Harnessing Atheism to Defend Marriage?

On April 25th, a stunning 22 -year -old supermodel from the state of California hesitated as she attempted to answer what would become a national news phenomenon for weeks to come.

It was the 2009 Miss USA Beauty Pageant, and the question being posed to Ms. Carrie Prejean was on the political hot potato of homosexual marriage.

The judge, Perez Hilton, an openly homosexual man himself, asked, Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same -sex marriage.

Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not? Carrie, a devoted Christian, started to respond, but in the middle of her answer, changed her direction.

Well, I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that you can choose same -sex marriage or opposite marriage, and you know what?

In my country and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.

No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised, and that's how I think that it should be between a man and a woman.

Thank you. Little did Carrie know at the time, but that fatal switch would most likely cost her the competition, and immediately boost her supermodel status to superstar status with the conservative

Christian movement. Part 2. Marriage War. In the days which followed, the issue of homosexual marriage was debated more heavily on a national scale than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime.

Liberals typically attack the issue from an equal rights foothold, while conservatives approach it from a majority rights premise.

This observation can be detected by viewing almost any news show discussing the topic after the pageant.

On the O 'Reilly Factor's April 21st edition, Bill and Wayne Besson, a gay rights activist, debated the issue.

After Besson called Carrie's views bigotry and anti -gay during the course of the discussion, the following exchange took place.

Would she be anti -gay? I'm not anti -gay. She won't hold it, Wayne. Come on. I'm not anti -gay.

If you're against marriage on some level, you are. No, I won't hold it. But I'm against gay marriage because I don't believe it reflects what the country's vision is of a stable society.

Bill went on to use the legitimate slippery slope argument, homosexual marriage will lead to other types of deviancies in marriage, to contend with Wayne's position.

But he didn't realize that he in essence had already sawed off the very branch he was sitting on. While his emphasis on the country's vision certainly highlights his political fervor for popular sovereignty, it does not accurately portray the way in which a conservative value system is applied.

Majority rule may set legal precedent, but it certainly does not determine ethical truth. A mere 22 days before the

Miss USA beauty pageant, Iowa became the first heartland state to legalize homosexual marriage. Like most of the states that have legalized it,

Iowa's decision was not made by the legislature, but rather by the courts. Five days later,

Vermont became the first state to legalize homosexual marriage through the legislature, rather than through the courts, meaning that the conservative requirements for popular sovereignty have been met.

In spite of the fact that elected representatives made the decision, Maggie Gallagher, president of the

National Organization for Marriage, responded to Vermont's decision by stating, The conservative movement as a whole reacted using the same tired argument, claiming that since the majority of Americans opposed homosexual marriage, it shouldn't be legalized.

Well, I've got news for everyone. The majority of Vermont residents apparently support homosexual marriage, and won't be long until a majority of Americans support it.

A CBS tracking poll last June demonstrated that between 2004 and 2008, there was a 9 % increase among those in America who support same -sex marriage.

What fortress will those who support a biblical definition of marriage flee to once the winds of popular opinion shift?

The fact is, most Christians and or conservatives have done an exceptionally lousy job defending their assertions when it comes to marriage.

It's not like a sensible rationale doesn't exist in favor of their position, it's just that reasonable arguments which do exist aren't being utilized.

What is the reason for this? I believe it has to do with an axiomatic switch from a theistic to an atheistic set of presuppositions.

Most conservatives will say that they believe in God, but practically speaking, they may as well not when it comes to some issues.

The cosmic cube philosophy, that nothing outside of the material world exists, has taken hold of our culture to such a degree that virtually every debate takes place within its confines.

Traditionalists can debate, but they aren't supposed to bring up any line of evidence which may lead to something or someone outside the box.

Therefore, when it comes to the principle of good and evil, the members of the box are interviewed, while the creator of the universe does not reach for comment.

The evidence for this switch exists all around us. A preoccupation news agencies have developed for opinion polls has reached nauseating proportions, especially during the election season.

Another demonstration of this shift can be viewed when examining etymology. Theologian R .C. Sproul explained on this aspect when he stated,

Morality looks at the verb is. Ethics looks at the word ought. The distinction has been obscured in our day.

People use the term morality and ethics as synonymous. That leads to statistical morality. We go around the nation seeing what people are doing and how many people are cheating on their spouses.

In other words, the term morality refers to subjective creatures within the cosmic cube, while the term ethics refers to an objective standard based on someone outside the system.

The fact that we as a society can't seem to tell the difference between these words says something. Traditionalists have let seculars set the terms of the same -sex marriage debate for far too long.