Christian pastors in America who devote a Sunday each year to preach[ing] on life in response to Roe v. Wade should spend just as much time preaching on why marriage is between one man and one woman and why Christians, like Polycarp, [Russell] Berger, [Jack] Phillips, and others should stand strong for their faith even when the world around them demands otherwise.
—Erick Erickson (To learn about Russell Berger, go here.)—
Key point: At its core, the battle for religious liberty is a battle over the meaning of marriage.
Last time we considered Jack Phillips’s win before the Supreme Court of the United States in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colo. Civil Rights Commission. The court was right to say that people of faith must be treated with fairness and respect as laws are applied and enforced, but we we see a red flag. The ruling does not protect the conscience rights of anyone else, even though the First Amendment is supposed to guarantee those rights for all.
At 10:07 a.m. on June 4, 2018, the day the decision was released, Matt Walsh, a conservative blogger, tweeted,
Do not call this “a huge win for religious liberty.” It simply isn’t. That is an inaccurate and misleading statement. This is a huge win for Jack Phillips, specifically, but it does precisely nothing to help the general cause of religious liberty.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued the following tweets, among others:
9:49 a.m. June 4
BREAKING: SCOTUS reversed the decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, based on concerns specific to the case.
The Court did NOT rule that the Constitution gives a right to discriminate.
10:19 a.m. June 4
People are gathering at SCOTUS right now to send a clear message: The Constitution is not a license to discriminate. Businesses that are open to the public should be #OpenToAll.
6:15 p.m. June 4, the ACLU tweeted yet again,
Let’s make something clear: The Supreme Court did not rule that there is a constitutional right to discriminate.
Jack Phillips, of course, does not discriminate against homosexuals or any other group; he serves everyone. What he will not do, however, is participate in an event wherein his involvement would violate his conscience. Again, while the court sided with Jack in this case, it did not recognize or affirm his First Amendment rights. This is why Matt Walsh expressed concern, and it’s why the ACLU boldly declares that the court did not recognize “a constitutional right to discriminate.” To the ACLU, it is a criminal offense not to celebrate a same-sex union.
Thus, despite the 7 to 2 ruling in Jack Phillips’s favor, the post-Obergefell world is very different from the world that existed before marriage was redefined. This is especially true with regard to religious liberty and the nature of marriage itself.
The Threat to Religious Liberty
Government’s recognition of same-sex marriage has officially normalized both homosexuality and same-sex marriage, making objections to them, even the most polite and cordial objections, unacceptable. While as yet not everyone will be prosecuted for objecting to these, an increasing number of individuals will be. And multitudes more will be persecuted—ridiculed and maligned in the public square.
Literally weeks before the Obergefell ruling that redefined marriage was issued in 2015, Princeton University Professor Dr. Robert George issued an important warning.
Dr. George knows what he’s talking about!
The Nature of Marriage Itself
Obergefell profoundly changed something else as well. Today, in this post-Obergefell world, everyone who is married has the equivalent of a same-sex marriage.
In this post-Obergefell world, everyone who is married has the equivalent of a same-sex marriage.
How should Christians and others who believe in man-woman marriage respond to these forces? Primarily, we need to understand that we cannot effectively fight for religious liberty without contending for authentic marriage. I want briefly to explore five essential parts of this battle. Because of the importance of the fifth, I’ve decided to present the first four on a separate page. On this page I want to hone in on the fifth—the most important element of all. Without this, it is doubtful the other four can occur in ways that are widespread enough and powerful enough to be effective.
You can read about items 1-4 here.
The fifth item is this: Pastors must speak with a prophetic voice on the issues of homosexuality and marriage. Note the statement we’ve posted at the top of this article by Erick Erickson, who has written a book about how the demands of the militant homosexual movement threaten religious liberty. The book is titled, “You Will Be Made to Care: The War on Faith, Family, and Your Freedom to Believe.” Erickson recommends that pastors who preach at least yearly on the sanctity of life against the backdrop of Roe v. Wade and its devastating consequences also preach on marriage in the aftermath of Obergefell. One sermon a year on issues like homosexuality, the definition of marriage, and religious liberty isn’t much, but it is one sermon a year more than most Christians currently hear!
Most Churches Are Silent on the Most Important Issue of Our Day
In a recent article, Christian leader and radio host Dr. Michael Brown laments the total silence in churches today on the issue of homosexuality. In fact, the article is titled, “Too Few Pastors Spoke Up. It’s the Real Reason We’re in This Mess Today.” He says in part,
The relative silence of our pulpits has helped plunged us into our current moral morass. Do we have the courage and integrity to face this?
I’m not talking about pastors and leaders becoming political. That’s the farthest thing from my mind.
But I am talking about pastors and leaders becoming prophetic.…I’m talking about pastors and leaders who are more concerned with divine approval than with human approval.…
Dr. Brown speaks and writes regularly on homosexuality. He upholds the Bible’s teaching on the subject. He does so lovingly—but this doesn’t matter to a great many of those who don’t want to hear what has to say. They vilify him in worst sort of ways and accuse him of living in the stone age:
To quote one comment from among thousands (and a milder one at that), “What a c–t. He’s stuck in the 40’s and I honestly feel sorry for him. He’s blinded by his lack of intellectual thought process.” Or, in broader terms, from another commenter, “The bible is not honest. It’s a s–t middle eastern jew book from crazyland. You monkeys have all been conned.”
Yes, this is what Dr. Brown gets for simply presenting what the Bible teaches and what the church has historically believed. Significantly, he isn’t surprised that people are hostile and even hateful, but he is surprised that others—especially Christians—are shocked at the vile responses. Dr. Brown understands exactly why they speak so ill of him—because so few other Christian leaders talk about what the Bible teaches.
How many pastors and leaders have preached even one clear message on the Bible and homosexuality in the last year? How many such messages have you seen on TV or heard on the radio or listened to in person?
No wonder so many LGBT’s are surprised. The Church has gone radio silent.
Worse still are the ambiguous messages that we preach on the subject. A subject, I remind you, that our kids and grandkids deal with day and night on social media and in school and with friends. A subject ever before us on TV in the movies. A subject shouting at us from the courtrooms of the nation. A subject that affects most of our families and lives.
Yet there is deafening silence from the pulpits. Or the message is so confusing that the one thing that’s clear is that nothing is clear.
In the interest of offending no one, we offend God. In the interest of not wanting to make anyone feel uncomfortable, we help no one escape from discomfort.…
The one who tells the truth in love is hated and maligned, yet the ones criticizing him with acid tongues and pens are considered broadminded and tolerant. Light is condemned as being darkness, and darkness is portrayed as enlightenment. Again, why has this happened? The church has said basically nothing about the most important, front-line issue in spiritual warfare today! Therefore, people who think they are enlightened continue to grope in the darkness.
Why? Why? Why?
The church appears to have no burden, voice, or conviction on this issue, and at times, Dr. Brown writes, it even is “without a prayer.” He concludes,
It’s true that our leaders are doing much good in many ways. It’s also true that we have been compromised, fearful, spineless, and visionless when it comes to one of the greatest moral crises in history.
If we don’t unmuzzle ourselves today, we will be muzzled by others tomorrow. Which will it be?
Pastors, it’s up to you!
Copyright © 2018 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture has been taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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