{"id":56108,"date":"2007-11-24T17:17:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-24T23:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=56108"},"modified":"2022-11-24T17:25:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-24T23:25:33","slug":"the-enormity-of-it-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-enormity-of-it-all\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enormity of It All"},"content":{"rendered":"\nby Joel Solliday<\/a>\n

As a writer, I make mistakes.<\/p>\n

Once upon a blog, I claimed that a point my opponent <\/em>was making was a “mute point.”  I soon learned that an inconsequential point is actually a “moot<\/em> point.”  Oops!<\/p>\n

\"\"I have also misused the word enormity,<\/em> as if it meant something BIG<\/strong>! Enormity <\/em>actually refers to an atrocity, or an outrageous, vicious, criminal act.  It pertains to the quality of passing all moral bounds into excessive wickedness.  An enormity<\/em> is a horrible offense or evil.  It does not refer to size (at least not originally).<\/p>\n

A correct usage goes like this:  “The dishonesty of some candidates is an enormity<\/em> beyond belief.”  Another might be: “The way he tortures the English language is an enormity!<\/em>“<\/p>\n

Okay, okay, I’m working on it!<\/p>\n

We all make semantic mistakes.  Communication is messy.  But what about those who use the force of law to mandate mistakes?  When a court of law enforces an entirely new definition of a word, should we sheepishly submit?<\/p>\n

Recently, the Iowa Supreme Court decided that marriage cannot be defined as a union between one man and one woman.  The ruling specifically dictated that “[the] definition of marriage necessarily must be expanded to include same-sex couples.”  So, marriage<\/em> in Iowa must<\/u> twist and bend to accommodate homosexual preferences.  By force of law, marriage<\/em> in Iowa now means something radically different from what it used to mean, and has meant for thousands of years.  The traditional definition of marriage, according to the ruling, “must be stricken from the statute.”<\/p>\n

Let’s back up.<\/p>\n

Jesus defined marriage<\/em> this way:<\/p>\n

“At the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’  \u2026 So they are no longer two, but one.  Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.<\/em>” (Matthew 19:4-6)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s the original definition (“at the beginning”) — <\/em>“…male and female… no longer two, but one.”<\/em>  Seven judges in Iowa have overturned Jesus.<\/p>\n

Six of the seven judges were appointed by Democrats.  Shame on them.  Shame on the one appointed by a Republican too!  The ruling reads like a homosexual activist script justifying special rights for “lesbians and gays.”  It’s full of heavy-handed rights rhetoric applied to homosexuals but not to polygamists, polyamorists, mistresses, bigamists, and same-sex incest advocates all of whom can equally <\/strong><\/em>qualify as consenting adults seeking equal marriage rights out of “love.”  All these grievance groups can lay claim to the same “disadvantages” that homosexuals claim.  Why is it still legal to “discriminate” against them but not homosexuals?  Are they less human?  Will the definition of marriage soon have to be changed to accommodate their preferences too in the name of “equal protection?”<\/p>\n

Marriage in America is becoming anything you can get away with.<\/p>\n

The enormity<\/em> of this decision is huge.  We are crossing moral bounds into excessive wickedness, by force of law.  The incredible arrogance of these judges is an enormity<\/em> beyond belief.<\/p>\n

Mothers and fathers matter to children.  No same-sex partnership or grouping can offer a child a mom and a dad, which marriage was ordained by God to provide for children.  Public elementary schools in Iowa will instruct small children that the traditional definition of marriage is discrimination<\/em> (which they are told is an evil thing).  And those who dissent will be called extremists and bigots (as is often already the case).<\/p>\n

The notion that children need a married mom and a dad is not<\/em> bigotry.<\/p>\n

Our moral infrastructure is unraveling along with the real meaning of important words.  In the same way that it diminished art<\/em> for Andy Warhol to re-define it as “…anything you can get away with,”<\/em> it will diminish marriage <\/em>to re-define it the same way.  Hurt marriage and you hurt children, badly.<\/p>\n

When governmental powers enforce moral atrocities on us, we should not go mute.  Don’t be intimidated or discouraged by the enormity<\/em> of it all.  Jesus still lives, and his own brave warnings about “Sodom and Gomorrah” (Matthew 10:16; 11:24 and Luke 10:12) reveal what he would stand up and say if he were here in the flesh today.  Be graceful and fearless but don’t be silent!  Remember, our eternal hope stands regardless of what happens to America.<\/p>\n

It’s easy to presume that the word enormity <\/em>means something big<\/strong><\/em>, because it sounds like “enormous.”  It’s one thing when a word changes its meaning by mistake.  It’s quite another when a gravely mistaken change is forced on us by dictatorial judges.  That’s<\/strong> a gross enormity!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joel Solliday As a writer, I make mistakes. Once upon a blog, I claimed that a point my opponent was making was a “mute point.”  I soon learned that an inconsequential point is actually a “moot point.”  Oops! I have also misused the word enormity, as if it meant something BIG! Enormity actually refers to an atrocity, or an outrageous,…<\/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":[35,38],"class_list":["post-56108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-homosexuality","tag-morality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3883,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-were-the-nations-scattered-and-was-the-world-one-continent-that-was-divided-in-the-days-of-peleg\/","url_meta":{"origin":56108,"position":0},"title":"How were the nations scattered and was the world one continent that was divided in the days of Peleg?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read the page titled \"Gog and Magog\" and found it very interesting, as well as helpful. But there is one thing I question: I thought, according to the Bible, that Egyptians and Libyans came from Mizraim, Ham's son, not from Put. Could you clarify this for me? Also,\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":24341,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/overcoming-bitterness\/","url_meta":{"origin":56108,"position":1},"title":"Overcoming Bitterness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Lawrence Kelley \"So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38717,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/he-done-good-isaac-watts\/","url_meta":{"origin":56108,"position":2},"title":"\u201cHe Done Good\u201d (Isaac Watts)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker Isaac Watts, who lived in the late 1600s and early 1700s, was a short man. My friend Rob Speer and I occasionally commiserate with each other about the fact that we are both, well, shall we say, somewhat vertically challenged. But Isaac was really small -\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\/2013\/05\/IsaacWatts.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27154,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-sarah-did-not-verbally-call-abraham-lord-wouldnt-peters-point-be-meaningless\/","url_meta":{"origin":56108,"position":3},"title":"If Sarah did not verbally call Abraham “lord,” wouldn’t Peter’s point be meaningless?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello brethren; Upon reading your article entitled \"Should wives call their husbands \"lord?\" \", I find it quite impossible that this refers to simply an inward confession. In I Peter 3:6, the context of Sara calling Abraham \"lord\" doesn't have anything to do with the appearance of the angelic\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":43854,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/proof-texting\/","url_meta":{"origin":56108,"position":4},"title":"Proof-Texting","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer In light of the way Paul sometimes quoted Scripture, even using isolated verses together in order to establish a point (e.g., Romans 3:10-18), can someone actually show from Scripture that what is typically called \"proof-texting\" is always bad? Don't get me wrong. I believe in context. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16509,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thank-you-for-the-resources-on-catholicism\/","url_meta":{"origin":56108,"position":5},"title":"Thank you for the resources on Catholicism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings. I am writing to thank you for all the wonderful lessons on Catholicism that you have on your site.\u00a0 I have been dating someone who came from a Catholic background, and although he went through the Catholic school system, he is learning that he doesn't know anything about\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56108","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=56108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56108\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}