FOR: BY SETH BRAKE
Please allow me to begin by saying that this piece is not meant to reflect the opinion of Christianity Applied, but to bring diversity to the opinions provided. I stand in defense of Amendment One, I just sent off my absentee ballot and I’d like to encourage my readers to vote in favor of it as well. Nathan posted an eloquent piece affirming the good intentions of the bill and noting valid concerns, but please carefully consider the following as well.
All law begins with the legislation of morality. Morality is a statement about the way things ought to be and presumes to understand what is “good.” We have a law against going 100 miles per hour on the interstate because the government decided that it wanted a world in which people died less often on the interstate. Furthermore, laws ought to recognize what is fundamentally destructive. It hurts almost no one if you download a song illegally, the record label will not miss the 99 cents, but it ought to be illegal because in principle stealing is dangerous to society as a whole, and we want a society in which stealing is both taboo and dangerous
Amendment One, too, makes a statement about the way the world ought to be. Nothing is as central to society and the interests of the government than the family. The institution of the family is arguably the most important building block of society. It has been proven again and again that children brought up in the traditional family are much better oriented for life and a stable society, that is not in question. What is in question is how far the government should go in preserving marriage. When North Carolina was writing its laws regarding marriage, there was no question as to what the definition of marriage was. There is now a controversy. There is no law against homosexual sex, and such a thing would be intrusive and awkward to enforce. However, marriage is not about sex. Marriage is about forming the fundamental building block of society and the introduction of the next generation. To redefine marriage is not only counterproductive, it is dangerous. This is why several other states have enacted similar amendments to their Constitutions, and why it would be wise for North Carolina to do the same.
While it is obvious that the government cannot make moral people, the government will, by necessity, promote some things and not others. Voting in favor of Amendment One would be voting for the government to promote traditional marriage. Voting against Amendment One would do the opposite. Please consider this when going to the polls.
What Amendment One is NOT:
1. Amendment One is not the combination of Church and State. My religion condemns homosexuality. It also condemns murder. No one would call a law against murder to be the establishment of religion in the State. I obviously think that the positions in the Bible line up quite nicely with reality, but simply making a law is not a mixing of the authority of Church and State. The Bible defines marriage as between a man and a woman because that happens to be correct. Christianity is certainly not the only worldview that has come to that conclusion: All truth is God’s truth.
2. Amendment One is not discriminatory. Everyone has equal right to enter into marriage. This will not change with the passage of Amendment One. A marriage is the union of a man and a woman, after which they and their children may be referred to as a family. A gay may marry a woman and the law would still consider them a family. There is no discrimination.
3. Amendment One is not a violation of anyone’s civil rights. The first and foremost point here is that Amendment One changes no law: it will not change any laws in North Carolina. All it will do is clarify for the future something that was intended from the beginning. Every other Southern State has passed a similar amendment and there has been no massive change in the way people are treated.
4. Amendment One is not hateful. As redeemed sinners ourselves, Christians should love all the worlds sinners whether they are homosexuals, materialists, hypocrites, etc. God knows Christians still suffer from the lingering of those sins as well. Amendment One has nothing to do with Christian behavior, nor should it. This is a law we are voting on, not a doctrine. People will always hate one another, and Christians will hopefully always be in the middle bringing God’s love, but this law isn’t about that. This is about good government.
I encourage anyone reading this to prayerfully make the decision whether or not to vote for Amendment One, but please be informed. God’s Will will be done on May 8th, and although I want the amendment to pass, I understand that this kingdom is not the Kingdom of God. My allegiance belongs to something higher. I will still submit to this earthly authority no matter how badly thought out its laws may sometimes be because God put me under it. However, we still should try and make our State the best it can be. Don’t put your faith in politics, but don’t ignore it either.
AGAINST BY NATHAN DOVE
Over the past couple of days people have asked me what I think about Amendment 1, or more simply, the amendment that would affectively define marriage as between a man and a woman. So I have decided to write this post, not only to express my opinions, but also to help some of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ deal with this issue. I hope that the following five points will help you come to a decision.
1.) Marriage is a bond between a Man and a Woman that represents Christ love for the Church- The Bible expressively states that God created Man and Woman for the purpose of uniting in Marriage. The New Testament goes further by comparing marriage to Christ’s relationship with the Church. Homosexual marriage does not fulfill what God ordained from creation as his sovereign plan for humanity. I’m stating this point because although I am against amendment one I do not support homosexual marriage.
2.) Not Everyone is a Christian- I can not help but think of Christians in other Countries who face persecution and oppression because they do not believe the “right” things. I do not want to subjugate the homosexual community to Christian morals. Even though homosexuality rebels against God (aka sin) passing legislation to determine morality seems wrong. Could you imagine if we passed legislation for every sin, we would find ourselves in a heap of trouble.
3.) Legislation does not change the heart- Piggy backing off of point two, passing legislation to define marriage does nothing in the long run but deny a group of people something they want. ONLY the gospel can transform hearts! Take the time to share the Gospel with a homosexual.
4.) Jesus died for everyone- Passing this legislation will alienate the Christians and homosexuals, and create a huge gap between the two parties. I do not want homosexuals to think of Christians as mortal enemies. After all, Jesus died to open the door of salvation for everyone, not just white evangelical republicans.
5.) There is no Such thing as homosexual marriage in the eye’s of God- (This point is from Pastor John Piper). the Bible defines homosexual behavior as “dishonorable” and “shameless” and “contrary to nature” (Romans 1:26-27), but on the other hand the Bible says that marriage is to be “held in honor” (Hebrews 13:4). Marriage does not produce shame. And marriage is not contrary to nature. There is therefore no such thing as homosexual marriage in the eyes of God. And there should not be in the eyes of his people—no matter what the state says.
