Significance of the Redefinition of Marriage (Hank Unplugged Short)

Hank Unplugged: Essential Christian Conversations

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, explains why the redefinition of marriage is such a serious matter. In the considered opinions of such great western philosophers as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, marriage was seen as a relationship between men and women. Indeed, in the Judeo-Christian tradition marriage has always been rooted in the dual, gender-distinct nature of humanity. As such, intercourse consummates marriage as a multifaceted mystery in which two people are forged together as one flesh. In mysterious union, a man and a woman procreate children fashioned in the image and likeness of their Creator. Marriage, however, is even more profound than procreation and paradisiacal pleasure—it is a mysterious parable of Christ and His church. The union of two people a poignant portrait of the unity of Christ and His bride. The parable has its roots in Genesis and bears ultimate fruit in Revelation. There are essentially three building blocks of civil society—marriage, church, government—resting atop the foundation of human life. Of the three none is more significant than marriage. The ABC’S—Anthropology: women and men enjoy strategic complementarity; as such, both are essential in the rearing of children. Biology: sexual reproduction requires male and female. Civics: Redefining marriage opens Pandora’s Box and spells the death knell to civil society.