Redefining Things

by Tina Coffey

Something has been on my mind lately.  It is the effort that human beings make to re-define things. Let me make clear before I go any further that I do not believe in discrimination of any form.  I believe firmly that we are all beloved children of our Heavenly Father and I believe that He calls each and every one of us into relationship with Him.  We are all uniquely created.  Each of us has gifts but as a result of original sin, each of us also has tendencey toward sin.  I believe that our tendencies toward sin are as unique as our gifts.  

That being said, I want to focus on one particular thing:  re-defining things.  I started researching the definition of "marriage" and where the term came from.  I also looked into the history of marriage and I found that based on what resource I look at, the definition is different.  Most people who have a strong opinion about the subject know that the Catholic church defines marriage as "a covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." (CCC 1601)  This is the definition I choose to believe because, as a result of my free will, I have chosen to be obedient to the Catholic Church.

I consider myself open to listening to others even though I may not agree with them.  I started thinking.  Why do we have a definition for anything if everyone has their own explanation for something?  Some people will look at history, others the bible, still others look to themselves to define things.  As I pondered this, I thought is there any authority that is undeniable that everyone must accept as fact?  Then it came to me!

What is?  What is - is the answer!  I realize this may not make sense at first and some may try to misinterpret it. Let me offer an explanation.  In the natural world the union between a man and a woman produces life.  Without this, the human population would go extinct.  That is a fact.  Ideally, the union should be exclusively between one man and one woman and happen in a natural way.  Otherwise other conflicts arise.

I think by re-defining words, particularly words pertaining to things that exist in nature we kind of "devalue" definitions altogether. 


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