O
Oscarthecat
Guest
So, looking at the present state of marriage and the family, how well would you say that tact is working?What do you think of the government promoting marriage and families via the tax system in an effort to stabilize society?
There is only one reason why I believe this is so important in the first place: the law is a teacher.
If the government redefines the word “marriage” to include homosexual unions, people will start believing that definition – mostly non-Catholics. We have seen how Protestant teachings change, I wouldn’t expect many of them to last. Eventually, it will start to permeate into the minds of many Catholics as some morally liberal issues have (ABC, for instance).
You’re mixing up your aphorisms…the law of man is not the teacher, the Law of God is the teacher.If “marriage” is redefined, it will do damage to Catholicism (nothing fatal of course, but it will be detrimental nonetheless). If the government were to get out of all marriage issues, I would be happy. Unfortunately, I can’t see this ever happening. We could only expel them from our own, and that wouldn’t solve the problem.
Men can make bad laws as easily as good ones, and when the law of man conflicts with the Law of God, we have to make a choice about which we are going to follow.
The law of man could change the legal definition of marriage so that it refers exclusively to the mating habits of the rare amazonian flying hamster, and that would not change the Law of God, and it would not change the validity of Sacramental Marriage.
As the People of God, we should not shy away from living in exile if it is necessary to remain faithful to the Law of God. I don’t mean that we should head for the hills, I just mean that we should not be upset that our values separate us, socially and culturally, from mainstream society when the mainstream is in opposition with God.
History generally shows that the experience of exile makes faith communities stronger, not weaker.