Defending Marriage and Religious Liberty

Literally just 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!

By officially normalizing homosexuality and same-sex marriage, Obergefell

has made religious liberty a lot harder to defend, and
has rendered every marriage the equivalent of a same-sex marriage.

We cannot effectively fight for religious liberty without contending for authentic marriage.

What should be our response to this? We cannot effectively fight for religious liberty without contending for authentic marriage. Here I want to explore four aspects of this critical battle, and then return to the main article to expound on a fifth—the most critical of the five. In many ways, these first four items cannot occur unless the final one does.

First, we must know and understand what marriage is. The Pledge in Solidarity to Defend Marriage is a good place to start. This statement declares,

Marriage is ontologically between one man and one woman, ordered toward the union of the spouses, open to children and formative of family. Family is the first vital cell of society, the first government, and the first mediating institution of our social order. The future of a free and healthy society passes through marriage and the family.

Marriage as existing solely between one man and one woman precedes civil government. Though affirmed, fulfilled, and elevated by faith, the truth that marriage can exist only between one man and one woman is not based on religion or revelation alone, but on the Natural Law, written on the human heart and discernible through the exercise of reason. It is part of the natural created order.

The Natural Law is what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to as a higher law or a just law in his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail.

Marriage is the preeminent and the most fundamental of all human social institutions. Civil institutions do not create marriage nor can they manufacture a right to marry for those who are incapable of marriage. Society begins with marriage and the family.

Please take time to read the entire statement.

More specifically, we need to become familiar with what nature tells us about marriage, and Christians need to know and understand the biblical case for man-woman marriage. Marriage, you see, is not just about adults, families, children, and society. It also is about the gospel and about the nature and character of God. I’ve written an entire series of articles that presents the biblical case, but don’t let the amount of material in it overwhelm you. Simply start with the introductory article, and if you find it helpful, continue.

Marriage is not just about adults, families, children, and society. It also is about the gospel and about the nature and character of God.

Second, we must be able to expose the myths that led us to this point. I’ve written extensively on this in a 10-part series. Again be overwhelmed by the amount of material here. Start with Part 1, which exposes four myths that relate to government and its oversight over marriage.

Myth #1: Marriage is a government construct over which government and government alone has oversight.
Myth #2: The federal government, especially through its court system, has absolute authority over marriage.
Myth #3: The government bestows rights; therefore, the government can take them away.
Myth #4: The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of disputes in the United States (also go here).

In the name of granting rights to people it believes are being slighted in a variety of ways, government becomes authoritarian and even tyrannical. In the case of marriage, it seeks to change what it cannot, and thus it moves society in a very perilous direction. Reality will push back, not because it is mean, but simply because of what it is! Society will pay a heavy price indeed, especially if our national journey down this path continues unchecked.

Third, we must be able to warn people of the dangers of our government’s seeing every marriage as the equivalent of a same-sex marriage. This will mean asking some hard questions. We explore at least part of what this means in part 8 of the series on myths. A condensed version of this article is available here.

Fourth, we must become informed and participate in the political process. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon, former Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a brilliant scholar, wrote these observations on his Facebook page.

Given the narrowness of the new SCOTUS “cake” ruling (Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission) in favor of the Christian baker but also affirming the state’s right to tread on religious scruples should the state (in effect) do a better job of hiding its hostility to religion, it is absolutely imperative that the next vacancy left by the retirement or death of a left-wing “in-justice” be filled with a constitutional originalist who is able to tell the difference between interpreting the Constitution and amending it under the deceitful guise of interpretation.

This, of course, has clear implications, not only for the 2020 election, but also for the 2018 mid-terms, which are almost upon us! Kennedy’s retirement may be imminent. From a practical standpoint, religious liberty likely will not survive if the Democrats recapture the Senate in 2018. Political strategist Dick Morris warns that Kennedy’s retirement may help the Democrats recapture it.

If you are tempted to shun politics, or if you believe churches never should mention politics at all but stick to the gospel, I would say two things.

First, you need to understand what is at stake in this battle. Without religious liberty, the gospel itself is at risk. Remember what Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper said of Christ’s sovereignty: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

Second, especially if you’re a pastor, remember that you can urge your congregation to be involved in the political process without being partisan. The Bible directs us to be good citizens and to contend for righteousness. Begin by talking about the other three items on this list, but also encourage your people to be informed, to register to vote, and to vote according to biblical truth.

Christians must understand and act on these things, but if they ever are going to understand them in sufficient numbers, the church must regain its prophetic voice.

That’s where pastors come in.

Return to main article…

This page is part of a larger article.