By writing this I realize that I may upset some of my friends, even to the point of anger. Please know at the onset that my intention is not to offend or anger anyone- my intention is to share my insight. I do not expect everyone to agree with me or even like what I have to say, my hope is that it will give you the opportunity to reflect on your own beliefs and convictions.
One of the most highly contested measures on the ballot here in Washington state this November is R71- the so called “all but marriage law”. This law would extend many of the rights contained in marriage to same sex couples and heterosexual couples over 65 who register with the state as Domestic Partners. This law does not give those groups the term marriage but many evangelical Christians are very against this law because marriage is considered a holy sacrament ordained by God to between one man and one woman. As a Christian and as a person who has spent the last seven years teaching about the Constitution I cannot in good conscious vote against extending rights to a minority.
Let me start with the Constitution. I think it is important to remember that when the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they included in it the ideas that the government should never establish a religion, nor should it interfere with religion. To me this is the fundamental issue related to marriage rights. We Evangelicals like to believe that this is a “Christian Country” and therefore the laws should reflect our own ethics/morals. I submit that there is nothing inherently Christian about this country- and if we were to offer our country up to Jesus as an example of the best Christian community that can be created on Earth he would not be impressed. The fact that we have “In God we Trust” in our money does not make this heaven on Earth. In fact this country might be the picture of what Jesus warned us against. The most recent finical crisis is evidence that we are further from Eden than ever before. We know that America’s drive to have bigger, better, more expensive houses, to fill those houses with things that we can not afford and most likely do not need, lead to people being over extended and ended in foreclosures and banking issues. Greed, excesses, pride...that is kind of opposite of the directive Jesus gave to one man to sell off everything and follow him. But I digress, my point is that the first Amendment guarantees us the freedom to practice our religion without the interference of the Government and ensures that the Government will not impose a religion on us and since we can clearly see that this is not in fact a “Christian Country”, we should not be spending our time trying to impose our religious ethics on others.
The Evangelical church argues that marriage is a sacrament and that we should protect the sanctity of marriage. We must understand that marriage is both a religious right and a legal right. In the Church, marriage is between two people and God. It is holy and sanctified in that sense. It is the right of each Church to define and outline the process in whatever matter they feel lead to- this is part of the guarantee that Government cannot interfere with the practice of religion. However, marriage is also a legal contract between two people and the government. There is nothing inherently holy about it, it is a legal agreement in the purest form. It affords rights of taxation, adoption, medical visitation, and literally hundreds of other rights that most people never deal with. There is nothing in this arrangement about God, there is no holy character in this. In our country any heterosexual couple can legally marry regardless of their religious belief system. The Evangelical Church seems to have no problem with two atheists getting married or two Muslims, but two women is all of the sudden not holy. What this does for us a Church is to make us look hypocritical. It makes our standards seem to only apply in certain situations. And to be honest the broader question to be addressed is how does this bring people to Jesus? Do we think that Jesus looks at us with pride when we preach hate and exclusion? Does this kind of hypocrisy bring people to Jesus? Let me be clear on this, I do believe that Churches should have the right to believe and preach whatever they feel biblically lead to and in that should have the right to limit who is and who isn’t married within their walls. But outside the confines of the Churches, marriage in the legal sense has nothing to do with the Bible. By spending millions of dollars to combat same sex marriage our we drawing people to Christ? Are we loving God and loving his people? Or are we trying to force people to believe in our convictions before they believe in our Lord?
Sixty years ago many Churches rallied against interracial marriage- claiming it was against God’s commandments and would lead to the downfall of our country. One hundred years ago many fought against the rights of women to vote as it was believed that woman voting would lead to the downfall of the country. Two hundred years ago Bible believing Christians signed the Constitution that stated that all African’s would only be considered 3/5th of a person for the purposes of representation in Congress. Yes times have changed, but even in those times people used Biblical passages to defend their beliefs. Please understand as you read this that I am a Bible believing Evangelical Christian who whole heartedly believes that our main purpose on this Earth is love God and love His people, I believe that Jesus died for my sins in order for me to do those two things. But I also believe that the political drive of some Christians gets in the way of that calling and that scares me.
I know among some of my Christian friends this may not be a popular point of view, but I also know that our world has much bigger issues than same sex couples getting married. We live in a world of people who need Jesus, they need his love, his forgiveness and his healing. I also know that God’s call for all of us is to love Him and his people, all his people. Not just the people like us or the people who agree with us, but all the people.
