How Should Christians Respond to the Court Ruling on Same Sex Marriage?

As you know, the Supreme court has set the stage for a full legalization of so called same sex marriage. As Christians living in this nation, we must think biblically about how to respond. Here are a few thoughts I've rounded up:

This from Denny Burk "Enemies of the Human Race"

Christians need to beware of going to extremes in the face of today’s news. Some may be tempted to view this in apocalyptic terms, as if it’s the end of the world. Others will be tempted to shrug their shoulders as if this is no big deal. I think that neither of those reactions rings true. If God is sovereign and His purposes unshakable, we can have courage in the face of whatever may come down the pike. Likewise, if we love our neighbors, then how can we be indifferent about things that hurt them and debase the culture? That is why we have an interest in promoting ours and our neighbor’s good in the public space. And that means that we have a continuing stake in the public debate over gay marriage.

I had a reporter ask me today if a hysterical and panicked response from Christians would be helpful to the cause of traditional marriage. I think the question kind of answers itself. We may be unjustly labeled as “bigots” and “enemies of the human race.” But panic and hysterics help no one, much less Christians who profess to believe in a sovereign God. Nothing happened today that diminishes the power of the gospel or the fortunes of Christ’s church in this culture. The Supreme Court found itself on the wrong side of history today. The Kingdom of God marches on, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

This from Russell Moore's article "How Should Same-Sex Marriage Change the Church’s Witness?"

This gives Christian churches the opportunity to do what Jesus called us to do with our marriages in the first place: to serve as a light in a dark place. Permanent, stable marriages with families with both a mother and a father may well make us seem freakish in 21st-century culture. But is there anything more “freakish” than a crucified cosmic ruler? Is there anything more “freakish” than a gospel that can forgive rebels like us and make us sons and daughters? Let’s embrace the freakishness, and crucify our illusions of a moral majority.

This from Mark Dever's article "How to Survive a Cultural Crisis" (If you are going to read one article, this is the one to read.).

The whole Christian faith is based on the idea that God takes people who are spiritually dead and gives them new life. Whenever we evangelize, we are evangelizing the cemetery.

There's never been a time or a culture when it was natural to repent of your sins. That culture doesn't exist, it hasn't existed, it never will exist. Christians, churches, and pastors especially must know deep in their bones that we've always been about a work that's supernatural.

From that standpoint, recent cultural changes have made our job zero percent harder.

...

Each nation and age has a unique way to express its depravity, to attack God. But none will succeed any more than the crucifixion succeeded in defeating Jesus. Yes, he died. But three days later he got up from the dead.

Christ's kingdom is in no danger of failing. Again, Christians, churches, and especially pastors must know this deeply in our bones. D-Day has happened. Now it's cleanup time. Not one person God has elected to save will fail to be saved because the secular agenda is "winning" in our time and place. There shouldn't be anxiety or desperation in us.

Dever gives 7 points in the article mentioned above:

1. Remember that churches exist to work for supernatural change.

2. Understand that persecution is normal. 

3. Eschew utopianism.

4. Make use of our democratic stewardship.

5. Trust the Lord, not human circumstances.

6. Remember that everything we have is God's grace.

7. Rest in the certainty of Christ's victory.

I hope this encourages you and helps you have a biblical perspective.  

"'Waiting for the Other Shoe' - The Supreme Court Rules on Same Sex Marriage"

Here is an article on the Supreme Court's rulings on two "same sex marriage" cases. In both cases, the court ruled in favor of so called "same-sex marriage." Mohler's assessment is worth reading.

Even though the Court did not rule today that all states must legally recognize and allow for same-sex marriages, the handwriting is on the wall. Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion implicitly invites any citizen who resides in a state that does not allow for same-sex marriage to claim that his or her constitutional rights are violated on the basis of the Court’s opinion handed down today. You can count on a challenge of this form arising in short order.

As Justice Scalia noted in his dissent today, “As far as this Court is concerned, no one should be fooled; it is just a matter of listening and waiting for the other shoe.”

The Court’s majority did not want to pay the political price that a decision as immediately sweeping as Roe v. Wade would have cost. Instead, the majority decided to send a clear signal that such a case will now be well received. It struck down DOMA by employing a logic that, as Scalia noted, cannot stop with the striking down of DOMA. It can only stop with the full legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states by judicial fiat.

Songs for the Summer

If you are looking for some good music to direct your soul to God, let me suggest Sixteen Songs for Summer:

From Age to Age (Sovereign Grace)

• Great Things
• Our Song from Age to Age
• Glorious Christ
• Mighty Fortress
• All is Well
• Gladly Would I Leave Behind Me

The Good Life (Tripp Lee) 

• New Dreams
• Take Me There
• Beautiful Life (on topic of Pro-life)

God and Sinner Reconciled (Stephen Miller)

• God and Sinner Reconciled

Risen (Sovereign Grace)

• Alive
• To Live is Christ
• Behold Our God 

The 6th Day (Flame)

• The 6th Day
• Scripture Alone 
• Let Go

I am sure we could make this list much longer, but I was trying to keep it to the length of one extended album. I'd love to hear your list of songs that direct you to God and encourage you in the faith. Feel free to share in the comments section.

