In the Feb. 28, 2004, issue of World magazine, Joel Belz sees the debate concerning homosexual marriage as a signal that the outcome may already be determined.
“There is, in the end, only one sound defense of heterosexual marriage. The only ultimate argument is that restricting marriage to one man and one woman is part of God’s creation order, the pattern He planned for the good and the glory of the human race. Apart from that admittedly quaint rationale, every other raison d’etre collapses in contradiction and embarrassment.
“We may not like to admit it, but when you leave God’s design out of the argument, there’s really no overwhelming reason any longer to limit marriage to a man and a woman. Apart from His sovereign word, experimentation, reconfiguration and realignment of virtually every kind are in order. Why not?
“It is as if God were saying to us all: ‘I know you’d rather leave Me out of this discussion. I know you traditionalists and conservatives would like to be able to settle this based on secular arguments. I know it embarrasses you to have to come back and make reference to Me and My standards in such a secular setting. So,’ God seems to be saying, ‘go for it. See how far you can take it. See how persuasive you can be. Try it. See how many typical Americans you can convince based only on logic, history, tradition and poll numbers.’
“To win the marriage argument, you need either to have secular arguments that work, or a population that is ready to listen to God Himself. We’ve got neither, and that’s why I think we’ve already lost the debate.”