Burnt Orange Report

Marriage in American culture always has been attended by a great degree of homogamy, a generally unspoken requirement that a spouse be selected from an identical or similar ethnic group and social class. Clearly extending the field of available spouses to those of the identical (or similar) gender only would serve to advance traditional marriage as practiced in American culture by enhancing its insistence on homogamy.

Let me weigh in on this from an evangelical Reformed Christian standpoint.

Is gay marriage biblical? No. That is a simple answer to that question. But this amendment does not outlaw gay marriage--gay marriage is already illegal in Texas. If they think some "liberal activist judge" is on the Texas Supreme Court ready to overturn that law, they are nuts. If they think that this is possible on a federal level (and there is an outside chance of that), the amendment won't matter, as the federal law will trump. So this amendment does absolutely NOTHING to uphold the Biblical understanding of marriage.

So why did they pass it? It is because they want to demonize gay people in order to rally religious voters to the polls. That is cynical, hateful, judgmental and abusive to the people of God. All of those things are serious sins--just as serious as homosexuality or "defaming" marriage. Throw in their dishonesty and elevation of political leaders to heights of demi-worship (there was a time that it was called idolotry) and you have the perfect mix of sin. Attacking "sinners" (which we all are) in order to make yourself look better or holier is what the pharisees did, and Christ was never too sympathetic to the ways of phariseeism. To side with the pro-prop 2 forces is sinful.

Additionally, the idea that God's will might be thwarted by "liberals" and that He might just lose if Christians don't vote for Prop 2 is ludicrous. People who claim this have a dim view of the Almighty God and a pretty inflated view of themselves, a putrid reversal of the Bible's teachings about man and God. This isn't to argue for disengagement because "God's will will take care of itself," as God expects His chosen people to carry out His will. The problem is the rhetoric of the pro-Prop 2 crowd, which does what fundamentalists tend to do: shrink God down to their size and recreate Him in their image, idolotry again.

Is is Christian to vote for Prop 2? It can be, but isn't necessarily. Is it unChristian to vote against Prop 2? Once again, it can be but isn't necessarily. The role of Christians is to glorify God through Jesus Christ, anything that glorifies the Almighty God is Christian and righteous, anything that doesn't is unChristian and sinful. If you are voting for Prop 2 in a prayerful spirit with the undivided and singular intention of glorifying God and celebrating His graceful gift of marriage, then it is Christian. If you are voting against it in the same spirit because you wish to stand for His gift of love and in order to stand apart from the forces of pettiness and legalism, it can be Christian. If you are voting for it because you hate gays or liberals or think that God can't win this one on His own, or against it because you think that Christ is a bunch of baloney, it is unChristian.

I personally will be casting my ballot against Proposition 2. I'm not necessarily comfortable with gay marriage, though I believe the plight of the poor across the world and at home as well as governmental corruption to be much more pressing spiritual matters. At the same time, by the grace of God I don't have the right to judge any other sinners because I myself am a sinner, and I am called to exemplify not God's righteous judgment (which only one who is perfect in all ways can do, meaning God Himself), but rather His infinite grace and eternal forgiveness for those who seek Him. One position seems to be casting stones at sinners and pointing out splinters in the eyes of our brothers and sisters while we have planks in our own, the other seems to me to be respecting the God-given rights of individuals in our state. Marriage is not threatened--what God has sealed cannot be broken. What is threatened is our sense of decency and our humility in the face of a mighy God. Given the choice, I will defend that any day of the week.

Peace.

Andrew, you should totally submit that to the Texan as a guest column. That was, wow.

Andrew,

That is one of the better positions I have heard on Prop 2 from either side of the aisle. The NNiN crowd is fairly inflammatory in my opinion. The flyer crowd obviously cannot spell and is using fear to motivate.

I will vote for Prop 2 in November based on one thing - the mandate in the Bible that marriage be honored by all (Heb 13:4). I do not feel it is honoring the institution of marriage to actively support any additions to it or derivations of it. I sincerely respect and care for several homosexual friends who have long term healthy, respectful relationships. I share concern for their children where present and the privileges sometimes denied to them due to the inability of their caregivers to be legally married.

All of that notwithstanding, I would be hard pressed to vote against Prop 2 and in doing so implicitly support alternatives to marriage and thus not give it proper honor.

I realize my view is not the norm for those reading BOR. I would hope, however, that it might clarify for some why a Christ follower might vote for Prop 2 without malice in his or her heart.

Let me clarify a couple of things really quickly.

First, I said that to side with the pro-prop 2 forces was unchristian. I meant to say that it was unchristian if you side with them for the reasons and in the manner that I mentioned. I would say that kelshaw has a good reason to support the prop, and I wouldn't judge him one way or the other, but I understand his decision to be a humble and Christian one.

Secondly, I said that poverty and corruption are more important than gay marriage at one point. For God there is no hierarchy of sin, because a single act of the most "benign" sin separates us from God just as much as a lifetime of the most heinous one. Each of us have our own sins that we are more prone to, each of us has our own calling that we are created for. For me service to the poor and against corruption is most important, that I might carry out Micah's charge to "Seek justice, do righteousness and walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8).

Your vote for prop 2 may not be motivated by malice, but this doesn't excuse the fact that the effect is malicious.

Telling the Heavens that His ways are old fashioned and outdated reminds me of man who build a house upon the sand.