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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

GARY EMINETH: SELF-EVIDENT TRUTHS

I am writing this email in response to many who replied to my email last week on Ken Mehlman former Republican National Committee Chairman's OPED in the Wall Street Journal.

Ken Mehlman Former RNC Chairman on "Gay Marriage"

I received a record number of responses; many on my list are conservative and a majority Republican. While some did not agree with me completely, almost all who responded agreed with my conclusion-something has drastically changed in the public sentiments toward homosexuality and "gay marriage".

I place "gay marriage" in quotes because I believe it is a relatively new phrase in the general consciousness of the average population. It is a phrase that I would describe as an oxymoron - words which contradict each other by traditional definition and yet used to describe a known entity.

The following is my attempt to analyze the movement in contemporary culture to embrace and sanction the oxymoron of "gay marriage." My goal is to construct a thought-provoking if not disruptive response.

Something has to be done and I am in the seminal stage of decision-making as to what my involvement in the discussion will look like. I am not a philosopher, psychologist, a counselor or theologian. I am just a thinking, feeling member of the human race who wants to do my part to challenge progressive and potentially dangerous thought.

Call me naïve or even politically incorrect, but I believe that real change begins with the determination of one's convictions about truth. This exercise sets a moral compass by which to navigate the landscape; I for one cannot change the setting to accommodate the different segments of my life.

Some things never change; these things are facts; these things are true. One way of articulating this idea is familiar to most Americans. "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."

We don't go to school to learn these truths but many of the things learned in school reflect these truths. The following classroom discussions may help to reinforce this claim:

Biology: Male and female of a species are necessary for the species to propagate

Male and female members have unique reproductive anatomical structures designed for conjugal relationship and resulting in fertilization.

Sociology: Male and female humans form family units which become the basic structure of the society. In most cultures this is confined to one woman, one man and their offspring.

Shop/mechanics: There are countless combinations of parts-moving and stationary-which are designed to fit together in a marriage of sorts-nuts and bolts, electric cords, hitches and connectors with male and female parts so they can come together, "marry" and be fit for a specific function not possible when separated.

Religion: God created man, male and female He created them. They came together and the two became one flesh.

English: Websters definition of marriage:

1) A lawful union between a man and a woman

The origins, practice, and concrete illustrations of marriage in the world of nature, science and the physical world constitute the basis for a dictionary definition of marriage the way it is entered in a common dictionary because the definition is based on common usage.

Until recently, most dictionaries had only one primary entry on marriage; now most have two. This is not because the truth about marriage seen in the world around us changes-but because common usage of the word has been altered.

The question, "How does this happen in a God-fearing, "Christian" nation where over 70% of the population claim to be born again?" begs an answer or some kind of explanation. There is nothing Christian in this position.

There are those who believe in the freedom to redefine marriage. However in doing so, the truth is compromised. One theologian says that "partial truths are correlative to lies; freedom without truth is really no freedom at all."

It is my conviction that the truth about marriage is one of those self-evident truths referred to in the Declaration of Independence. It transcends cultural practice, legislation, tradition and definition. It is part of the make-up and out-working of nature. It is a perfect picture of the close intimate relationship between creature and creator for the express purpose of ongoing creation.

Some things don't change - the truth about marriage is one of those things. However unpopular this idea may be in 21st century civilization, it doesn't change the fact that it is true. Any attempt to redefine it will be a matter of personal whim or caprice rather than reasonable and rational action.

The unchanging nature of truth makes debate unnecessary even in light of changing cultural norms or the definition of words. However, that does not preclude the necessity to remind those who blatantly ignore this fact that they have compromised the essence of their argument with false assumption and a flawed premise.

The result of submitting oneself to the acceptance and practice of truth has the potential to set one free in order to do what he ought to do.

Today in America it has become popular to ask the question, "What is freedom?" A recent conversation I had with an acquaintance who travels the globe interacting with people in a wide variety of cultures. He told me that he believes freedom is a relative concept.

Relative. Related to. Related to changes in cultural norms, traditions, practices and circumstances and - here it comes --- public opinion.

Soon the concept which was once dubbed by a group of men and women as "self-evident, innate and endowed to mankind by their creator (i.e. designer and originator)", has become relegated to the subjective feelings and ideas of anyone who chooses to weigh in on the subject.

This newfangled ideology (which is really just the repackaging of an old lie), has been written about, imagined and defined as post-modern thinking (it may as well be called post-American and post--Christian).

The gist of this thought is reflected in European culture. Gone is the acceptance of absolute truth. God and Christianity are essentially irrelevant, tolerance is the attitude of the day, the churches are empty and society is secularized to the degree that almost any ideology other than evangelical Christianity, conservative Catholicism or Orthodox Judaism is touted as "good."

Anything in opposition to the Judeo-Christian ethical principles upon which this country was founded and established upon less than 250 years ago has become acceptable. Sharia law is gaining recognition and acceptance regardless of the oppressive, backwards and downright denial of certain fundamental human rights.

It is my conviction that the relativism of the late 20th century which set the stage for the post-modernism of the 21st century in its nascent stages is wrong it its assumptions about truth and will be the demise of the American way of life. Truth is truth whether or not someone believes it or embraces it. Acceptance or rejection of "self-evident" truth has consequences both temporal and immediate as well as spiritual and eternal.

In conclusion, I want to share an excerpt from an address given on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of independence from Britain by the Christian President of Uganda and I quote:

"We want to dedicate this nation to you so that you will be our God and guide. We want this nation whose foundations are firmly rooted in righteousness and justice and to fulfill what the Bible says in Psalm 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord - a people you have chosen as your own."

Uganda strayed far from these principles and has suffered greatly. This man recognizes a fundamental truth which is evidenced throughout history - the way of a country which denies God and his absolute principles is the way of decline and destruction.

When a nation flirts with the redefinition of self-evident and absolute truth it becomes only a matter of time before it falls.

In regards to the "debate" about the legalization of "gay marriage," God help those of us who know the truth to stand up and fight for what is right. God help America so that He can once again bless America.

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