Preview

Our Mutual Joy Lisa Miller Analysis

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1339 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Our Mutual Joy Lisa Miller Analysis
“Our Mutual Joy: The Religious Case for Gay Marriage”

Judging by the title of this article written by Lisa Miller, readers would tend to believe that this would be a piece of work written to support the religious side of the war on gay marriage. However, when reading through just the first paragraph, it becomes apparent that the essay is actually contributing to the discrimination of the Bible. This instantly detracts from the author’s argument because this places a biased predecessor on the information to come. The author places emphasis on the fact that there is no reason why gay marriage should be illegal. Proving her essay to be void of valuable information, this author did not effectively and correctly present the facts on …show more content…
Miller really likes to use her own opinions and perspectives when talking about the stories in the Bible. When talking about King David and his friend Jonathan and their love for each other, the point that they may have been romantically involved with each other comes up. There is no evidence that there was any sort of sexual relationship going on between the two men. The author states that “what Jonathan and David did or did not do in privacy, is up to imagination (Miller 233).” This is obviously an opinion based statement because there are no hints present in the passages about the two men that there was anything other than platonic involvement with each other. When using ethos to analyze this, it is clear that there is no logical explanation for why this would help her argument on gay marriage. It is not related to her thesis, also there is no source sited for where she got the …show more content…
When Miller incorporates a direct quote from a minister, she ignorantly states that “the Bible and Jesus neither explicitly define marriage as between one man and one woman. Furthermore, she follows this statement with an unsupported personal opinion that “no sensible modern person wants marriage to look in its particulars anything like what the Bible describes (Miller 229).” All it takes is to open the Bible to 1 Corinthians or chapter 2 of Genesis to verify that marriage is meant to be between two people of opposite sex. Not doing her research and her continual use of opinion-based statements proceeds to hindered Miller’s argument because it is not
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Argumentative Essay: Should Gay Marriage Be Legalized?
    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Argumentative Essay: Should Gay Marriage Be Legalized?

    One of the most controversial topics of today’s matter is whether gay marriage should be legalized or not. There are numerous reactions when this subject comes to discussion and can sometimes lead to a heated debate. Some individuals believe that homosexuality is unethical while people who agree with gay marriage believe to put in consideration that the sexual preference of another human being is necessary. With every conflict comes pros and cons and this topic is like pulling a tight-rope if ever brought up in a debate because you never know who will pull the rope tighter. Gay marriage has a vast influence on the society today, relevant to it becoming legalized, it is bound to impact future generations, and will affect the establishment of marriage later in life.…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Gay Rights
    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On Gay Rights

    Gay Marriage has quickly become a significant topic in today’s society. Leading to many different discussions of homosexuals having the rights to marry. Most people are opposed to gay marriage, stating it will interfere with the Bible’s concept of marriage which is one man and one woman (Genesis 2.3). Also stating how it can interfere with the reproduction of mankind. Everyone in our society in entitled to happiness and should be entitled to equal rights.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Traditional Marriage
    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Traditional Marriage

    Most Christians of all denominations believe that a “traditional marriage” is the union between two people of the opposite sex and only have one significant other. Moody explains, “Christians feel superior about their ‘tradition’ of marriage, I would remind them that their scriptural basis is not as clear about marriage as we might hope” (353 Moody). He discusses how in the Bible that some important men have more than one wife and some children have different mothers and fathers. Most people forget this or choose not to see it that way. They “seem to be unaware of the real history of the institution of marriage” (Mataconis). Anti-gay religious groups and anti-gay individuals are people who discriminate gays and lesbians and believe that they should not be given a “traditional marriage” because they view them as sinful and damned in hell for all eternity. Moody explains that these religious groups and individuals do not realize that their so called “traditional marriage” isn’t as what it seems to be. In earlier periods of time, such as the 1700s and 1800s, “Marriage was about property and power rather than mutual attraction. It was a way of forging political alliances, sealing business deals, and expanding the family labor force. For many people, marriage was an unavoidable duty” (Mataconis). As Mataconis states, a “traditional marriage” was thought of as a legal contract; that a couple who was to be married should be married under certain circumstances, not out of love as people nowadays believe it to be.…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Article Rebuttal
    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Article Rebuttal

