Many Ministers/Priests are mired in basically medieval superstition, merely masquerading as Religious law. The very foundation of which, is do unto other as you would be done unto. To selective discriminate against a minority due entirely to an accident of birth, is neither part of church law, or the well documented evocations of its founding fathers.
If a still unmarried, gentle, kind, compassionate Jesus walked amongst us today, with his reported exclusive preference for male company? Many church goers/church leaders/control freaks, would judge him gay?
Moreover, given that judgement, they would deny him the same "CIVIL" rights accorded to almost every other member!?
And for no other reason than entirely personal anti-Christian bigotry/prejudice?
Which by the way, is as good as forbidden by the good Samaritan parable, or the do unto others evocation.
If the entirely intolerant religious right, believe they are representing a majority view, then they ought to get behind a referendum to put this issue to rest for once and for all time.
They should also encourage all politicians to accept a conscience vote on this issue.
As others have pointed out, every minister or priest is perfectly free to follow their own conscience on this issue and refuse or consent to perform same sex marriage or not, according to their own moral judgement.
As others have pointed out they are not the law!
Nor have they a history of adhering to the letter of that law when dealing with known or confessed child abusers in their shame-filled ranks.
A genuine moral code is not a invisible cloak; that can be put on or taken off, whenever convenient!
When it comes to treating all others as they would also be treated?
[A central Christian tenant!]
Religious Leaders need not to just talk the endless talk, but walk the walk as well.
Which might well make a very pleasant change from the patently hypocritical pious pulpit pounding pontification, which has patently driven so many Church goers away, along with their pocket books!
Rhrosty.

JonJ writes his usual rubbush

'Surely anyone who has enough capacity for independent thought to see that gay marriage is a fair, rational compassionate cause also '

the acceptance of something from nothing as rational and the idiotic dogmas that flow from it. And of course it is those uncompassionate Christians who nurse aids victims and other disease ridden people throughout the world. Don't let facts get in the way of your hatred of truth JonJ.

Rhrosty:

...Joining the “rant” brigade against Christianity demeans your argument for homosexual marriage. Your obvious intelligence must draw you closer to the conclusion that religious institutions are based primarily on codes of morality. Those codes are firmly fixed in traditions based on long, trusted and tried example, which “fix” society, (as a consequence), to a code of morality which are, to a greater or lesser degree, enshrined in the laws of the Country.

...The laws in Australia are controlled through the political process. This process has proved itself more than adequately compliant to democratic expectations of minorities, to accommodate their special needs in terms of Human Rights “protections”. These protections ensure that no minority group in Australia, should suffer from persecution aimed at them by any other group; or collective attack on freedom of speech or movement, and freedom to hold individual opinions expressed through religious gatherings for example.
A small but vocal element of Homosexuals community unfortunately, have overarched the definitions which are applicable to Human Rights, by presenting the vagaries of a “right” to marry each-other, in the normally accepted manner, applicable to “Normal” heterosexuals members of society: It is simply NOT a Human Right, it is a "desire".

...It is insignificant if sections of the Christian Church choose to support the homosexual contention of this small but vocal group, and agree to assist them in their endeavours. So I point-out, although the Church is the traditional “seeder” of the moral compass of Australian society, through the construct of law, The Church should not be subjected to hysterical attacks by this small wayward group of homosexuals, as they attempt to impose narrow views onto religious Institutions in Australia by "Guilt-tripping" them!: Particularly when the Christian Church is seen as the “weak underbelly” of the religious collective, and targeted to be the first "domino" to fall.

@Runner who reckons "the acceptance of something from nothing as rational and the idiotic dogmas that flow from it."

Hilarious!

I think you'll find it's actually the Christian creation myth which suggests the Universe was created by God from nothing, using magic!

Normal people are happy to accept they don't have all the answers, rather than having to make up lame stories about magic fruit and talking snakes to explain things they don't understand.

I hope the author is right, but I suspect the churches have a way to go before they finally give up discrimination against gays. More’s the pity.

CedarJ
You say “If you are a true follower of Jesus” you will not support gay rights. Please point me to any part of Jesus’ teaching the addresses homosexuality`

>>I think you'll find it's actually the Christian creation myth which suggests the Universe was created by God from nothing, using magic!<<

Our runner has his own unique view of the world. The way he sees it the Christian creation myth counts as something from something: the world from God. Without Magic Sky Dadddy the universe must have popped into existence from nothing, at least as runner would have it. I like Bertrand Russell's words on the subject:

>>If everything must have a cause, then God must have a cause. If there can be anything without a cause, it may just as well be the world as God, so that there cannot be any validity in that argument. It is exactly of the same nature as the Hindu's view, that the world rested upon an elephant and the elephant rested upon a tortoise; and when they said, 'How about the tortoise?' the Indian said, 'Suppose we change the subject.<<

Although it's by no means clear that the universe was without a cause. Runner just isn't up to date on current cosmological theories and the chances of him tearing himself away from his bible to do a bit of research on the subject are not what you'd call astronomical. He thinks cosmologists - along with most other scientists - are all members of a grand conspiracy orchestrated by the Masons to lead us all into witchcraft and necromancy.

Cheers,

Tony