Protection of Marriage
Editor’s note: The is the fifth of six posts looking alternately at Republican and Democratic priorities that I believe Jesus probably supports. If you’re new to this blog, it would be helpful to start from the beginning. But regardless, recognize that the very predictable reactions of cheering for one and booing for the other are the reasons for the earlier material.
The world we find ourselves in has made sexuality central to our identity. (*1)
So says Jackie Hill Perry in her book, Gay Girl, Good God. Over-identifying with politics is a root cause of our donkey elephant war, and over-identifying with our sexuality is a root cause of much of the ethical turmoil in which our culture finds itself. Perry grew up in the Church, but also grew up same sex attracted (SSA). When she truly surrendered to God and became a Christ-follower, her same sex attraction did not immediately diminish. Rather, as her love for God grew, other things became less important. The majority of her book is simply telling her own story, with Part 1 entitled “Who I Was,” and Part 2 entitled “Who I Became.” Part 3 has some phenomenal insights under chapter titles of “SSA and Identity”, “SSA and Endurance”, and “SSA and the Heterosexual Gospel.”
On June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in the Obergefell v. Hodges case that the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution requires all 50 states to recognize same sex marriage. (*2) Prior to that ruling, the political issue of same-sex marriage was one of the most common battlefields in the donkey elephant war. Unlike the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that is still a lightning rod politically, I do not get the sense that much political energy is being spent on trying to get this decision reversed, even by those who vehemently disagree with it. Rather, the battleground has shifted to one of religious liberty. Now that same sex marriage has been normalized by the Supreme Court, what religious liberties do individuals have, both personally and as they conduct their businesses?
I was asked recently by a millennial what the Bible actually has to say on the topic of homosexuality. The place I went first in response was John 1:14, which says,
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (*3)
Grace and Truth constitute another critical both/and that we have so often turned into either/or. In other words, I don’t believe we can even talk about the content of Biblical truth on controversial topics without also talking about how that truth is handled… or even more significantly, how we interact with the people directly impacted by the topic. Truth without grace is no more Biblical than grace without truth. Jesus lived His life in such a way that nobody ever accused Him of waffling on the truth, and yet those whose lives seemed the furthest from the truth, the “sinners” as the Bible often puts it, flocked to Jesus like a rock star. Considering that Truth is a title for Jesus (*4), the fact that He also earned the nickname “friend of sinners” (*5) says a lot about the uncommon combination of grace and truth.
The issue of homosexuality is actually an issue of Biblical authority. The culture has moved enough in recent years that adhering to the Bible’s guidance is likely the only pathway that would cause Americans to hold to traditional views of marriage. So let’s do a brief overview of the Biblical material, what Jesus thought about the topic, and then return to the political questions at hand.
Image: elkimmelito/Pixabay
In all my conversations on the topic over the years, one of the first statements made by those arguing for contemporary views instead of traditional ones is that Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. That’s true, but Jesus never mentioned nuclear war or pedophilia either, for example, and yet I don’t know anyone who would use that fact to conclude that we should all be fans of nuclear war and pedophilia. Jesus did define marriage as between a man and a woman (*6). Anything different from that definition would be out of bounds according to Jesus, which would include sex before or outside of marriage, virtual sex (pornography), multiple partners, etc. Jesus’ standards for marriage were stronger than those of the Old Testament, not more lax. (*7) Yet when Jesus interacted with those who fell far short of the Truth He upheld, His demeanor was full of grace. The Samaritan woman who had been married and divorced five times and was currently living with a man she wasn’t married to experienced Jesus’ grace and truth in powerful combination. (*8) A woman caught in the act of adultery experienced the same thing, with Jesus explicitly telling her that He didn’t condemn her, while also setting her free to
go and sin no more. (*9)
The direct Biblical references to same sex sexual activity are all negative. I agree with the commentators who argue that the Old Testament reference to Sodom is not referring to people who are attracted to others of the same gender, but rather condemning rape. (*10) The “abomination” passages (*11) are in a part of the Bible known as the Holiness Code, which cannot be simply applied universally, nor can it be summarily dismissed. Why? Because Jesus specifically overturned some of the Holiness Code because its purpose had been fulfilled; (*12) yet the early Church recognized that the laws bringing order to sexuality still apply. (*13) Two New Testament passages (*14) use technical terms that get translated in a variety of ways depending on who’s doing the translating; one of these addresses those who were once homosexual but no longer are. (*15) The strongest and most universally applicable statement against homosexual activity comes from the book of Romans, and addresses both gay and lesbian activity. (*16) The passage discusses what’s natural not according to one’s personal preferences – this would be a very foreign Western individualistic reading contrary to the author’s intentions (*17) – but what’s natural according to Creation.
