A Personal Reflection on Last Week’s Supreme Court Decision

scotus marriage equality flagsI shared some thoughts last Sunday about where we ought to go as Christ followers in light of Friday’s decision. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Same-sex Marriage; this was really no surprise.  I’ve listened to much of the backlash and celebration with a cautious sense. As we go forward, I think we ought to consider a few things:

1. Christ followers should exercise caution regarding the voice, vocabulary and attitude of their message. By demonstrating unbridled outbursts and outrage, we only further distance ourselves from the very people we really don’t want to distance ourselves from.

2. Christ followers don’t need to abandon an orthodox, traditional and covenant view of marriage simply because of last week’s Supreme Court ruling. We should continue to define marriage from a Biblical perspective.

3. This particular issue shouldn’t define the church or its mission; the gospel must define a faith community.

I have a few friends that I know are gay. I have friends who have children, grandchildren, siblings, aunt, uncles and cousins who are gay. These are nice people, accomplished and creative. We live in neighborhoods together, shop in the same stores, workout at the same gyms and some even go to church. Just because I cannot support marriage equality doesn’t mean I don’t want to be friends.

Over the past months, I’ve invested time studying this very issue. I read materials produced both by members of my tribe and many outside my tribe. My goal for reading beyond my tribe was to understand held positions different from my own in order to better relate.  This means I’ve read materials both supportive and opposed to marriage equality. One such book was Changing Our Mind by David Gushee, an evangelical who change his mind and is now an advocate for covenant same-sex marriage.

There are numerous arguments and rationalizations supportive of marriage equality. But, once you get to the Biblical arguments, I really struggle. As a Christ follower, pastor and somewhat theologian, I don’t find where same-sex marriage can be accurately framed, affirmed or supported by the Scripture text. I don’t agree with those who take great interpretive liberty in an attempt to justify a marriage equality position from Scripture. In my opinion, the proposed scholarly work is somewhat sloppy drawn largely from assumptions and biased interpretations done in large part to dismiss orthodox and traditional positions. Again, in my opinion, you are hard pressed to build a viable Biblical argument to support same-sex marriage.

I am aware there are those around me who hold a different marriage definition and ethic. I respect your right; I only ask for the same courtesy as I embrace mine.  With that said, I’m going to be mindful of my voice, vocabulary and attitude in my message. And, I’m unable to abandon a traditional Biblical marriage ethic. For me, I’m not going to spend all my time lamenting or rehashing the issue. My focus is the gospel – the redemptive reconciling work of Christ – while living everyday on mission right where God has me.

 

One thought on “A Personal Reflection on Last Week’s Supreme Court Decision

  1. Tom Bagby

    Thank you for remaining with Biblical positions; too many try to alter God’s word to meet today’s PC culture. I will try to learn a valuable lesson from you and watch the tone of my words.

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