Dear Editor:
In recent letters to the News Tribune there are those who have written to express their dismay over the Supreme Court's ruling concerning same-sex marriage. I understand the disappointment as it is based upon an inherited tradition of perceived moral authority stemming from religious adherence.
However, it is necessary to point out that this country is not now nor has it ever been a religious Utopian ideal. Those who came to this country were fleeing the oppression that a government merged with religion enacted upon those who dared dream of liberty and self-determinism.
The U.S.A. is a country based upon the principle of separation of church and state. Marriage is an institution of the government and as a result it is the sole authority of the secular government to determine the application of its own laws around its own institutions. This is its prerogative even in the face of public opposition as the U.S. government is a Republic based upon law rather than the mob mentality of a pure Democracy.
Everyone's rights to self-determinism should be protected under the banner of this great nation. This is a great nation because of the equality of rights afforded to everyone not just a specific class of citizens who deem their cultural norms greater than those of others.
The Bible is a great book and will always be a masterpiece of spiritual literature but even the Bible does not address marriage in the context of 21st century custom. In Biblical times marriage was not necessarily performed for the sake of being in love, it was not necessarily mutually agreed upon, it was polygamist and based upon the need for monetary and various legal needs.
Should this system of Biblical marriage be implemented in the U.S. today? The Bible may not endorse same-sex marriage but Biblical marriage couldn't conceive of same-sex marriage because it served no purpose in the ancient world. However, the Bible doesn't explicitly ban same-sex marriage for the same reason and thus using the Bible as a justification for or against a non-contextual ceremony in our own modern era is ludicrous.
This country is not a Biblical nation although it protects the rights of its citizens to study and apply the Bible to their own lives as they see fit. This nation also protects the rights of other citizens to live their lives as they desire. So long as this country respects the fundamental rights of others then society will be prosperous and faithful to the vision of those who fled to the shores of this continent.
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