To be against same-sex marriage in our culture is increasingly being equated with being racist or sexist. It is often equated with those who were against school integration and interracial marriage. As states vote on amendments, as protestors demonstrate, as celebrities and politicians take sides, the issue is coming to a boiling point.
How does God’s Word guide Christians to think about a tough issue like same-sex marriage? And then, how does God guide us on how to respond to this issue in our cultural context?
Dan Franklin
Hi Dan, I think the fears I have about allowing same-sex marriage is where will the advocates demands end. They now want to teach alternate life styles to our children in school. If our children are taught that this lifestyle is acceptable, then they might decide to experiment or even feel peer pressure if they don't try it. A parents job is hard enough trying to teach them not to do drugs or alcohol and then add same sex experimentation. It is hard not trying to be an alarmist but we have seen that experimentation in drugs can and have led to stronger and more addictive drugs. Sex with the same gender is a sin and teaching our kids in school that it is ok is going against the laws of GOD. Where do we make a stand? I agree with what you said this sunday and also believe that being confrontational is counter-productive. But are we being homophobic or do we allow it to happen, almost like we did when we allowed them to take prayer out of our schools. Any insight or direction would be helpful.
ReplyDeleteOscar, I certainly relate to your point. This is one of the reasons why, while I don't think it is a black and white issue, I think it makes sense for Christians to vote in favor of defining marriage as a commitment between a man and a woman. When we normalize same-sex marriage, it has an impact on education and adoption and some of the things you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIn cases like this, though, I do think we need to make sure we have perspective on the whole thing. Right now there are many things taught in schools that can be harmful to our kids. This doesn't downplay the normalization of homosexuality, but it does remind us that this is one of many issues with which we are confronted.
I am not against the idea of Christians taking a public, and even legislative, stance on this issue. However, I think we always need to ask the question, "How are we as Christians using our voice?" There are only so many things that we will be known for in our culture. While this is an important issue, do we want this to define us?
We all know that the goal of the gospel is not to convert people from gay to straight. It is to lead people from death to life. While this always includes a behavioral shift, that is secondary. This is why anytime that we are talking about gay marriage, we need to make sure we are demonstrating how this flows out of the freedom-giving gospel of Jesus.
Thanks for your feedback on this. If you want to discuss further, you could always feel free to email me personally.
Talk to you soon.