Marriage The Case For A Constitutional Amendment

The people of Minnesota will consider an amendment to their state Constitution which will say that marriage is the union between a man and a woman.

The Rev. John C. Nienstedt, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, has written a compelling article defending the traditional definition of marriage and laying out the case for a marriage amendment to the Minnesota Constitution.

The following is an excerpt from his article:

Marriage matters to every Minnesotan, whether or not we choose to marry personally, because it is the natural way we bring together men and women to conceive and raise the next generation. The intended reality of marriage as a lifelong, committed, life-giving union between one man and one woman, a reality long accepted as established fact, is severely challenged today. High rates of fatherlessness and family fragmentation impoverish children and leave women with the unfair burden of solo parenting. Children suffer, but so does the whole society, when marriage fails in its irreplaceable task of bringing together mothers and fathers with their children.

Into this confusing mix, so-called same-sex "marriage" throws a whole new level of challenge and uncertainty. Defining marriage as simply a union of consenting parties will change the core meaning of marriage in the public square for every Minnesotan.

We might learn caution from experience. Back in the early 1970s, the experts told us that no-fault divorce would liberate women from bad marriages without affecting anyone else. We now know that as many as one-third of women fall into poverty with their children as a result of divorce. Social science caught up late with the common-sense wisdom that children need a mom and a dad working together to protect them.

In other words, changing the law of marriage to enshrine no-fault divorce had unintended consequences that few predicted. Same-sex marriage represents an even greater challenge.

The argument presented by Rev. Nienstedt is excellent. Read his argument for the traditional view of marriage by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini

Professor of Old Testament

Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Marriage, Marriage Covenant, Same-sex Marriage