Many hone in on gay marriage as the essence of the marriage debate, but I wonder if most Christians have really missed the mark. That is, it is not gay marriage that is the issue in marriage, it is the institution of marriage itself. What is it any way? Is it a government institution that provides tax benefits to people? Is it a societal/cultural norm that is to be enjoyed by anyone who wants it? Is it a religious sacrament? Or is it superfluous and nothing but an artificial burden that should be done away with? Or maybe it really is something deeper than all of this?
Perhaps Christians are so keen on doing away with gay marriage, that once again, we are left reacting to the issue of the day, rather than focusing on the ultimate matter. I wonder if the years of so-called Christian marriages that have ended in divorce have destroyed any ability to speak from a moral high ground. Indeed, I believe this is the case. Marriage cannot be defended between a man and a woman on morality alone. There are just too many gravestones in the Christian marriage cemetery for this to occur.
This is why there is something much more foundational than marriage that is at stake, the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. After all, this is the sole reason we believe in marriage as between a man and a woman. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us:
Perhaps Christians are so keen on doing away with gay marriage, that once again, we are left reacting to the issue of the day, rather than focusing on the ultimate matter. I wonder if the years of so-called Christian marriages that have ended in divorce have destroyed any ability to speak from a moral high ground. Indeed, I believe this is the case. Marriage cannot be defended between a man and a woman on morality alone. There are just too many gravestones in the Christian marriage cemetery for this to occur.
This is why there is something much more foundational than marriage that is at stake, the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. After all, this is the sole reason we believe in marriage as between a man and a woman. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
There really is no other reason that calls for us to hold this line. God designed it to be this way, the Bible says so, and therefore, we believe this to be true. It is not marriage then, but our reliance on the Bible as the standard for life which is at stake. Without this standard, then we need not worry about gay marriage, but marriage period.
If you think this is an over-reaction, then how about...
Marriage between THREE women
Marriage between a man and his dog
Marriage between a man and his laptop
Marrying your cousin
Marriage without any boundaries sexually
Marriage to a robot
Before you say these are all extreme cases and the exception, not the norm, well marriage was thought to be between a man and a woman legally only a decade ago! Once that door has been rammed through, there really is nothing legally that limits the bond of marriage between a man and a woman. Also, we need not stop with marriage between two men or two women. Marriage is merely a bond two entities, of any size, make before the state. Furthermore, as long as one is not looking for legal or societal benefits, there really is nothing stopping a man from marrying his dog, no matter how unseemly that might be.
So what is at stake is not gay couples marrying one another, what is at stake is not only marriage, what is at stake is the Bible's view on one of the oldest and most foundational institutions in human history. Now that it has been ejected and stripped away from what the Bible holds to be true, only time will tell what lies ahead for all of us.
If you think this is an over-reaction, then how about...
Marriage between THREE women
Marriage between a man and his dog
Marriage between a man and his laptop
Marrying your cousin
Marriage without any boundaries sexually
Marriage to a robot
Before you say these are all extreme cases and the exception, not the norm, well marriage was thought to be between a man and a woman legally only a decade ago! Once that door has been rammed through, there really is nothing legally that limits the bond of marriage between a man and a woman. Also, we need not stop with marriage between two men or two women. Marriage is merely a bond two entities, of any size, make before the state. Furthermore, as long as one is not looking for legal or societal benefits, there really is nothing stopping a man from marrying his dog, no matter how unseemly that might be.
So what is at stake is not gay couples marrying one another, what is at stake is not only marriage, what is at stake is the Bible's view on one of the oldest and most foundational institutions in human history. Now that it has been ejected and stripped away from what the Bible holds to be true, only time will tell what lies ahead for all of us.