    The article I decided to do is from the New York Daily News. It is on the topic of Gay Marriage and its title is “Five arguments against gay marriage: Society must brace for corrosive change.” In this article there are different areas of concern that the author talks about. One is religious freedom. The Author Wrote “A recent Newsday editorial said opponents “will be seen by future generations in much the same light as those who opposed school desegregation. Devout Catholics, Orthodox Jews and, ironically, the 70% of African-Americans who oppose gay marriage will become the new Ku Klux Klan?” (Forman, 2011) I disagree with this, there is no such thing as traditional marriage. Given the prevalence of modern and ancient examples of family arrangements based on polygamy, communal child-rearing, the use of concubines and mistresses and the commonality of prostitution, heterosexual monogamy can be considered "unnatural” in evolutionary terms. (Pro & Con Arguments: "Should gay marriage be legal?" 2011) The second argument is the Rights of Children. In the article the author says “More children living in gay homes means more children living lives absent a relationship with at least one biological parent. This will result in some emotional pain and confusion”. A study published in Pediatrics on June 7, 2010 found that children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of heterosexual parents in social and academic competence and had fewer social problems. And a July 2010 study found that children of gay fathers were "as well-adjusted as those adopted by heterosexual parents.” (Pro & Con Arguments: "Should gay marriage be legal?" 2011).The third argument concerns traditional marriage. “Eliminating the complementarily of the sexes in marriage changes its essence. It may be old-fashioned to believe women are still necessary to domesticate sexually predatory men. But…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gay Marriage Argumentative Analysis
    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gay Marriage Argumentative Analysis

    Who is to say who we can and cannot marry? The main issue is that homosexuals cannot explore the chance of marrying the one the love, while heterosexuals can marry freely. This action of not being allowed to being married is an act of being inferior than others, and dehumanizing. Sullivan and Bennett aren’t the only ones with beliefs on gay marriage; there will always be an opinion of gay marriage. Now that gay marriage is a possibility across America, people have become more open minded, time is changing. Who knows maybe gay marriage will be accepted as straight…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Marriage: Whats Really Important
    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Marriage: Whats Really Important

    Crittenden portrays in her essay that the 1950’s is the ideal time period for marriages. The author believes that in that era marriages worked because the wives were the homemakers and caregivers and the husbands were the breadwinners and providers. According to Crittenden because women are now going into the workforce and doing the things that men would typically do husbands are no longer needed, saying; “there is nothing now left to bind a man to his wife and children-or a wife to her husband-but the very tenuous bonds of affection and sexual attraction.” (2). Crittenden believes that if the gender roles are discarded out of marriages with partners sharing equal responsibilities that there is no reason for the couple to be married saying that the partnership resembles a gay marriage. The 1970’s hit McMillan and wife, a TV show depicting…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gay Marriage and Conflict
    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gay Marriage and Conflict

    Myers, D. G., & Scanzoni, L. D. (2005). A Christian Case for Gay Marriage: What Gad has Joined Together. New York:…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Critique Against William Bennett's Against Gay Marriage
    • 2038 Words
    • 9 Pages

    A Critique Against William Bennett's Against Gay Marriage

    Throughout the course of American history, every generation has built upon the foundations of freedom that were constructed by their ancestors before them. During the 1920’s, women finally earned the right to vote, and in the 1960’s, blacks finally gained their hard fought equality. Our current generations task, is to strive to obtain equal rights for homosexuals so that our children and grandchildren can live in a world where they can feel free to express themselves without the fear of discrimination and hatred based chiefly on their biological predisposition to be attracted to the same gender, and so that our grandchildren will one day look at the argument against same sex marriage as we do misogyny and racism; an argument based upon ignorance, and fear. When woman were granted the right to vote, it did not alter the process of voting, and when blacks were recognized as equals, it did not threaten the equality of any other man, woman, or child. These rights awarded to women and blacks simply gave them the privileges promised to them by our nation’s forefathers. The gay community’s quest to gain these aforementioned privileges is currently being obstructed by conservative pundits who believe that the love between a man and another man, or a woman and another woman, is not adequate enough to be legally recognized, although heterosexual marriage is. William J. Bennett, former Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan, author of several books that delve into the virtues and morals of Americans, and a former senior editor of the conservative journal, National Review, is one of those advocates against gay marriage. In Bennett’s opinion editorial which was published in the Washington Post entitled, “Against Gay Marriage”, he argues that legislation regarding the legalization of gay marriage should not be ratified because allowing marriage between homosexuals essentially…

    • 2038 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Argument Analysis on Gay Marriage
    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Argument Analysis on Gay Marriage

    There are many controversies surrounding today's world, such as abortion, animal testing, and social reform issues. It seems that no one can come to a common agreement on the legitimacy of these topics. Personal characteristics, such as upbringing, culture, religion and ethnicity, all play a role in determining one's feelings on a given controversial issue. However, one of the most protested and discussed issues in current political debate is same-sex marriage. There is no right or wrong answer to this question, only hard pressed arguments expressing speculation regarding supposed outcomes, benefits and possible tribulations that would come along with the endorsement of gay marriage. Such ideas are shown in pieces of writing by Manuel A. Lopez, in "The Case Against Gay Marriage" and by Scott Bidstrup in " Gay Marriage: The Arguments and Motives." These issues both discuss and contend common controversy surrounding the gay marriage debate. After reading and analyzing each essay, it is observed that Manuel A. Lopez' style of writing and literary tone give him the upper hand in establishing a more effective piece.…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Wife of Bath-Maistrie
    • 1264 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Wife of Bath-Maistrie

