At the risk of simply adding to
the white noise over the DOMA act (Defense Of Marriage Act- which defines
marriage as being between one man and one woman) being deliberated in the
Supreme Court this week, I thought I would share some thoughts I’ve been
kicking around since this thing started.
Honestly, after sifting through the horrifying battle scene unfolding on
my facebook feed this week I feel compelled to offer a perspective I can’t
believe I haven’t yet heard elsewhere.
I want to start by saying that I
care deeply about people who happen to live on both ends of this issue. So far
as I am able, I’d like to clarify some thoughts and offer a perspective which
ends with two related issues that I think are more dangerous for Christians
than gay marriage.
Marriage Equality and the “Christian Perspective”
To sum up (admittedly in too few words to do either justice) the two views that I’ve seen represented this week:
It seems to me
that folks looking to see DOMA undone focus on the fact that a homosexual man
or woman does not enjoy the same freedoms a heterosexual man or woman enjoys
because they cannot marry whom they want. DOMA is a restriction of their
freedom of choice to marry (and love) whomever they please. More than that,
there are perks and rights enjoyed by married couples granted them by the
Federal Government that homosexual couples do not receive (practical stuff like
hospital visits and tax status).
As a
Christian myself, if I have to see one more
post either from Christians OR from those who mischaracterize the Christian
position I might just puke. There are
plenty awful views to talk about, but maybe MOST frustrating is seeing posts by
Christians whose best answer to the watching world is "The bible is
against homosexuality". Beyond
whether that statement is true I just don't think that this argument does ANY
justice whatsoever to the beauty of what the bible (and the Christian
perspective on marriage) is actually promoting. That’s a conservative stance but not uniquely a Christian stance and those had better be separated in our minds no
matter who we are and what we believe.
Where is the unique understanding of Biblical theology and the
gospel?
For an amazing look at what a sound Christian theology of marriage can mean check out this video from Justin Taylor’s blog.
All of
this has got me thinking...
Two Things More Dangerous
for Christians Than Gay Marriage
1. Biblical and cultural illiteracy.
Very few people from within the church seem able to
articulate why this ought to be a GOSPEL conversation and not merely a
"culture war". This
untethering from the gospel implications and theology for marriage has led to
ENORMOUS compromise by Christians who, due to a lack of Biblical thinking and
theological understanding, either alienate themselves, and others, or capitulate by saying; "This is what I believe, but it's totally okay if you
want to believe and live THAT way - I sin too, so I'll be quiet." The
latter is Christian relativism, and it's not “meta,” it's cowardly. We are
called to be patient and gentle when interacting over issues like this with
someone who doesn't consider themselves subject to the Lord. But if we also see
the greatness and grandeur of Jesus Christ proclaimed in and through marriage,
there isn’t any wiggle room for speaking of it in either an offensive way or in
a wussy way. The gladness of people in the
greatness of God is worth losing your life for, let alone a handful of
off-color remarks about you.
2. Divorce.
Christians, let's be honest - divorce is a FAR MORE devastating phenomenon on our families and witness than gay
marriage. Don't mishear me: I'm not saying he debate over gay marriage is
unimportant - I just don't think right
now in the life of the church it's the most detrimental thing to our
families. This spectre works from within
and is wreaking havoc on us as we speak.
But maybe if we expend our energy and resources on a different issue
nobody will notice, right?
There are certainly other issues with the ways I’ve watched
this debacle play out this week (such as ostracizing people from the Church and creating prerequisites for faith), but these two issues loom large and are enough for now.
This post co-authored by Ole and Andy.
