I have been engaged in an ongoing discussion with some friends about romantic relationships. One of my friends raised the issue of homosexual marriage. Unlike a lot of Christians, I'm not frightened of or completely put off by homosexuals. I had some very close, openly gay friends in college, and I appreciated them as individuals. Interestingly, this group of friends showed agape love in a much less muddled way than many of my straight friends. Do I think their sexual choices were morally right? No. I think the Bible is pretty clear on sexual sin of both the homosexual and the heterosexual variety.
As Christians, Jesus calls us to follow His example of hating the sin but loving the sinner. Honestly, I don't think I'm in any more of a position to throw stones at homosexuals than the Pharisees were to throw stones at the adulterous woman of fame in the Bible (John 8:7). Do I think that people are born homosexual? Actually, yes. I think people are born with homosexual tendencies the same way other people are born with quick tempers and others with an inclination for addiction. However, Christians are called to live above the temptations and callings of the flesh. While our bodies may be drawn to a lifestyle that differs from our spiritual calling, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we no longer have to live subject to sin (Romans 6).
So, back to the issue of homosexual marriage. My views on this subject are actually not entirely black and white. As a Christian, I believe that marriage is a sacred covenant that two people make with God. As such, I believe that the Biblical definition of marriage can only involve a man and a woman. On the other hand, as an American, I think the sacredness of marriage was lost a long time ago in our society. Our culture has disregarded the idea of marriage as a holy covenant. We see marraige as being all about another person rather than all about God. We see marriage as the next step in the relationship or a way to pubically declare our passion for a person rather than as an exercise in holiness. Our culture by and large has lost the true meaning of marriage because we've sacrified our spiritual life for materialism and hedonism. If you have any doubts that we have lost the idea of marriage as sacred, take a look at the divorce industry in the country (yes, industry). If marriage in our culture is no longer sacred, then should it really matter if we continue to move further away from the Biblical definition of marriage?
Certainly, I do not think the church should condone homosexual marriage. But I also do not think the church should condone unions between people who don't understand the nature of the covenant into which they are entering, regardless of the gender of the participants. An unpopular belief, no doubt, even among believers. If Christians want to fight to reclaim the sacredness of marriage, we need to start with a broader examination of the state of marriage in our society as a whole, rather than merely singling out one group as an easy target. By and large, Biblical marriage has been defiled for quite awhile even before the gender question entered into the equation. We need to go back and start where we have already been lax rather than suddenly putting our feet down in strict judgement now.
Posted by Kim at November 2, 2006 08:50 AM