Religious Left??? My 2 cents.

Why isn't there a larger religious left? For the life of me, I can't figure out why liberalism and Christianity are mutually exclusive? Things are not so black and white. Why is it that a majority of Christians believe that torture and the death penalty are the way to go? I highly doubt that Jesus would be lining up to vote yes on those. Yet the religious right has the audacity to condemn women who receive abortions. Don't get me wrong, I completely believe that abortions as birth control are a sin, but there are so many instances in which they can be justified. There are complex physical and mental circumstances that surround pregnancy. The only way to fairly decide who should be allowed to receive an abortion and who should not, is to bring each case to trial. Which is not only completely impractical since abortion needs to occur as soon as possible, but also impractical in terms of economic resources involved. Therefore we cannot have a blanket law to ban abortions.

Lets talk marriage. I think most would agree that marriage was created for procreation and the raising of children. I think most would also agree that marriage was intended for men and women since procreation naturally happens biologically between a man and woman. This has been a social standard, religious or not, for thousands of years. I believe that marriage should continue to be between a man and a woman. Now lets talk civil unions. I think it is important to point out that marriage and civil unions are NOT the same thing. A civil union allows 2 people to be legally tied to one another and grants benefits like those of marriage. Now let me explain why I'm not entirely against civil unions. First, a civil union does not necessarily imply sexual orientation. Second, in a country where single motherhood is through the roof, divorce is the norm, and children are being raised in a haphazard way, I don't see anything but good would come from allowing more civil unions if they help bring stability to these homes. I'm suggesting that civil unions not be exclusively the product of homosexuality. I don't see how it can hurt to take the "marriage" out of civil unions. I'm not sure if I'm making sense, so let me give some examples.

In the old days marriage was about a contract in order to maintain a family unit. It was not about love and romance. People did not get divorced for over infidelity or financial strain. Not to mention all the other insignificant things people divorce over. What if, for the sake of maintaining a family for their children, these couples separated the idea of love from the legal terms that unite their unit? I think that there are plenty of couples with children that would be happy to have a legal civil union without being "married". Does that makes sense?

Here is another situation in which I think civil unions would be awesome. As a mother of 2, I can imagine how difficult it would be for a single mother to raise her kids alone. We have all these single moms, who often in an attempt to help their situations, get involved with even more sorry men. Then they end up with more children and no husband. If I were a single mom, I could TOTALLY see myself partnering with a heterosexual female friend for the sake of securing our children's future. How blessed would those children be if one of the "moms" could stay home with them while the family receives healthcare and other benefits through the other mom's job? I think ideally every child should have a male role model too, but if one is not available, what is the harm in having 2 loving parents legally joined to provide for their families? I'm sure many single moms have not even considered how civil unions could benefit them. I believe God has a master vision of how families should be, but the reality is that families are becoming a thing of the past in America. Perhaps we need to rethink what is in the best interest of the next generation.