The Four Neglected Causes

        I was unfortunate (or perhaps fortunate) enough this past Sunday to hear a bit of junk on the radio all about gay "marriage" advocates. What struck me was that these people often didn't even care about arguing the issue. They just wanted to push it through. "Who cares if two men or two women want to get married? If it makes them happy, why not let them do it?" (Some people also voiced their hope that when the pro and anti-gay "marriage" people got together, there would be no serious disagreements between them. I certainly hope that that is not the case!)   
        What frustrates me was that not one of them asked the four simple questions about marriage that they need to ask to understand what is right and what is wrong. I will ask these four questions for them, but I will not answer them--not yet. I think each deserves an article at a time. Here they are:
        
         #1: What is marriage?
         #2: Who instituted it?
         #3: What is it's end/purpose?
         #4: What does it consist of?
       
         These questions are actually an application of Aristotles "Four Causes", a very important tool in philosophy. They have largely fallen into disuse, and this affair is no exception.
         Chew on these for a while, and I will do the best I can to write answers to them, either in dialogue form or article form.