There you have it, no matter what the state says, yes or no, homosexual marriage does not exist in the eyes of God! However, I believe this bill to effectively define marriage, through legislation, will do more bad than good. I’ll leave you with the words of Piper again, “The early Christians were profoundly out of step with their culture. The Imperial words of Christ were ringing in their ears: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44).That was a time, and this is a time, for indomitable and tearful joy and unwavering ministries of mercy. The greatness of Christian pilgrims is not success but service. Whether we win or lose, we witness to the way of truth and beauty and joy. We don’t own culture, and we don’t rule it. We serve it with brokenhearted joy and long suffering mercy, for the good of man and the glory of Jesus Christ.”
[Well stated, CA. Here, from the web, is an alternative approach to gay rights!]
GOD TO SAME-SEXERS: “HURRY UP!”
(written by a friend in 2003)
Even the God of the entire Bible is behind the gay rights movement—-and I’ll prove it.
(Although this paper focuses on lost persons in the “Northeastern Bermuda Triangle” outlined roughly by New York City, Montreal, and Boston, I’m sharing it with everyone everywhere.)
You who identify with GBLT (no, not Gay Bacon Lettuce & Tomato!) already know about your own history. So for the unlearned I’ll include some info on it, much of which is on the internet.
Gay activist John McKellar has stated: “The major media are all nonstop advertisements for the gay lifestyle, so how far are they prepared to go in denying free speech to Christians, Muslims, and Jews?….No major world religion has ever accepted homosexual behavior. And if [gay] activists had any sense of history, they’d realize their own lifestyle is a symptom of an overurbanized, relativized culture heading into decadence.”
Thomas Jefferson revealed that in Virginia, “dismemberment” of the offensive sex organ was the penalty for sodomy, and he himself authored a bill penalyzing sodomy by castration. The same internet article, “Homosexuals in the Military” by David Barton, also stated that sodomy , homosexuality etc. were regarded as felonies in early America and were even punishable by death in New York, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Vermont!
You GBLTs have traveled far. You are now helping to fulfill two big signs that Jesus said (in Luke 17) will characterize life on earth just before His return to it: “days of Noah” (physical violence) and “days of Lot” (your GBLT ancestors).
Even the New York Times has expressed amazement over the suddenness and pushiness of today’s campaign for legalizing same-sex marriage, and Prof. David M. Halperin wrote that “lesbian and gay studies scholars” have led the way in fighting against policies that “criminalize gay sex or limit access to abortions.”
I said early on that the Bible’s God is behind you GBLTs. Yes, He’s behind you and even pushing you down the dead-end road you have insisted on taking. Several scary Bible passages show that God will actually “program” those whose motto seems to be “HELL-BOUND AND HAPPY!”: “the Lord God…gave them up to desolation” (II Chron. 30:7); God “gave them up to uncleanness,” “gave them up to vile affections,” “gave them over to a reprobate mind” (Rom. 1:24,26,28); “God shall send them strong delusion” (II Thess. 2:11); and “he which is filthy, let him be filthy still” (Rev. 22:11).
Now that you GBLTs have invented strange architecture (closets opening on to main streets instead of bedrooms!), have traded limp wrists for clenched fists, and are fighting for shame-sex marriage, I wonder if you will be happy when you’ve turned New York into New Yuck, Boston into Bah!-ston, and other places into Messychoose-its, Nude Hampshire, Vermin, and Cana-duh (where at least the maple leaves will be blushing!). And of course I should include Hell-A and San Fransissyco which, appropriately, are in Quake-ifornia!
So what are you waiting for? Since you’re bent on fulfilling the predicted end-time Noah/Lot days (your way of helping to make the Bible even more believable!), and since seemingly you’d rather discover the “wrathful Judge” side of Christ instead of His “merciful and loving and forgiving” side, can’t you speed up your role and get it over with? You’re holding up the true and everlasting peace that God wants to give to the whole world!
(You’re free to reproduce and distribute this non-copyrighted paper everywhere including the internet. You’re also free to use a different title with it, if you wish.)
The underlying theoretical question, which many have already discerned, is in what way exactly civil magistrates are answerable to God in their capacity as magistrates, and to what extent they should rule according to biblical norms. As the biblical questions, this is the question that will most occupy Christians as we deliberate on questions of civil government and legal definition of marriage.
The secondary question is what the current political order will and will not accept, as defined by the constitutions of the United States and of each state in the Union. The most commonly accepted notions of separation of church and state are not the only defensible ideas about the U.S. constitution, especially when we consider that seven states out of thirteen had established churches in 1789, when the U.S. constitution took effect. Any sound conclusion must have established what the law actually is.
The third question is how Christians should seek to implement the policies that best honour God, since as Christians we (presumably) agree already that our highest goal, in politics as elsewhere, is to honour God. This is the final outstanding question, but the answer rests on the answers to the other two questions.
Perhaps, spiritual bitgroy ? Of course, there can be other justifications for this. But, once God consummates the marriage you are married in His eyes.P.S. rehelik If your Pastor told you that ( I doubt it ), you better find another church. This is not compatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ ! Whites are not the top dog of the human race. (I’m white too, by the way !) ALL people are regarded as special in God’s eyes and He allowed His one and only Son, Jesus, die for ALL too !!! I think you are trying to taint Christians by saying your Pastor told you that. Nice try, though !!!