I heard not one, but 2 people, on the same day, say:
The only justification for Prop 8 is from the Bible. It’s a religious issue. To maintain separation of church and state, Prop 8 should not be supported.
Prop 8 says – Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.
Is the argument above saying that everyone who supports Prop 8 believes in the Bible? If you don’t believe in the Bible, then you wouldn’t support Prop 8?
I find that hard to believe. I have friends who do not believe in the Bible and support Prop 8. The Bible must not be the only reason for Prop 8.
Are there good reasons for Prop 8 that are not so call “religious” reasons?
From a sociological point of view as pointed out by David Blankenhorn, there are many reasons to protect the definition of marriage.
From a logical point of view, there are many good reasons as well. Greg Koukl wrote a piece titled “When the Bride Is a Groom” that explores whether the definition of marriage is arbitrary or fixed. (The article can be accessed at Stand To Reason. Register for free and you can access free material.) Yes, Greg Koukl is a Christian, but he says nothing about the Bible in his article.
And no, he does not use the slippery slope into polygamy and incest argument either. It’s a long article but well worth the read.
If the Bible is not the only justification for Prop 8, the church and state statement is not relevant. (The doctrine of church and state is misapplied here in any case, but I’ll let that go for now.)
But let’s just say opponents of Prop 8 still want to use this argument. They say the Bible teaches homosexuality is wrong, so people are pushing their religious beliefs on the rest of society.
The Bible teaches murder is wrong too. Are laws against murder then religious oppression on a society? Should we not have laws against murder?