Render Unto Caesar

The Supreme Court has made a decision. Whether it is right or wrong depends on your point of view. I have previously taken the position that marriage, being primarily a religious rite, should be between a man and a woman, as most religions would have it. I have changed my opinion. 

Even though marriage is primarily a religious rite, it is equally a civil action and has been since Roman times, at least. So I accept that civil law also has a right to define marriage. As Jesus said "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's".

But, accepting this, civil authority should "render unto God what is God's". In other words, if churches do not accept same sex marriage, the government should not force them to. The government has many ways to punish those that stray from the federally approved path. To use those punishments on any church taking a moral stand would be flat out wrong and unconstitutional. I am certain that there will be many liberal churches out there willing to accept same sex marriage giving the option of a religious ceremony as well as a civil ceremony. 

I do, however, disagree with what the Supreme Court did. I am referring, not to the contents of their decision, but to the fact that they made a decision at all. It is not the Supreme Court's duty to legislate from the bench. And that is exactly what they have done. They have usurped the duties of Congress.

In the past seven years the concept of the tripartite government has become so blurred as to be unrecognizable. We have the President writing new law. We have the Supreme Court writing new law. We have regulating agencies writing new law. The only ones that seem unable to write new law is the Congress.

Rightly or wrongly, the deed is done. Americans will accept it and live with it. No one will be harmed. Some people's moral sense may be bruised. But then some people will have a little more joy in their life. All in all, I suppose life is in balance and time will march on.