Thanks for hanging in there for more of a Bible study than you probably signed up for!
Let’s return to the political questions at hand. The culture has moved on this topic dramatically. As Tim Urban points out, as recently as 2008, both Democratic candidates for President, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, argued against a redefinition of marriage to include same sex couples. (*18) Needless to say, the Republican candidates were also opposed to same sex marriage. With the Supreme Court weighing in and public opinion continuing to shift in favor of LGBTQ priorities, I for one don’t see the cultural winds reversing direction any time soon. I firmly believe that the primary fault (*19) for this lies with the Church, not with the culture. We took grace and truth and split them in half.
Some opted for grace at the expense of truth, preaching a “gospel” that actually is a very different gospel than the one in the Bible, one that says instead,
God wants to affirm whatever you want to do.
Others reacted against this assault on Truth, and in doing so showed very little grace. Almost never did you see people responding like Jesus did. A graceless truth is even less attractive than a truthless grace.
So… no wonder the culture rejected Him on this topic; they weren’t encountering a whole Jesus!
The political issue at hand in this regard is now one of religious liberty.
Will Christian parents be allowed to teach their children what they believe about how God created sexuality as a good gift with a helpful owners’ manual?
Will pastors be allowed to teach that to their congregations?
Will Christian schools continue to be allowed to teach the Bible?
If we want to preserve these freedoms, we Christians with a Biblical worldview would do well to do a better job teaching on how to have long and successful heterosexual marriages. The Supreme Court decision doesn’t do anything to discourage healthy traditional marriages! Again, the high divorce rate both in and outside the Church is a significant contributing factor to the cultural shift.
And whenever we do teach what the Bible has to say about sexuality, we would do well to start with the fact that it’s a good gift, (*20) and that since all of us fall short of the Bible’s standards, we live by grace. (*21) To be judgmental doesn’t mean to make judgments – all of us do that all the time, and we must. To be judgmental is to distance ourselves from others – and we’ve been guilty of that regularly, too. If we’re going to speak against a particular action or behavior or attitude, we need to do it while moving toward those same people in love.
Finally, one more caution and reason for including this section in the elephant chapter. Once a standard that has been in place for millenia has changed, the “slippery slope” means it’s hard to find a new place to stand firm. We’re already seeing this with all the conversation about gender fluidity, and the conundrums we’re going to continue to discover as a result. (*22) Conversation is becoming more normalized about polyamorous relationships. Protecting children in the middle of such shifting sands is going to be increasingly challenging.
Let’s end with a few more quotes from Jackie Hill Perry.
We are more than our sexuality. (*23)
Marriage is not the pinnacle of the Christian faith. (*24)
Singleness is not a curse. (*25)
You are not your temptations. (*26)If He is the Creator, then we are the created. If He is Master, then we are servants. If He is love, then we are loved. If He is omnipotent, then we are not as powerful as we think. If He is omniscient, then there is nowhere to hide. If He cannot lie, then His promises are all true. (*27)
Jackie Hill Perry, Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been, p. 149.
“The Word” is a title for Jesus. This passage could be called the Christmas story from the Gospel of John. “Full of grace and truth” is my favorite description of Jesus.
Genesis 19:1-29, and a similar story in Judges 19:1-30. In Ezekiel 16:49, the sin of Sodom is said to be neglecting those experiencing poverty, so to claim that Sodom was destroyed because of homosexuality is not Biblically accurate.
Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13
For example, Mark 7:19, Luke 11:41, and Acts 10:9-16
See pages ??? for further discussion of this topic.
As mentioned above, absent Biblical authority, readers likely wouldn’t be looking for “fault,” but rather who deserves the “credit.”
Romans 3:23-24 and many other places.
For instance, males identifying as females and essentially eliminating female athletics, the rights for which have been fought hard over many decades and only recently achieved.
Perry, p. 178ff
Perry, p. 181ff
Perry, p. 184ff.
Perry, p. 154.
Perry, p. 160.