Gay marriage and christian beliefs
Why This Issue Matters
I’m a pastor. My concern is with the church—what she believes, what she celebrates, and what she proclaims. Achieving some legal and political end is not my main calling and yet, I’m concerned that many younger Christians—ironically, often those most attuned to societal transformation and social justice—do not watch the connection between a traditional view of marriage and human flourishing. Many Christians are keen to resurrect the old pro-choice mantra touted by some Catholic politicians: personally opposed, but publicly none of my business. I crave Christians to observe why this issue matters and why—when same-sex marriage became the law of the land—the honesty of the family was weakened and the freedom of the church was threatened.
I know this is an increasingly unpopular line of reasoning, even for those who are inclined to approve the Bible’s instruction about marriage. Perhaps you believe that homosexual behavior is biblically unacceptable. And yet, you wonder what’s wrong with supporting same-sex marriage as a legal and political right. After all, we don’t have laws against gossip or adultery or the worship of fake gods. Even if I don’t consent with it,
The Case Against Christians Attending a Gay Wedding
The case against Christians attending a queer wedding is relatively straightforward. We can lay out the case in three premises and a conclusion.
The Argument
Premise 1: Gay “marriage” is not marriage.
No matter what a government may sanction, the biblical definition of marriage (see Gen. 2:18–25, Mal. 2:13–15, Matt. 19:4–6; Eph. 5:22–33) involves a man and a woman. I won’t belabor the point, because I assume in this post that I’m speaking to those who agree with the Westminster Confession of Faith when it says, “Marriage is to be between one dude and one woman” (WCF 24.1). Gay “marriage” is not only an offense to God—sanctioning a kind of sexual activity that the Bible condemns (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:24–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; 1 Tim. 1:9–10)—gay “marriage” does not actually exist.
Premise 2: A gay wedding celebrates and solemnizes a lie.
Whether the service is done in a church or in a reception hall, whether it is meant to be a Christian service or a secular commitment ceremony, a gay wedding declares what is false to be true and calls evil good.
Premise 3: Attendance at a gay wedding bears public witness to The Great Divide, as geologists call it, is a rocky ridge that runs from the mountains in Alaska all the way through South America. The water on the west side of the Separate runs into the Pacific Ocean; the water on the east side finds its way toward the Atlantic. Water that at one time was flowing in the same river is now separated, and never again the twain shall meet. The decision of the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states has confronted us with our possess great divide: on the one side are those who hold to a biblical definition of marriage, and on the other are those who are “same-sex affirming,” insistent on providing a loving and welcoming stance toward these now-honored unions. As one conservative regulation professor said, after the backlash regarding the Parade 2015 RFRA ruling in Indiana, Cultural pressure is going to radically reduce orthodox Christian numbers in the years to come. The interpretation of what it means to be a loyal Christian is going to come under intense heat, not only from outside the churches, but from within. There will be serious stigma attached to standing up for o The Bible clearly teaches that marriage is the exclusive and lifelong union of one man and one woman. Genesis 2 records that marriage was instituted by God from the very beginning and hard-wired into human socie
The Great Divide: Same-Sex Marriage And The Evangelical Christian
Same-sex marriage
Facts
Biblical arguments