David Dunn recently wrote an incredibly insightful post about gay marriage and how many Christians are calling on the government to help us protect the “sanctity of marriage.” He says in his article that doing is basically making an idol of the state. I couldn’t agree more! Here is an excerpt from the article he wrote:
New York’s recent legalization of gay marriage is being hailed by many as a watershed moment in the history of the fight for equal rights for same sex couples. Whatever the long-term consequences of this decision may be, chances are, in the near term, it will be met with increased opposition from Christian conservatives. Their efforts, which reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of marriage, are misguided at best and sinful at worst. There will always be Christians who oppose “homosexuality” on moral grounds, but enlisting the state to protect “the sanctity of marriage” is a mistake. Such efforts demonstrate a fundamental – even idolatrous – misunderstanding of the meaning of “holy matrimony,” effectively denying Christ by vesting the state with divine authority.
California’s infamous Proposition 8 and similar measures sure to make it onto the ballots during next year’s election fall prey to the so-called Constantinian temptation. When Constantine legalized Christianity in the early fourth century, some began to see an almost godlike authority in the state. An increasing number of Christians found it difficult to tell the difference between the things that belong to Caesar and the things that belong to God.
Yet, despite their confusion, those earlier Christians generally knew there was a difference between God and the state, even if they could not always tell where it was. Our sin is worse. Today’s Christian conservatives seem to be worshiping America, or at least a certain idea of it, when they ask the government to protect the “sanctity” of marriage. In doing this, they have vested the state with the power to sanctify.
…Anyone who thinks marriage is something sacred needs to recognize that from the church’s perspective all marriages granted by the state for tax and inheritance purposes are just civil unions by another name. Christians who truly believe that marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman are welcome to their belief. But Christians who demand the state take up the task of defending marital sanctity are effectively making the state their god. They seem to think that their local capitol can perform miracles when only the Holy Spirit has the power to sanctify.
If marriage truly is a sacrament, as many Christians (including myself) believe, then we need to be much more concerned with developing a robust theology of marriage and making that understood among our congregations than with mobilizing them to deny the right of a civil marriage to same-sexed partners. If we believe marriage is a sacrament, then all marriages performed outside the church are civil marriages, and however the state defines marriage can have absolutely no bearing on its sanctity as far as the church is concerned
…Calling upon the state to protect our sacrament is an act of extreme unfaithfulness. Only God can make a marriage holy. Christians can continue to fight about what kinds of marriages “count” as sacred, but we have also learned to agree to disagree about such things. In polite company, and for the sake of keeping peace with each other (because mutual apostasies take so much effort), we can do with marriage what we do with our disagreements about eucharist and baptism: keep our mouths shut and let God sort it out in the end.
If you want to read the rest of this article on gay marriage, you can do so here. Eastern Orthodox Gay Marriage
Interesting point! Hadn’t thought of it that way. I’m quite sure that Robert Gagnon (most well known scholar in the field of homosexuality and scripture) would not see it that way. One of the main arguments is that if traditional marriage is not defended then all will descend into moral chaos. Though from a Christian viewpoint, both scripture and tradition, homosexuality is problematic. However, how much of the time did Jesus or Paul persuade Christians to get involved in changing the sexually immoral practices of the Romans and Greeks via political pressure? Hardly at all, instead, they challenge us to focus on ourselves. Collectively we’re one, but individually we must engage introspectively to walk with the Spirit.
I will admit I haven’t studied much on this subject… either way. I know there is much I do not know about this particular area. I haven’t heard of Gagnon, but will look him up. Thanks!
Very thought provoking.
Hey Mark! Yeah, whether we agree with this guy or not, he raises some good points to consider.
Since the state confers a bounty of civil rights and benefits on those whom it considers “married”, and most of us who are married have taken advantage of some of those rights and benefits, we have allowed the state to decide who may marry. The state considers not what you and I, our club, or our religion considers the requirements for two people getting married. The state sets its own guidelines.
We need not accept those guidelines. We can have a marriage performed by and recognized by only our religion. Of course, we will not gain the rights and benefits (or suffer the losses – I have been part of “religious” weddings conducted by churches for elderly couples who did not want to lose retirement benefits if they had a marriage recognized by the state) of a civil marriage.
Most of us, however, want the rights and benefits of a marriage the state recognizes and have allowed the state to determine who may marry. We can ask the state to include specific requirements, but we long ago surrendered to the state the right and power to determine who may marry. The church no longer has the power to tell the state to enforce its guidelines for much of anything.
Perhaps it happens, but I have never heard of anyone who bypassed a state-recognized marriage and had only a religious marriage, with the exception of those people who do it to avoid losing certain benefits. Where are the people who feel so strongly about the state accepting gay marriage that they themselves are refusing to have a state-recognized marriage?
Great points, Sam.
Although, I do know many people who have had religious marriages, but not civil ones…. there are several financial reasons involved… Something about “single” parents getting aid from the state.
