Why I Cannot Agree

The Supreme Court has created a “right” out of whole cloth, proving that the men and women of the court are people as influenced by popular culture as anyone else. And now the process of change begins. You’d think that the extreme gay rights lobby, having what it said it wanted, might take its victory and let us all get back to simply living. But it won’t. The fight to have the right to marry was never the point, the point has always been to force everyone to agree that gay marriage is morally equivalent to heterosexual marriage…and to silence anyone who disagrees. We know that this is true because of the selective law suits filed against Christian businessmen and women, while carefully avoiding Muslims. The inevitable conclusion is that Christians must be punished, not because they are hateful, violent people, but because they will not jump on this bandwagon.  

I have both gay and straight family, friends, and acquaintances, fine people all. I firmly believe that everyone has a right to believe what they want and to live the way they want (excepting criminal activities, of course). No one should be called names (not even Christians), denied the basics of life or live in fear of violence against their person. But marriage is a special case. I cannot agree with the Supreme Court, because government did not create marriage—God did.

God created marriage as a sacrament, a sacred blessing for people and protection for children. It is a vital foundation stone in a stable society. God defined marriage the way He did as a picture of Christ and the church. He says so in Genesis 2:24, Ephesians 5:22-33, Matthew 19:3-12 and others. One of the concluding events of history will be a wedding (Revelation 19:7-9). Therefore any change in the definition of marriage will, of necessity, dilute or confuse the picture God intended. Government got involved in the marriage business, not because it invented it, but because it likes to regulate things while making money doing so. But marriage far, far predates government.

Telling me that this is simply a matter of civil rights doesn’t help. I cannot agree, for marriage is a deeply religious matter to me. I cannot set aside my faith in God for the sake of keeping peace, like my political party or liking apples. It is an integral part of who I am. It is founded on a relationship with a living being; One who gave me life and love and everything in this world and the next. My life belongs to Him, to do with whatever He chooses. His words to me are found in the Bible. It tells me who He is, what He’s done and will do, what He thinks of me and how I am to live. I do not get to pick out the parts of the book I like and disregard the rest. I do not get to act as though I am nicer than God. I do not get to dictate to God what is acceptable in the 21^st century and what must be retired. And it would be beyond presumptuous to point out to God what’s trending on Twitter or gone viral on Facebook. God has His reasons for putting boundaries around our behavior (sexual and otherwise), and because He is the Creator and we simply creatures, He has the right to do so.

I love my family and my friends. God loves my family and my friends; it doesn’t matter whether they are gay or straight. All people are made in the image of God and therefore intrinsically valuable and deserving of respect. We used to live in a country which allowed differing opinions, welcomed debate and valued diversity. This really hasn’t been true for some time. The courts will rule as they will; they can do whatever they like, but they cannot change the definition of marriage, because they didn’t invent it in the first place. Neither can they change my belief in the biblical definition of marriage.

I saw a picture of the White House, so giddy over the ruling that it bathed itself in rainbow lights, clearly demonstrating what the ‘correct’ view should be. America is becoming a nation ruled by popular opinion, informed by soundbites, reduced to the lowest common denominator, and demanding silence from any who dissent. If being a good American means I cannot remain an orthodox Christian, then I pledge my allegiance to Jesus.