I've always said GetReligion is a great site for analysis of news stories from a religious perspective, but the hosts have truly outdone themselves with their posts on same sex marriage (this post on the nauseating cheerleading from the media regarding same sex marriage is particularly good).
I also liked this post regarding the religious ceremonies of these unions.
The Christian model of marriage is based on the relationship between Christ and the church. The husband is to sacrifice for his wife as Christ gave himself to the church. The wife is to respect the husband as the church obeys Christ. You can read all about it Ephesians 5. When my husband and I got married, this was the understanding of marriage that we were instructed in. This was included in our marriage rite. Such clear roles for husband and wife wouldn’t make sense for same-sex partners. Or, if the same rite is used, who represents Christ and who represents the church? Is the same model of Christ and church used for same-sex partners? How is this understood? I would love to learn more about liturgies for same-sex marriage — or just other marriage liturgies in general — rather than some throwaway line about how some people say the rites are “unequal.” I mean, really.
This is about the best Christian explanation of the marriage rite that I've seen anywhere. There are lots of legal or secular explanations for gay marriage, but I'm curious how religious couples get around the Christian teachings about marriage.
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