    Justification for having more than one husband, the wife argues, can be found in several instances in the Bible and argues this point throughout the prologue. She brings up Abraham and Jacob who ‘hadde wives more then two', siting this as evidence of the condonance of multiple marriages. She also mentions solomon who had over seven hundred wives and uses this in support of multiple marriages being permissible. These men ‘are all accounted wise holy men, yet all were married many times without incurring any stigma'. She cannot see where God expressly forbid marriage or ordered people to be chaste. Even Saint Paul merely advises those to remain single and chaste who could live happily married, ‘that is to be wedded is no sinne; Bet is to be wedded than to brinne'. She points out that when he spoke of virginity it was only his opinion anyway and ‘conselling is no commandment', he was not speaking with divine authority. The way the wife is very selective with information from the Bible and manipulates it to her advantage is typical of her narrative style and she omits parts that contradict her viewpoint. She does not mention that Abraham and Jacob were permitted to marry more than once due to special circumstances and that Soloman turned away from the Lord and followed strange gods. She also uses the Samaritan woman who had ‘five housbandes' to support her point, contradicting…

    • 1264 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Gilded Six-Bits
    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Gilded Six-Bits

    The author uses her two main characters Joe and Missie May to show the belief of marriage permanence. The Author uses the belief in marriage permanence to keep her main characters in a marriage jeopardized by a foolish decision. Marriage is more than just simply saying I do. In Marriage God makes man and woman one. God speaks about making man and woman one when he stated “And did not he make one ? Yet had he residue of the spirit. And wherefore one ? That he might seek a godly seed.Therefore take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth’’(Malachi 2:15). Dating back to biblical times it was believed that a man and wife should never divorce. It was never god's intention for man and wife to separate.God says “he hateth putting away:for one covereth violence with his garment’’(Malachi 2:16). Not only does God not approve of divorce, but divorcing one's wife removes the husband's fellowship with God. The belief of not divorcing one's wife is clearly shown in “The Gilded Six- Bits”.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    William Bennett Against Gay Marriage Summary
    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    William Bennett Against Gay Marriage Summary

    William J. Bennett, a great spokesman for American conservatives, has powerfully argued as the title indicates in his article "Against Gay Marriage." One does not have to agree with Bennett to appreciate the strength and goodness of his mind. Still, although he raises serious objections to same-sex marriage, his argument overall reads more like an outline, lacking specifics and expert opinions, referring to only one organized, careful study, and committing a number of logical fallacies which muddy and weaken his argument.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gay Marriage Rebuttal
    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gay Marriage Rebuttal

    3.5% of Americans identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered (LGBT) (Gates, 2006). Understanding that this is the minority it seems reasonable to conclude that normative definition of marriage may well be between a man and woman. When we look at his premise of historical precedent I know of few stories of same-sex couples in history and it seems that this then is true. In assessing reliability the speaker is the co-founder and chair of a multi-million dollar coalition and has been selected to speak at many political and religious conferences world-wide. Lastly in assessing validity the speaker has made a fallacy in…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Decline And Fall Of The Case Against Same Sex Marriage
    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of Decline And Fall Of The Case Against Same Sex Marriage

    The excerpt written by Andrew Koppelman, “The Decline and Fall of the Case Against Same-Sex Marriage,” is a strong stand against those opposed to gay-marriage. Koppelman shows the powerful legal and moral case for gay equality, but argues that courts cannot and should not impose it. Koppelman argues that gay-marriage should be a right to all and believes that those that don’t believe gays have rights are “tongue tied.” Others argue that gay-marriage is wrong because it demeans the sanctity of the word marriage and makes a mockery of God’s creation of man and woman to procreate. Koppelman refutes this idea and many more in favor of the ban against gay-marriage by showing how others sexual preference should influence another’s household.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gay Marriage: Should It Be Legal?
    • 1166 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gay Marriage: Should It Be Legal?

    Intro: recently there has been a lot of debating on whether it should be legal for homosexuals to get married. Margaret Court wrote an article in the herald sun 25 January, 2012, contending that allowing same sex marriage would be a “steep moral decline” and is a purely a religious institution. She argues that people get trapped in a pattern of saying something is right when deep down they know it isn’t, she believes that a person’s sexuality is a choice, and that we need to protect the sanctity of marriage. She directs these arguments towards other people of faith and others who are against gay marriage. On the 27th of January 2012, Martina Navratilova wrote an article in the herald sun contending that gay marriage is a “secular issue and not a religious one.” Martina argues that to deny couples their marriage rights, based solely on their gender is discrimination, and she argues that being homosexual is not a choice. Martina’s argument is aimed towards homosexuals, Margaret court, and other religious people who don’t believe in gay marriage.…

    • 1166 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics