[Faith-talk] article 2

[Beth]

Hah.  This is a very twisted debate.  I'm moving to the Netherlands if
this keeps up. lol
Beth

On 11/9/08, Corey Cook <ccook01 at knology.net> wrote:
> What's Really at Stake in the Gay Marriage Debate? Part 2
> Albert Mohler
> President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
>
> October 20, 2008
>
> Editor's Note: This article is the second in a series. Click here to read
> part one.
>
> Same-sex marriage is, for now, legal in three of fifty states in the United
> States.  Beyond our borders, it is legal in the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium,
> South Africa, Canada and Norway.  This represents a very small percentage of
> the world's population.  Same-sex marriage is, by any measure, the exception
> rather than the rule.  Even when legalized civil unions and domestic
> partnerships are thrown into the mix, the countries that consider same-sex
> unions and heterosexual marriages to be equal before the law represent a
> small percentage of the world's nations.
>
> Keep that in mind when you observe the media's coverage of the issue.  By
> and large, the mainstream media have presented opposition to same-sex
> marriage as the odd and out-of-step position and support for same-sex
> marriage as the mainstream assumption.
>
> The San Francisco Chronicle now reports that conservative Christians
> represent the major energy behind the promotion of Proposition 8 in
> California.  The major media generally frame these Christians as out of step
> with the times.   As the paper reports:
>
> Christian conservatives have come to dominate the religious debate
> surrounding Prop. 8 - even though the Bible's statements on homosexuality
> are complex and disputed among Christians.
>
> Catholics, Mormons and evangelicals have been contributing millions of
> dollars and flying into the state from around the nation to lead rallies and
> services that preach support for the measure.
>
> The paper describes the Bible's statements on homosexuality as "complex and
> disputed."  Of course, this is only true in very recent years and within a
> very thin slice of liberal Christianity.  Most Christians throughout the
> history of the church -- and the vast majority of Christians alive today --
> have no problem understanding what the Bible teaches about homosexuality.
>
> Take a very close look at these paragraphs:
>
> Liberal groups representing Christians, Jews and others are trying to defeat
> the measure. But their efforts have been far more modest, even though
> priests and rabbis in the Bay Area have played a pivotal role in creating
> and cultivating a theology that includes lesbians and gays as equals to
> heterosexuals.
>
> Conservatives and liberals generally use dramatically different lenses to
> interpret the Bible. Christian conservatives tend to emphasize an
> interpretation of the Bible that doesn't change with the times. They say the
> Bible describes marriage as only between a man and a woman.
>
> "You've got the California Supreme Court rewriting sacred heritage," said
> Steve Madsen, pastor of Cornerstone Fellowship, an evangelical megachurch in
> Livermore.
>
> Liberal Christians tend to emphasize that divine revelation can come from
> many places, even outside the church. For example, many denominations don't
> allow same-sex marriages, while California law does.
>
> "Culture is going to manifest Christ in a way that summons the church to new
> realities," said Episcopal Bishop Marc Andrus.
>
> These statements are incredibly revealing.  First, note that the paper
> describes efforts to normalize homosexuality have included "creating and
> cultivating a theology" that would serve their purposes.  That is a very
> helpful (and accurate) explanation.  There is no way that the received
> tradition can be twisted into support for same-sex marriage.
>
> Second, observe the fact that the paper recognizes that those on opposing
> sides of this debate "use dramatically different lenses to interpret the
> Bible."  That is an understatement, but represents another helpful
> explanation.  The arguments put forth by proponents of same-sex marriage
> come down to assertions that the Bible does not say what it plainly does
> say, that Christians have misunderstood the critical passages until liberal
> scholars pushing this agenda have just discovered what the passages really
> mean, or that the Bible just has to be corrected in light of contemporary
> developments.
>
> Third, note that the reporter explains that conservatives "say the Bible
> describes marriage as only between a man and a woman."  Any honest reader
> must acknowledge that the Bible describes marriage in exclusively
> heterosexual terms.
>
> Fourth, on the other hand, note that liberals pushing for the normalization
> of homosexual behaviors and relationships are described as believing that
> "divine revelation can come from many places, even outside the church."
> Episcopal Bishop Marc Andrus is quoted as saying, "Culture is going to
> manifest Christ in a way that summons the church to new realities."  In
> other words, who needs the Bible when you can just accept some new cultural
> authority in its place?
>
> Proponents of same-sex marriage now attempt to argue that the only
> opposition to legalized homosexual marriage comes from conservative
> Christians pushing a narrow theological agenda.  They cannot possibly claim
> that conservative Christians control the vast majority of the world's
> nations in which same-sex marriage is decidedly not legal.
>
> Still, the fact that the San Francisco Chronicle felt the need to publish a
> chart of Bible passages on homosexuality tells us something.  The very
> existence of these passages still troubles the consciences of those pushing
> the normalization of homosexuality -- whether within or without the church.
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In addition to being one of Salem's nationally syndicated radio talk show
> hosts, R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is the president of The Southern Baptist
> Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and recognized as one of
> America's leading theologians and cultural commentators. Contact Dr. Mohler
> at mail at albertmohler.com.
>
> Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.com/news/commentary/11583138/
>
> Corey Cook
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