Why (Understanding) Marriage Matters...

Found on the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) website:

Do you know dogmatically assert that marriage is the union of a man and a woman but want some talking points have no idea how to even begin defending this idiotic notion? (via Why Marriage Matters - National Organization for Marriage)

Sorry. I had to make the editorial corrections. Let's take a really quick look at the Protestant handout found on the site:

Most Christians know from the Bible that marriage is part of God’s original order. “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help mate” [Genesis 2:18]. Jesus also affirmed that lasting, loving marriage is basic to God’s plan for us. “But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife. . .What therefore God hath joined, let not man put asunder.” [Mark 10: 6,7,9]

Ok. Good stuff. As far as I can tell from this, if you are a Christian woman, you should consider yourself created to be a man's 'help-mate.' Not really sure what this means, but it would have been nice had God provided a pay scale to go along with the job. As for the second passage, it reads to me that when men and women marry, they should stay married; no divorce. Fair enough: women are made to help men, men and women should not divorce. However, I fail to see how either of these passages have anything to say about same-sex marriage.

But did you know that a large body of social science research now affirms the importance of marriage for children, adults, and communities? Marriage matters because when fathers are committed to their children (and their children’s mother!), children are most likely to thrive and women are spared the unfair burdens of parenting alone.

Undoubtedly. On a completely different point, as it turns out, social science research now affirms that same-sex couples and their children enjoy the very same benefits of marriage! You can find bibliographies of these studies here and outlined here. That's great, but let's take a look at the specifics:

1. Marriage reduces the risk of poverty for children and communities. 
2. Fatherless households increase crime. 
3. Marriage protects children’s physical and mental health. 
4. Both men and women who marry live longer, healthier and happier lives. 
5. Just living together is not the same as marriage. 
6. Parents who don’t get or stay married put children’s education at risk. 
7. When marriages fail, ties between parents and children typically weaken too.

Well. other than point #2 (hint: the research that generated 2 actually studied 'single parent households' rather than 'fatherless' households, as evidenced by the explanation of that point "Boys whose parents divorced or never married, for example, are two to three times more likely to end up in jail as adults"), how exactly does any of these 'results of social science research' exclude same-sex marriage? It seems pretty clear that what makes all of these great things, great things is not "one penis-one vagina" but "two loving parents in a stable, committed, long-term relationship." Basically, NOM has missed the point of their own argument. Not only do they screw up their silly little scare tactic video, they really seems to be pandering to those who already agree with them. To expand the circle of people who do not think NOM is simply a religious group trying to ram their religious view down everyone else's throats, they reply on tricking people into fearfully agreeing with them. If NOM takes their biblical injunctions seriously, they need to review the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16). Sadly, there is an overleaf to this little piece of crap. I'll take a look at that another day... when my stomach settles.