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Sunday, August 17, 2008 12:00 AM

Barack Obama's purpose-driven gamble

The Democrat wanted to show he could compete for evangelical votes, too. Will he succeed?

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  • Monday, August 18, 2008 02:48 PM

    Dear Jim

    As a happily, monogamously, heterosexually married man, let me suggest that your standard definition of marriage is pretty narrow. For a broader definition of marriage (less attached to a specific context and applicable to humans throughout the world and across time), consider the following anthropological definition:

    "Marriage: A culturally sanctioned union between two or more people that establishes certain rights and obligations between the people, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. Such marriage rights and obligations most often include, but are not limited to, sex, labor, property, child-rearing, exchange, and status"*

    *Haviland et al.

    2008 Anthropology: The Human Challenge, 12th Edition.

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