You are also right that the church no longer has the power to tell the state what to do. I am glad we no longer have this power, for when we do, we always abuse it in the name of Christ. Besides, we wouldn’t want Sharia law, and I doubt many in our country would want Christian law.
Oh yes, I’d forgotten that. One would not want to mess up one’s welfare benefits by being married by the state, right? Christians should have a religious marriage
if that benefits one financially, but a civil marriage if that benefits
one financially. However, gay people should not be allowed to take
advantage of the financial benefits of civil marriage because that would
be unBiblical or immoral or something like that. Do I have this right?
You
did a good job making the point. Now I need to have my accountant run
the numbers so I’ll know which kind of marriage I need.
Yep. Maybe some Christians can get divorced in the eyes of the state buy stay married in the eyes of God just so we can get financial aid from the state.
RIght on.
Dunn wrote a good article, right?
I completely agree, Jeremy. God owns marriage, not government.
Thanks, Chuck!
Good grief. What a ridiculous article. Of course we don’t “idolize” the state… and how could Christians’ efforts to define marriage as between one man and one woman be called ‘misguided” or “sinful”??
We are called to be light and salt, and one way to do this is to stand up and speak out FOR BIBLICAL VALUES and against sin…yes, of course we should be preaching/teaching/living God’s “theology of marriage” in our own marriages……but God has clearly defined marriage as between one man and one woman, and therefore, when our government says it’s otherwise, we should be light and salt and speak up, and vote accordingly.
Would you, and the author of the article, feel the same way if the government were to legalize pedophilia? Or open beastiality? Does legalized abortion fit in your category of homosexual marriage also?, ie, it’s “misguided at best or sinful at worst” if/when we speak out against it? How about Genocide?
Yes, we need to, as Christians, LIVE God’s way, but we also need to be light and salt and not just stick our head in the sand and act like…or give the impression that…homosexual marriage, genocide, and abortion are ok , by our lack of speaking out because we’re too busy living our own little holy lives.
We are to speak out against sin, but we are only to do so for believers. Paul made it very clear that we are not to judge how unbelievers live.
“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?” (1 Corinthians 5:12)
So you don’t speak out about any sin whatsoever in the lives of anyone in the world? What about if someone comes to kill you or your family? Would you judge that as a wrong way to live?
You’re not understanding what we’re saying. Of course that would be wrong, but it’s not our place to be determining what the kingdom of man does. We only need to be concerned with the kingdom of God.
honestly, this article and your posting of it really disturbs me.
I went and read the whole article, and it’s such a stupid argument.
The ending statement: “keep our mouths shut and let God sort it out in the end” is indicative of the lack of Biblical knowledge of the writer. GOD HAS ALREADY “sorted it out”.
Homosexuality and abortion and lying and stealing and gossiping and dishonoring your parents HAS ALREADY BEEN SORTED OUT….IT’S ALL SIN. Because God says so.
Well, at least you admit that you didn’t even read the whole article before your first comment. Now that you have read it, however, I don’t see how you could think that Jeremy is saying these things are not sin. They are sin. I agree with you there, and I believe that Jeremy does as well. Jeremy is simply saying that it is not our place to enforce Christian morality on unbelievers. The kingdom of God does not need the kingdom of man.
Jeremy is not addressing the issue of whether or not homosexuality, lying, stealing and so on are sin. That would be a different discussion. As I read it, the import of Dunne’s article also does not go to that issue. Even though people have a variety of opinions on that subject, that really is not the discussion here. Please notice that no one here is shouting at you (words in all caps) or calling you stupid. You might return that courtesy.
Thank you for your articles about homosexuality. I am finally starting to be able to wrap my mind around the concept of how to love them. I have never even considered a difference between religious and civil marriage. And I liked your comparison in a comment about Sharia law and how we probably wouldn’t appreciate that. However, after reading this many times, I still do not understand what this means for practical living as a voter. Is there a way you could put this into context? I feel that we have more power as individuals in affecting public policy in the U.S. than early Christians in foreign lands. Thank you for your insights!
Thanks. There is a series of blogs on this topic over at Eternity Bible College blog that has been interesting for me to read….
http://facultyblog.eternitybiblecollege.com/series/homosexuality-in-the-bible/
Here
are some thoughts.
“Let everyone be subject to the governing
authorities, for there is no authority except that
which God has established.” Romans 13:1-2
Fortunately, unlike in Paul’s day, we live in a
democratic society where we have a check on how the government is doing. As far as I know God is still in the business
of judging nations, which means that they are still accountable for their good and
bad. The act of marriage is not just for believers; otherwise the Law would not
say “you shall not commit adultery”.
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,
intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people- for
kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in
all godliness and holiness.” 1
Timothy 2:1-2
Do we put our trust in government? That would be
a joke, and a sin. But we do have a
direct command to care about the decisions that are being made in
government.
“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and
doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” James 4:17
I agree with all those Scriptures. So if our government legalizes gay marriage, do you agree with them or not? What would be your stance?