![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/WeddingKiss.jpg\")
<\/a>What bothers me about “traditional” marriage is the terminology in the debate. There is nothing wrong with tradition. Tradition is something established that is handed down through time, and certainly, marriage is that. It is something that is customary, and marriage is surely that, too. But when we place something in the category of tradition, we may also be implying that it is a cultural convention that can be changed. “Traditional” marriage is changeable, open to new traditions that are equal to, if not superior to, what has been in the past. And this is where the problem lies.<\/p>\nMarriage is not a mere tradition. It is something provided for by God. A marriage can be lawful or unlawful (by God’s law). It can be legitimate or illegitimate.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, we can see why the whole homosexual marriage debate must frame marriage as “traditional,” for the whole idea of the modern push is to change the tradition. If it is mere tradition, it can be changed. If it is something established by God wherein He joins together male and female, not to be separated (Matthew 19:4-6), then it is more than mere tradition and cannot be properly changed.<\/p>\n
The problem, too, is that marriage is now being used as the tug-of-war rope to normalize a practice that is not divinely sanctioned. If marriage can be redefined, starting with the idea that it is mere tradition, then the practice of homosexuality can be legitimized. However, legitimacy is not determined by cultural practice or the sheer will of those who will push an agenda through; legitimacy is found in God.<\/p>\n
So when it comes to marriage, it’s not about a tradition; it is about what is legitimate, lawful by God’s standards, and moral. Let’s pay attention to the terminology because that is what frames the discussion. If terms can be redefined and controlled, the outcome will be much more than semantics.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer What bothers me about “traditional” marriage is the terminology in the debate. There is nothing wrong with tradition. Tradition is something established that is handed down through time, and certainly, marriage is that. It is something that is customary, and marriage is surely that, too. But when we place something in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[64],"class_list":["post-38118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-marriage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46328,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-arent-able-to-meet-the-terms-necessary-for-a-traditional-wedding\/","url_meta":{"origin":38118,"position":0},"title":"We aren’t able to meet the terms necessary for a traditional wedding","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I just have a quick question: I am a lady of 31 years and my boyfriend is 32 years old. We are both working and studying. I am Zulu and he is Venda. Our cultures are not the same. The Vendas pay a lobola, but the Zulu people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52891,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-husbands-family-is-denying-him-a-traditional-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":38118,"position":1},"title":"My husband’s family is denying him a traditional marriage","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been having this dilemma and do not know how else to proceed. My fianc\u00e9 and I had a civil marriage with the consent of both parents. A year later we were to have a traditional wedding (as I am African) and then a church ceremony. Long story\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26518,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-cant-marry-my-girlfriend-because-we-are-from-the-same-clan\/","url_meta":{"origin":38118,"position":2},"title":"I can’t marry my girlfriend because we are from the same clan","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am from Uganda. I have lived with my girlfriend for 8 years, but it was only a few months back that I realized we belong to the same clan. I love my girlfriend because she has been there for me, but the problem is, I need a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25297,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/scriptural-marriage-traditional-customs-and-civil-laws\/","url_meta":{"origin":38118,"position":3},"title":"Scriptural Marriage, Traditional Customs, and Civil Laws","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sunday Ayandare via Words of Life, Vol. 15, Nos. 2 and 3. April - Sept. 2007. [This has been adapted. It does not include the many customs and traditions practiced by the Nigerian people that Sunday had included in his writings. James W. Sasser] The subject of what constitutes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Nigerian-wedding-199x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":33889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-not-to-get-married-in-a-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":38118,"position":4},"title":"Is it a sin not to get married in a church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am in my late twenties and my fiancee is a year younger than me. We live in an African country, and we have been engaged for several years now. We have been waiting for the approval of my fiancee's parents. They don't want the marriage because I am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56108,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-enormity-of-it-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":38118,"position":5},"title":"The Enormity of It All","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Joel Solliday As a writer, I make mistakes. Once upon a blog, I claimed that a point my\u00a0opponent\u00a0was making was a \"mute point.\"\u00a0 I soon learned that an inconsequential point is actually a\u00a0\"moot\u00a0point.\"\u00a0 Oops! I have also misused the word\u00a0enormity, as if it meant something BIG! Enormity actually refers to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/elephant-199x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}