One of the arguments used by opponents of same-sex marriage is that "marriage" has been defined the exact same way since... well, forever. They argue that including same-sex couples under the umbrella of civil marriage is somehow unprecedented in the whole of human history.
The problem is, though, that these Christians (and it's always Christians making this argument) are unable to support their claim. What's more, even a cursory review of the history of marriage will reveal significant changes in the definition, structure, and understanding of it.
Joseph Delli Gatti writes:
I haven't seen a true and elementary explanation of marriage anywhere else online - not one that is agreeable to Christians, Muslims, Jews, and secularists (no offense to any of those authors intended). This rather sad fact has inspired me to share the definition and purpose of marriage with Internet searchers of understanding. I don't adresse everything here; however, this article provides the reader with a general understanding of marriage as it applies to mankind.
So what does this author (Joseph W. Delli Gatti) profess that marriage is? I believe that marriage is a spiritual matter, that it's a legal matter, and more. Marriage has been defined by science to be the combining of two or more differing elements to create a new one.
Like the science definition, the Bible outlines that a marriage is a covenanted relationship made by two people of two differing sexes to join together to multiply. Regardless of whether or not someone believes in the Old Testament, they have to accept that it presents ancient culture and that it's the basis for the beliefs of the great majority of the world's population.
OK... so how exactly has marriage "been defined by science"? I've read lots of science books, but I've yet to see any chapter or glossary entry on "marriage." Do you suppose that Delli Gatti is just making that up because it sounds good?
Come to think of it, I'm not sure there is a definition of "marriage" in the Bible -- at least not a very explicit one. There are plenty of depictions of marriage, though, and those depictions include polygamous marriages. Delli Gatti surely knows this -- especially since he's Mormon and Mormons have an even more recent history of polygamous marriage.
So unless Joseph Delli Gatti believes that all those Old Testament polygamous marriages were invalid and, what's more, that all those Mormon polygamous marriages were invalid, then he believes it's possible for marriage to be defined as something other than "two people of two differing sexes." If he can allow polygamous marriages, why not same-sex marriages? That would require a more careful and detailed argument, which could be why he avoids it.
Maybe it's because his understanding of the topic is so superficial. Consider what Joseph Delli Gatti writes elsewhere:
According to the OS X.5 built-in dictionary, marriage is "the formal union of a man and woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife." Another definition to this entry is as follows: "a similar long-term relationship between partners of the same sex." This second definition is truly the topic of debate and of a lot of questions in recent years.
Well, let's turn to an even broader definition of what marriage is (according to the Mac Dictionary): "figurative a combination or mixture of two or more elements" This is probably closer than both earlier definitions in accuracy.
It's bad enough when people resort to "argument by dictionary" and they are at least using a comprehensive, unabridged dictionary. Here, Delli Gatti can't be bothered to look past the simplistic definitions provided by his computer. That's just sheer laziness.
"Marriage" apparently finds its dictionary origins in the French word "Marier" or "marriage". However, "marriage" the concept as it pertains to humans finds it's origins in ancient Hebrew writings. The first appearance of marriage in these writings (now referred to as the Old Testament), which Jews, Muslims, and Christians all share as doctrine, is contained in the book of Genesis. Genesis was apparently written by Moses and contains an account of a people from many centuries (possibly about 1,000 years) before Jesus Christ. ...
From ancient times, dating back to about 3,000 years ago (from 1,000 BC to 2009 AD), marriage has remained a joining of a man and woman in a procreative relationship. ...
Marriage has many different spellings and pronunciations in many different languages. The concept of marriage itself remains unchangeable and is not open for greater inclusiveness.
So, the "concept" of "marriage" comes from the ancient Hebrews and the Old Testament? By that "reasoning," marriage didn't exist at all before this or in cultures before they had contact with Jews or Christians. But we know this to be false -- we know for a fact that marriage bonds have been found in every culture studied (at least where we have sufficient information about the culture).
Thus it's patently false to assert that the concept of marriage comes from any single religious or cultural source. It's false to assert marriage has been defined in the exact same way by all those cultures at every time throughout history. The only way a person can say such things if is they are completely ignorant of the subject because they haven't done a shred of research or because they do know better but are deliberately lying.
Either way, though, everything they say on the subject can and should be dismissed as nonsense.
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