'Marriage is simply too important:' Christian couple vows to divorce if gays allowed to wed

Sarah and Nick Jensen, an Australian couple, published a letter saying they're considering divorce after 10 years of marriage -- because gay people in the country might soon have the legal right to marry, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

According to the paper, the Jensens believe "widening the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples threatens the sacred nature of the union and leaves the door open to polygamy."

The Jensens' divorce threat letter is lengthy, and can be read in its entirety here. What follows is an exerpt from the text:

"MY wife and I just celebrated our 10-year anniversary. But later this year, we may be getting a divorce. The reason has nothing to do with the state of our marriage. We were married at 21 after being high-school sweethearts for several years before that. In fact, my wife is the only woman I have ever loved, the mother of our children, my perfect match...

After our divorce, we’ll continue to live together, hopefully for another 50 years. And, God willing, we’ll have more children. We’ll also continue to refer to each other as “husband” and “wife” and consider ourselves married by the Church and before God.

So why do this? It will certainly complicate our lives as we try to explain our marital status on the sidelines during Saturday sport. The reason, however, is that, as Christians, we believe marriage is not a human invention.

Our view is that marriage is a fundamental order of creation. Part of God’s intimate story for human history. Marriage is the union of a man and a woman before a community in the sight of God. And the marriage of any couple is important to God regardless of whether that couple recognises God’s involvement or authority in it.

My wife and I, as a matter of conscience, refuse to recognise the government’s regulation of marriage if its definition includes the solemnisation of same sex couples...

When we signed that official-looking marriage certificate 10 years ago at Tuggeranong Baptist Church, we understood that the state was endorsing marriage, as currently defined, as the fundamental social institution – with all that this implied.

But if this is no longer the case, then we no longer wish to be associated with this new definition. Marriage is sacred and what is truly 'marriage' will only ever be what it has always been.

This has been a big decision for my wife and I. Some will accuse of us being bigoted or too hateful to share. But this couldn’t be further from our intentions.

The truth is, 'marriage' is simply too important. It is a sacred institution, ordained by God. It has always been understood to be that exclusive relationship where one man and one woman become “one flesh”. Any attempt to change the definition of marriage by law is not something in which we are able to partake."

Nick Jensen directs the Laclan Macquarie Institute, which "[fosters] a greater appreciation of the relevance of a Christian worldview in public policy."

"In modern Australia," reads the organization's vision statement, "we are now seeing the very nature of public life declining at an alarming rate. The adversarial nature of the parties, the unfortunate lack of reasoned debate, the shallowness of media interest, and the manipulation of power has all seen a real need emerge for leaders like Macquarie, leaders of integrity, faith and value."