Gay Marriage Rhetorical Analysis

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Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter astonished many Americans when he boldly stated, “I believe Jesus would approve gay marriage.” Same-sex marriage supporters swarmed the comment sections on news articles commending the former president on his open mindedness. In an article titled “What would Jesus say about same-sex marriage?” Randy Balmer expands on President Carter’s statement and argues that Christians should support gay marriage because Christians “support” other sins, because Jesus said nothing forbiding homosexuality in the Bible, and because Jesus required people to never judge others. However, Balmer uses flawed logic as he inaccurately researches Jesus’s teachings and wrongly assumes all Christians interpret the teachings of Jesus. Contrary to Balmer’s opinion that Jesus would encourage his followers to support homosexuality, Jesus opposed homosexuality and correct analysis of Balmer’s points will demonstrate that. …show more content…

In his argument, Balmer fails to respond to Matthew 5:31 where Jesus forbids divorce except in cases of abuse. Instead, he focuses on the fact that Christians now “accept” divorce. Does studying divorce rates among Christians truly refute the Biblical position on divorce? If it did, it would mean if a Christian lied or stole, the Bible would support lying and stealing. People cannot evaluate the character of Jesus by a person who claims to follow Jesus as many Christians fall susceptible to sin and deviate from the Bible. Jesus will forgive sins, but contrary to Balmer’s opinion, he does not condone