Question: An article in the L.A. Times reported that the May 15, 2008, California Supreme Court's overruling of the ban on same-sex marriages was greeted with joy by the homosexual community [and] many religious leaders. Dave, what's your reaction?

July 1, 2008

TBC Staff

Question: A recent article in the Los Angeles Times reported that the May 15, 2008, California Supreme Court's overruling of the ban on same-sex marriages was greeted with joy by the homosexual community as well as by many religious leaders:

"At Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church of Pasadena, the mood was celebratory Sunday, with Mendelsohn's 'Wedding March' played at services in honor of the decision. But at the Islamic Society of Orange County, Imam Muzammil H. Sidiqqi told his congregation during Friday prayers that the high court's decision was a severe disappointment and goes against Islamic teaching.
"'The ruling is a violation of God's law,' Siddiqi, an authority on Islamic law, declared. 'I hope all people of faith -Jews, Christians and Muslims-speak up against this.'
"The Rev. Susan Russell, pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, who celebrated her union with her partner in an official blessing ceremony two years ago, told her congregation as they cheered, 'The justices have ruled in favor of the sanctity of marriage and against bigotry. This is good news for all Californians.'
"[In the article] William McKinley, president of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley...said the ruling was applauded on his campus, though he felt some trepidation lest a new culture war be provoked.
"Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis (a rabbi for more than 50 years) said that his religion is evolving. 'It's one of the most exciting parts of seeing religion as not static and inflexible but as sensitive to different times and different information and different knowledge. What in the world did people in biblical times know about homosexuals?'
"At Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles, the Rev. William Epps...has given no thought to the Supreme Court Ruling. 'Traditional Baptist Churches would not embrace same-sex marriages,' Epps said, although he would be happy to devote a Bible study session to the matter if anyone wanted it.
"What would he do if a homosexual couple asked him to marry them now?
"'I'd have to prayerfully think about it,' Epps said. 'It would be something I would have to seriously grapple with.'"

Dave, what is your reaction to the above?

Response: For the Universalists, anything goes, just as any "god" is acceptable. The Muslim at least follows his religion, but his using the phrase "people of faith" (a favorite with President Bush and many others) reveals his ecumenical confusion. He imagines that "Jews, Christians and Muslims," being "people of faith," would all agree-ignoring the clear contradictions between their so-called "faiths." Jude 3 tells us that we are to "earnestly contend for the faith...once [for all time] delivered to the saints." Christ declared, "Have faith in God," so there is no true faith without acknowledging the one and only true God. Paul declares that there is "one faith," and that fact exposes the folly of "people of faith."

The Baptist pastor's response is puzzling. He says "traditional Baptist Churches" are against same-sex marriages. Why not heed the Bible instead of Baptist tradition? Has Baptist tradition become a higher authority than God's Word? It is very clear that marriage was instituted by God and is to be between a man and a woman. No one has the authority to change what God has said, so what does he have to pray about! The word "marriage" is being corrupted to mean an ungodly and perverted "union" between two men or two women-and the world and the church are going along with this corruption both of language and morals.

Homosexuals are pressuring the world and the church to accept as "normal" this perversion, which contradicts the marriage institution sanctified by God. Yet the court's ruling is seen as honoring "the sanctity of marriage and [being] against bigotry"! The followers of what they once dared to call "an alternate lifestyle" have managed to make it not an "alternative" but the new norm and even especially virtuous.

It is a shame and disgrace that the world and the church could stand by while "Gay pride" parades are feted, when, in fact, if the world adopted this way of life, it would be the end of the human race. Homosexuals don't procreate, thus rejecting the very first commandment God gave: "Be fruitful, and multiply" (Genesis:1:28). Is their refusal to obey God something to promote or be proud of?

The Pacific School of Religion rejoices, and the rabbi is happy, too, that religion is moving with the times-as though the Scriptures were not written by holy prophets inspired of God but were the product of the times and prevailing "culture" and subject to improvement. If this is truly the case, then of course they ought to change with the changing times. The gospel, however, cannot change.

Those who accept, promote, or practice this rebellion against their Creator will suffer severe consequences, both in this life and in the "judgment" that comes "after this [i.e., upon death]" (Hebrews:9:27).

Homosexuality has somehow attained a favored status in society. The court ruling was hailed as "good news for all Californians"-meaning that everyone who practices this perversion is not only normal but somehow laudably living on a higher plain than what the world has for thousands of years considered to be normal and natural. For centuries, homosexuality was known (and often prosecuted) as "the crime against nature"-and so it is. Now it's considered a mark of courage to "come out of the closet."