Boys Using Girls' Restrooms? A Sign of the Times

In today's edition of "The Briefing," a daily analysis of events from a Christian worldview, Dr. Mohler discusses a case in Colorado in which an elementary school boy won a court case giving him access to the girl's restroom. Why? Because he, and his parents, identify him as a girl.

The Washington Post, reporting on the story, said,

"Colorado officials say a suburban Colorado Springs school district discriminated against a 6-year-old transgender girl by preventing her from using the girls’ bathroom, in what advocates described as the first such ruling in the next frontier in civil rights."1

Notice how the media seems to give approval to the whole thing by referring to Coy (the little boy) with feminine nouns and pronouns. And what is shocking is that they might be right in saying this is "the first such ruling in the next frontier of civil rights."

All of a sudden, a self-defined orientation is now the basis of determining minority status and "civil rights." What happens when a high school boy self-identifies as a girl and demands civil right protection to use the girl's restroom or locker room (this isn't hypothetical, if you read the article above, Maine is considering a case now)? I think we can all see the chaos that comes with such arguments. Nevertheless, the arguments have been made as we continue to live in the "wild west of sexual ethics." 

Sometimes a slippery slope argument is a fallacy. Sometimes its really a slippery slope we are sliding down. I hope and pray we find a way to stop the landslide, but I am not worried.

Christianity has never been tied to a culture. And as our culture becomes more and more dark and confused, we have the chance to put the Light of the World on display. We may face more persecution, but we must love those who would hate us, and that takes a lot more courage than our culture's current (mis)understanding of "tolerance" (see DA Carson on this topic of tolerance).


1 Washington Post Article - "Colo. rights case ruling favors transgender girl who wasn’t allowed to use girls’ bathroom"

"How to Survive a Cultural Crisis"

I found this article by Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in DC, quite encouraging. As our culture seems to have put Christians more and more on the defensive, Dever's words are a helpful reminder of what a biblical perspective looks like. Below are his seven main points, but you really need to read the whole thing:

1. Remember that churches exist to work for supernatural change.

2. Understand that persecution is normal. 

3. Eschew utopianism.

4. Make use of our democratic stewardship.

5. Trust the Lord, not human circumstances.

6. Remember that everything we have is God's grace.

7. Rest in the certainty of Christ's victory.

Is "Gay the New Black?"

Below are some excerpts from an article by Voddie Baucham from about a year ago addressing the arguments comparing homosexuality to the civil rights movement. He does a great job showing why the argument that the homosexual rights movement is just a continuation of the civil rights movement doesn't work. He does this by showing the distinctions between the two.
His main arguments are:

1. Homosexuals are an unidentifiable minority because it is impossible to tell who is homosexual apart from their own self-identification as being homosexual. This is completely different from being white, black, asian, latino or even man, or woman.In these cases you can tell by looking at the person or do a genetic test.
2. Marriage cannot be redifined (you will have to read this section as there are several arguments he puts forth).
3. It is an unsustainable precedent to open up marriage to any "group" that wants it. 

The whole thing is worth reading, especially if you want to get a clear view on all the issues, but below are a few excerpts that I found insightful.

In short, it's impossible to identify who is or is not a homosexual. As a result, how do we know to whom the civil rights in question should be attributed? Should a man who isn't a homosexual (assuming we could determine such a thing) but tries to enter a same-sex union be treated the same as a woman who isn't Native American but tries to claim it to win sympathy, or casino rights, or votes?

...
It should be noted that the right to marry is one of the most frequently denied rights we have. People who are already married, 12-year-olds, and people who are too closely related are just a few categories of people routinely and/or categorically denied the right to marry. Hence, the charge that it is wrong to deny any person a "fundamental right" rings hollow. There has always been, and, by necessity, will always be discrimination in marriage laws.

...
One thing that seems to escape most people in this debate is the fact that homosexuals have never been denied the right to marry. They simply haven't had the right to redefine marriage. 

...

Perhaps the most damning aspect of the civil rights argument is logical unsustainability. If sexual orientation/identity is the basis for (1) classification as a minority group, and (2) legal grounds for the redefinition of marriage, then what's to stop the "bisexual" from fighting for the ability to marry a man and a woman simultaneously since his "orientation" is, by definition, directed toward both sexes? What about the member of NAMBLA whose orientation is toward young boys? Where do we stop, and on what basis?

...
It is very important for those of us who oppose the idea of same-sex "marriage" to do so not because we wish to preserve our version of the American Dream, but because we view marriage as a living, breathing picture of the relationship between Christ and his church (Eph. 5:22ff), and because we know that God has designed the family in a particular way. 

Good Books for College Students

If you are entering your freshmen year of college, you would do well to spend some time this summer preparing yourself for college spiritually. Even if you have been in college for a few years, it is good to keep preparing as you navigate college life (a skilled athlete doesn't stop preparing after her first track meet). 

Here is my top 5 list (There are others that I could have included, but these came to mind).

1. Thriving in College by  Alex Chediak
2. Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World edited by CJ Mahaney
3. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
4. Stop Dating the Church by Josh Harris
5. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung