Sadly, most of the media are entirely missing the point as regards the current same sex-marriage debate. It is not about “equality under the law” as regards marriage; it is about “redefining marriage” so that it is no longer what it once meant.

(Editor’s Note: The following is a Letter to the Editor published by The Scotsman in Edinburgh on October 10. We are republishing the letter in its entirety with permission of the writer.)

As someone who disagrees with the Catholic Church on several matters, nonetheless I object to the implication of your editorial (8 October) which portrays the Church as some kind of ecclesiastical bully out of touch with modern society, which must be resisted.

I find it interesting that whenever any Church figure speaks about poverty, social justice etc, it is generally welcomed in the mainstream media, but let the Church dare to challenge any of the shibboleths of the self-styled guardians of “modern and progressive” Scotland, and suddenly it is demonised as a tyrant.

It is also interesting that your editorial seeks to portray this as one Church (the Catholic) on one hand, against “other religious leaders” on the other. Yet this is a false picture. The religious leaders cited earlier in the week included the Metropolitan Church (a tiny group of a couple of gay churches), the Quakers, the Liberal Jews and the Pagan Society. They are entitled to their views but they are a tiny percentage (less than 1 per cent) of religious groups in Scotland, the vast majority of which have come out against same-sex marriage. It is disingenuous to cite them as some kind of equivalence.

Sadly, most of the media are entirely missing the point as regards the current same sex-marriage debate. It is not about “equality under the law” as regards marriage; it is about “redefining marriage” so that it is no longer what it once meant.

It may give “equality” (whatever that means), but it is not marriage. That is what concerns the Catholic Church and many others. The lack of rational, intelligent discussion on this subject and the refusal to countenance any other point of view is a clear enough indicator that it is the “liberal” elite, rather than the Catholic Church, which is seeking to speak with an omnipotent voice within Scottish society.

David Robertson is a minister in the Free Church of Scotland. He is currently serving as the pastor of St. Peter’s Church, Dundee (a pulpit once filled by Robert Murray M’Cheyne) and is a frequent speaker at Twin Lakes Fellowship and other venues in the U. S.