Marriage is a Christian construct?

[callmeMurph]

(Let me make this clear, this is not a debate about gay marriage, merely a debate on whether it is right to say marriage is a Christian institution.)

Nope, Jews got married way before Christians were even around.

 

[Gracchus]

Nope, Jews got married way before Christians were even around.

And Hindus, Egyptians and Sumerians, even before that there were such things as Jews. Among the Northern Cheyenne, he was considered a lucky man indeed who married another man. Such wives were treasured.

 

[shirono]

You are aware that Wicca is not the best example to use, especially when you are bringing up cultures/ethnicities/spiritualities etc. that pre-date Christianity as a means of discussion and comparison. Wicca is purely a 20th century development, even though it does have roots in ancient Pagan rituals.

I was not actually bringing that up as an example of an older marriage ceremony, I was bringing it up to show that people can be/and still choose to be married in a non-christian ceremony. Making the irrational fear of some Christians that "if gay marriage is legal, we'll be FORCED to marry gay people."

That's a memory my family could have done without a reminder of. The first Christmas after Transformers first came out, there was another brand which also had a cartoon, and one or two generic brands. My mother didn't know any better, and she just picked up transforming toys for all her grandchildren that looked interesting and were in her budget. Such a kerfuffle you never saw, over who got "real" Transformers and who got knock-offs.

I remember a similar issue with some Power Rangers knock-offs one Christmas. I got these things and my mom is sitting there smiling and saying "I got you Power Ranger action figures just like you wanted!" And I was very upset, because those things were not Power Rangers.

I know- when it comes down to it the whole row can come across as rather childish. But to continue your analogy- it's not as if there is only one toy, there are lots of this type of toy.
There are lots of different types of Transformers toys, and some people prefer certain Transformers over others. There are enough Transformers toys for everyone who wants one, but some kids seem to be insisting that only they and their friends can have them. Everyone else can have a toy that looks similar to but not actually like any existing Transformer, which doesn't have the Transformer logo and isn't actually a Transformer.

I believe you win 1,000 internets for that example and I'll be sure to keep it handy for arguments!

 

[Skaloop]

That's a memory my family could have done without a reminder of. The first Christmas after Transformers first came out, there was another brand which also had a cartoon, and one or two generic brands. My mother didn't know any better, and she just picked up transforming toys for all her grandchildren that looked interesting and were in her budget. Such a kerfuffle you never saw, over who got "real" Transformers and who got knock-offs.

Kids back then; so Gobotophobic...