Equality debate may 'debase' marriage, says Jeremy Irons

Actor Jeremy Irons wonders whether legalising gay marriage may lead to its manipulation in order for fathers to pass on their estate to their sons without being taxed.

Speaking to the Huffington Post, he said: "Could a father not marry his son?" 

The Borgias star said he "doesn't have a strong feeling either way" about gay marriage, saying he wished "everybody who's living with one other person the best of luck in the world because it's fantastic".

"Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, is great," he said.

"It's lovely to have someone to love.  I don't think sex matters at all.  What it's called doesn't matter at all." 

However, the married actor said of the debate on whether to legalise marriage: "It seems to me that now they're fighting for the name.  I worry that it means somehow we debase, or we change, what marriage is.  I just worry about that." 

Gay lobby group Stonewall called his comments "bizarre".

News
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day

A major fire tore through one of Amsterdam’s best-known historic buildings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seriously damaging the property and forcing people to leave nearby homes.

Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures
Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism. 

We are the story still being written
We are the story still being written

The story of Christ continues in the lives of those who take up His calling.

Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas
Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas

International Christian Concern reported more than 80 incidents in India, some of them violent, over Christmas.