Preserving Society’s Bedrock
Randall Gauger
‘“Marriage” means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.’
These amazing words from the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) transcend tradition and culture. They define the basis of civilisation: the family as the bedrock of every society. What’s more, these words are completely in line with God’s will for humankind. Marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation of the God-ordained family.
Yet it is just this foundation which is being attacked and undermined by the global push to legitimise same-sex marriages. The debate is often strident. Increasingly, those who question same-sex marriage are accused of ‘racism’ or bigotry. This effectively silences many in society who have deep misgivings about same-sex marriage.
But on an issue so vital to the survival of a sane society, we must not be silent. Indeed, we who know deep in our hearts what God wants for society must foster a dialogue about this issue. It is one we all need to grapple with as never before.
Too often, when discussing the implications of same-sex marriage, children are left out of the conversation. This is wrong: children are at the heart of families, and we need to be asking, ‘What is best for them?’
Every child has the right to know the father and mother who brought them into this world, and to be loved and respected by them. Every child needs a father and a mother; neither is expendable, and the one cannot fill the role of the other.
For generations, this was a self-evident truth. Yet today there are forces in society bent on destroying those rights of children, even as academic studies[1]clearly demonstrate that traditional families – those with a father and mother present – represent the best environment in which to raise children healthy in both body and mind.
Of course every man and woman who pledge life-long faithfulness to each other will go through good days and bad. A wedding ring is no guarantee of happiness. Yet there is an eternal blessing on marital faithfulness, out of which can grow the love and security all children crave.
At the Danthonia Bruderhof, we affirm and celebrate marriage as defined in our country’s Marriage Act. To deviate from that ideal is to put society and future generations in great peril.
Marriage – ‘the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life’ – is God’s will and design, and no government on earth has the right to change it. Those of us who believe this should do everything we can to preserve marriage as God intended it.
Randall Gauger and his wife Linda live at the Danthonia Bruderhof, Inverell NSW. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to send an email to the author and continue the dialogue.
[1]See, for example, the research of Dr W Bradford Wilcox and the National Marriage Project of the University of Virginia, USA. http://www.virginia.edu/marriageproject/