, if a person was looking for a religion, and loved eating beef, the Hindu would need to advise that person that if they wanted to become a Hindu, it would require giving up beef. Likewise, a person interested in becoming Jewish must be prepared to give up eating pork.
The fact that a person refuses to give up pork simply indicates such a person would not be ready to become a Jew. The fact that a person refuses to give up beef simply indicates such a person would not be ready to become a Hindu. (I do not mean to indicate that Hinduism or Judaism are only concerned with food, but I used that simply as an example to demonstrate my point.)
The Bible often instructs us to intentionally choose whom we will serve and how we will live. The Bible instructs us to behave in certain ways and to adopt a certain morality. There is no law in Canada that prevents people from doing so.
May we gain a better attitude toward our "neighbours" and respect his or her right to also choose a life’s path. Should that path be other than the path the Bible marks out, it remains the right of the individual both under God and under the law of this land to choose it.
The Bible instructs us to live our lives in such a way that our "good deeds" beckon others as a light in the darkness.
The very fact that same-sex marriages are becoming legal in Canada bears testimony that what our country needs is not legislative reform, but a heart to follow the path God has marked out in the Scriptures. This cannot be legislated.
In Canada, we have the right to choose what we will believe and how we will live. Make your choice, and give others the right to make their own choices too.
The New Testament instructs that those who choose other than to follow the path marked out in the Scriptures will be dealt with by God in His way and in His time. "Let him who does wrong, continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy. Behold, I am coming quickly and my reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done" (Revelation 22:11-12).
When He appears, what kind of "reward" will He have for you?
James D. Regehr, Ph.D., is an independent scholar of Monotheism (www.theorder.ca) and serves as a pastor in Snow Lake, Manitoba.
