Same-Sex Marriage

The election is finally over… mostly. There will be an excruciating recount of votes in the Virginia senate as the nation watches to see whether the Democrats will take control of the Senate as well as the House. At least there will be no political advertising in papers, radio and TV while we are waiting. If the folks who had spent a gazillion dollars on ads promising to do good things if they were elected would have spent most of that money doing good things, the world would be a much better place.

One outcome that was not in doubt was the “same-sex marriage amendment” which was passed in yesterday’s election by a wide margin (58% to 43%). At the same time I was reading those results, I received a GracEmail from Edward Fudge where an Episcopal subscriber who lament their denomination's majority acceptance of same-sex unions asked, “Is there any biblical or traditional justification for these positions?” Edward answered like this—

We may safely say that there is absolutely no basis in either scripture or orthodox Christian tradition for the same-sex unions, blessings or ordinations which some within the Episcopal Church are urging (and some are doing). Attempts to justify homosexuality by the Bible rely on unfounded historical assumptions, strained exegesis and a willful ignoring of the fact that Scripture always presents such conduct in a negative light. For those reasons, same-sex advocates are increasingly acknowledging that the Bible stands against their view and simply saying that the Bible is wrong.

It is also urgently important to say that we should not hate homosexual people, regard as sinful any person of homosexual orientation who lives a godly life, or deny anyone their civil rights. No Christian ought to tell homosexual jokes, or use derogatory labels, or taunt someone regarding sexual orientation. There is no excuse for behaving cruelly toward anyone, or treating any person other than with dignity, kindness and respect. It remains unclear, in my opinion, whether homosexual orientation is a matter of nature or of nurture. Ours is a fallen world, a fact which affects us all, and either explanation now seems possible.

The church in every age must compete with the spirit of the world, and the gospel's call to purity of life is always at odds with our own sinful natures. Some of these sexual issues happen to be in the forefront of the present struggle for the soul of various mainline denominations. However, the same larger spiritual struggle is underway daily for all Christian people, heterosexual or not, and ultimately it is won or lost on an individual basis. Our most pressing concern therefore is our own faith relationship with God, and our own walk -- with all its implications -- in the Spirit of the Risen Jesus Christ.