Thirteen church leaders on the Border have come together in a united stance against same-sex marriage, releasing an open letter asking people to vote “no” in the postal survey.
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The letter is described as a “positive statement of our beliefs”, based on freedom of speech and religion.
“We recognise there are many different opinions regarding the current debate to redefine marriage and we offer our views with gentleness and respect,” it states.
“We consider it a privilege to live in a society where many different cultures and religions live in relative harmony.
“We support this diversity and we believe all people deserve the right to share their views in the public sphere.
“We want to emphasise that expressing an unpopular opinion is not necessarily bigotry or prejudice.
“We understand that differences may provoke disagreement, but we believe these differences should be debated with civility, being careful to avoid slander and vilification.”
The argument against same-sex marriage was based on support for the current marriage act, defined as “the union of a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others”, which the church leaders said was consistent with how the Bible describes God’s intention for marriage.
They said they regretted some same-sex couples had suffered injustice.
“Every person is created in the image of God and deserves to be valued and respected,” the letter stated.
“We therefore support Australia’s existing legal protections for same-sex relationships, however we do not think this requires the redefinition of marriage as traditionally understood.”
The letter was signed by leaders from Bread of Life Christian Church, Kingdom People Ministry, Christian Fellowship Centre, Wodonga Presbyterian Church, Albury Bible Church, Gateway Life Church, Everyman’s Welfare Service, Albury Presbyterian Churches, Albury Baptist Church, FOCUS Military Ministry, Albury Presbyterian Churches and GO Church Albury.
They argued that although some marriages and families break down, “a stable, loving marriage between a man and a woman provides the environment God intended for family life to flourish”.
“We affirm the rights of children and so we believe children have the right to know and be nurtured by their biological parents wherever possible,” the letter stated.
“Only the institution of marriage between a man and a woman has the inherent capacity to provide children with both of these relationships that are so foundational to our human identity and development.
“We encourage our local community of Albury-Wodonga to consider these views and perhaps affirm these views with us.”
