Opinion

Jesus did not invent marriage

Posted July 02, 2013 4:40 am

I cannot agree with the June 22 letter from Joe Schrantz that marriage was instituted by Jesus Christ as a holy sacrament and ceremony between a man and a woman, and therefore gay marriage is not right for Illinois.

He would limit gays and lesbians to civil unions, which are instituted by the state, and he tells us that marriage as a church-created ceremony should not be between two persons of the same sex.

I cannot agree that marriage was instituted by Christ. I have Jewish friends who are married, and Judaism predated Christianity as a religion. Is Mr. Schrantz telling us that Jewish couples were never able to be married until Christ subsequently came along and founded marriage? I myself believe that marriage is a simply a ceremonial event that permits two people who are in love and committed to each other to formalize their relationship with the ceremony of marriage, and I have no problem with two persons of the same sex being united through a marriage ceremony.

Marriage is not a matter of sexual orientation or gender, but rather a matter of love and commitment between two individuals. I strongly believe that the ceremony of marriage should be available not only to heterosexual couples but also to couples of the same sex. Let each of us have our own personal religious views on this matter, but let us not seek to impose them on others.

Theodore M. Utchen

Wheaton

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