Seems like a lot of people who comment on an issue I raised don't know what "begging the question" means... They simply assume the desired outcome (e.g. - marriage is a religious institution and given to a man and a woman) and say "I defined my term -- you are wrong"... How silly can you get...

Good point.

Yeah -- people don't recognize the issue as being "should the definition of marriage be changed" ... they think there's is right... that is has been constant "forever" and "for everyone" ...

All you have to do is look back 50 years: Most states had formally defined marriage (via law) as between partners of the same race... If you asked the mormons back then, marriage was an institution by which a man could marry several wives, etc. etc. etc.

There is nothing wrong with revisiting an issue and applying 20th century sensibilities and intelligence to the discussion...

There is nothing wrong with revisiting an issue and applying 20th century sensibilities and intelligence to the discussion...

If you're stuck in an ancient dogma, that could be a problem.