Christians and gay marriage
I wrote this as a reply to a note about Prop 8, and I thought I'd put here for people too. It's about how I think the Bible tells Christians to approach the subject of gay marriage:
I don't think Jesus would want you fighting against the legality of gay marriage. If, in your church, you will not recognize any gay marriages as being upheld before God, I can agree with that. But it is not your business to stop people outside the church from doing what they want.
1 Cor 5: 12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
Especially in the area of marriage... the sanctity of Christian marriage is not something the government needs to uphold. Check what Paul had to say in 1 Cor 7 regarding marriages that happened outside the church:
12To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.... 15But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
The Christian partner is not told to protect the sanctity of their government marriage at all costs. Since the couple did not believe when they were married, they are "not bound" before God (notice, the BELIEVER is not bound, not just the nonbeliever). They are called to live in peace, not dictating the virtues of marriage to a nonbeliever, ostensibly because it is not their business to judge those outside the church. Check the context of all this and you'll see that I'm not just taking single verses and bending them for my meaning.
If Christians really cared about protecting the sanctity of marriage, they would address the huge divorce rate in the church. If you really wanted Christian ideals to dictate law, you should enact a law that disallows divorce except in the case of adultery. It's easy for the church to pick on the LGBTQ community because telling others not to do something is much easier than addressing your own problems.
I don't think that, as a Christian, you were called by God to vote NO on Prop 8. But I think that in light of the principles found in the Bible, you shouldn't vote Yes. You might say that as an American you have the right to decide to vote however you want, and that's true. But are you really going to compartmentalize your life into "Christian" and "American" motives? As an American Christian, you are responsible for manifesting your American freedoms in a way that is pleasing to God. If you voted Yes on Prop 8, you were certainly free to do so, but don't attribute it to God.
-TIMBO
I don't think Jesus would want you fighting against the legality of gay marriage. If, in your church, you will not recognize any gay marriages as being upheld before God, I can agree with that. But it is not your business to stop people outside the church from doing what they want.
1 Cor 5: 12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
Especially in the area of marriage... the sanctity of Christian marriage is not something the government needs to uphold. Check what Paul had to say in 1 Cor 7 regarding marriages that happened outside the church:
12To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.... 15But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
The Christian partner is not told to protect the sanctity of their government marriage at all costs. Since the couple did not believe when they were married, they are "not bound" before God (notice, the BELIEVER is not bound, not just the nonbeliever). They are called to live in peace, not dictating the virtues of marriage to a nonbeliever, ostensibly because it is not their business to judge those outside the church. Check the context of all this and you'll see that I'm not just taking single verses and bending them for my meaning.
If Christians really cared about protecting the sanctity of marriage, they would address the huge divorce rate in the church. If you really wanted Christian ideals to dictate law, you should enact a law that disallows divorce except in the case of adultery. It's easy for the church to pick on the LGBTQ community because telling others not to do something is much easier than addressing your own problems.
I don't think that, as a Christian, you were called by God to vote NO on Prop 8. But I think that in light of the principles found in the Bible, you shouldn't vote Yes. You might say that as an American you have the right to decide to vote however you want, and that's true. But are you really going to compartmentalize your life into "Christian" and "American" motives? As an American Christian, you are responsible for manifesting your American freedoms in a way that is pleasing to God. If you voted Yes on Prop 8, you were certainly free to do so, but don't attribute it to God.
-TIMBO