bob&carole
2006-11-17 14:09:33 UTC
OTTAWA, ON, Canada (UPI) -- Canadian Christians are being urged to
contact their lawmakers and encourage them to support an upcoming
motion to reopen the debate over 'gay marriage.'
Such a motion by the Conservative government could come in December,
and it could be the first step in a process to overturn a 2005 law
pushed through by the then-Liberal government legalizing 'marriage'
nationwide for homosexual couples, Baptist Press said Wednesday.
Newspaper tallies say Conservatives may not have the votes to pass the
motion, but churches across the country aren`t giving up.
On Nov. 9 more than 40 denominational and religious leaders from
various backgrounds released a 'Declaration on Marriage' defending the
natural definition of marriage and requesting Parliament and the rest
of Canada to re-think the issue.
'Changing the definition of marriage involves a repudiation of
millennia of history and experience,' said the declaration, which was
signed by Baptist, Catholic, Islamic, Mennonite, Methodist, Orthodox
and Pentecostal leaders. 'Redefining marriage as being `between two
persons` eclipses the essence and full purpose of marriage; the inner
connection between marriage, the complementarity of the sexes,
procreation and the raising of children is lost. 'When severed from its
nature and purpose, marriage becomes simply a euphemism for a committed
relationship between two consenting adults. Such an understanding
diminishes both the sacred and civil dimensions of marriage and fails
to promote the common good of society.'
Even before 'gay marriage' was legalized, there were concerns about the
curtailing of religious freedom in Canada. Christians there now believe
it could get worse.
In 1997 Hugh Owens, a Saskatchewan man, placed an advertisement in a
newspaper citing four Bible passages to denounce homosexuality. That
sparked a lengthy court battle that saw him fined $4,500 for violating
the province`s human rights code. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
finally overturned that decision earlier this year, but Christians said
the damage to religious freedom already had been done.
Last year the Alberta Human Rights Commission, after receiving
complaints from two homosexual citizens, began investigating a Catholic
bishop over comments he made about 'gay marriage.' His views, published
in a newspaper column and in a letter to parishioners, expressed
traditional biblical beliefs about marriage and homosexuality. The
complaints eventually were withdrawn, but not before the bishop was
forced to hire a lawyer, the Catholic Register reported.
Additionally, several provinces have forced out marriage commissioners
who refused to preside over 'gay marriages' on moral grounds.
Gerry Taillon, national ministry leader for the Canadian Convention of
Southern Baptists (CCSB), said there are other concerns.
'Let`s say a gay couple wants to get married and the church has a hall
or a fellowship center,' he told Baptist Press. 'That`s a pretty big
issue because it could be seen as an infringement of human rights to
deny them that ability to get married.'
The CCSB has posted letters on its website, urging churches to get
involved in the issue and to contact their member of Parliament,
commonly known as an MP. Also, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has
downloadable resources on its website for churches, including bulletin
inserts focusing on the 'gay marriage' issue before Parliament.
'The most important thing to do is [for a church member to] write their
MP and voice their opinion, and hopefully they will say they`re against
gay marriage,' Taillon said.
National groups such as Focus on the Family Canada are urging churches
to put a policy in place outlining how their property can and cannot be
used. By not doing so, experts say, a church is risking having a
complaint filed against it in the future by a homosexual couple looking
for a 'marriage' facility.
But the issue of 'gay marriage' presents more than legal problems,
Taillon said. It also presents complex spiritual ones.
'What if a gay couple has two children and [the couple is then]
converted to Christianity? Whether we like it or not, those are their
parents,' Taillon said. 'That`s going to be very complicated. We`re
going to say, `OK, now that you`re converted, you must abstain from
homosexual behavior.` We`re going to say that you must not live
together. But it`s going to be complicated if they`ve raised kids and
those kids are 4 years old.'
contact their lawmakers and encourage them to support an upcoming
motion to reopen the debate over 'gay marriage.'
Such a motion by the Conservative government could come in December,
and it could be the first step in a process to overturn a 2005 law
pushed through by the then-Liberal government legalizing 'marriage'
nationwide for homosexual couples, Baptist Press said Wednesday.
Newspaper tallies say Conservatives may not have the votes to pass the
motion, but churches across the country aren`t giving up.
On Nov. 9 more than 40 denominational and religious leaders from
various backgrounds released a 'Declaration on Marriage' defending the
natural definition of marriage and requesting Parliament and the rest
of Canada to re-think the issue.
'Changing the definition of marriage involves a repudiation of
millennia of history and experience,' said the declaration, which was
signed by Baptist, Catholic, Islamic, Mennonite, Methodist, Orthodox
and Pentecostal leaders. 'Redefining marriage as being `between two
persons` eclipses the essence and full purpose of marriage; the inner
connection between marriage, the complementarity of the sexes,
procreation and the raising of children is lost. 'When severed from its
nature and purpose, marriage becomes simply a euphemism for a committed
relationship between two consenting adults. Such an understanding
diminishes both the sacred and civil dimensions of marriage and fails
to promote the common good of society.'
Even before 'gay marriage' was legalized, there were concerns about the
curtailing of religious freedom in Canada. Christians there now believe
it could get worse.
In 1997 Hugh Owens, a Saskatchewan man, placed an advertisement in a
newspaper citing four Bible passages to denounce homosexuality. That
sparked a lengthy court battle that saw him fined $4,500 for violating
the province`s human rights code. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
finally overturned that decision earlier this year, but Christians said
the damage to religious freedom already had been done.
Last year the Alberta Human Rights Commission, after receiving
complaints from two homosexual citizens, began investigating a Catholic
bishop over comments he made about 'gay marriage.' His views, published
in a newspaper column and in a letter to parishioners, expressed
traditional biblical beliefs about marriage and homosexuality. The
complaints eventually were withdrawn, but not before the bishop was
forced to hire a lawyer, the Catholic Register reported.
Additionally, several provinces have forced out marriage commissioners
who refused to preside over 'gay marriages' on moral grounds.
Gerry Taillon, national ministry leader for the Canadian Convention of
Southern Baptists (CCSB), said there are other concerns.
'Let`s say a gay couple wants to get married and the church has a hall
or a fellowship center,' he told Baptist Press. 'That`s a pretty big
issue because it could be seen as an infringement of human rights to
deny them that ability to get married.'
The CCSB has posted letters on its website, urging churches to get
involved in the issue and to contact their member of Parliament,
commonly known as an MP. Also, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada has
downloadable resources on its website for churches, including bulletin
inserts focusing on the 'gay marriage' issue before Parliament.
'The most important thing to do is [for a church member to] write their
MP and voice their opinion, and hopefully they will say they`re against
gay marriage,' Taillon said.
National groups such as Focus on the Family Canada are urging churches
to put a policy in place outlining how their property can and cannot be
used. By not doing so, experts say, a church is risking having a
complaint filed against it in the future by a homosexual couple looking
for a 'marriage' facility.
But the issue of 'gay marriage' presents more than legal problems,
Taillon said. It also presents complex spiritual ones.
'What if a gay couple has two children and [the couple is then]
converted to Christianity? Whether we like it or not, those are their
parents,' Taillon said. 'That`s going to be very complicated. We`re
going to say, `OK, now that you`re converted, you must abstain from
homosexual behavior.` We`re going to say that you must not live
together. But it`s going to be complicated if they`ve raised kids and
those kids are 4 years old.'