A casual observer of today’s Western culture would be hard-pressed to miss the prevailing trends toward marriage devaluation. As increasing numbers of heterosexual couples are opting to do ‘married people things’ absent the marriage commitment (e.g., cohabitate, have and raise children, etc.), marriage itself is viewed with considerably less favor than a generation ago.
In the midst of all this comes the push for “marriage equality” in same-sex unions. Why is this community swimming against the prevailing marriage devaluation stream? They seem to appreciate what we no longer value – a legal, long term commitment to one person. Do they know something that our society has forgotten? Are they wiser than those who see marriage and the nuclear family as “obsolete institutions?” If so, this is a just indictment against our civilization. While I cannot biblically justify same-sex unions, “marriage equality” advocates are to be commended for valuing a form of this gift toward which our society has become cavalier.
At the same time, same-sex advocates seem unaware of their contribution to the devaluation of marriage in general as they promote their own. Our media is complicit as it both persuades and reflects our culture by presenting an increasingly distasteful view of “natural marriage.” Caricatures of “natural marriage” abound, yet when “same-sex marriage” is discussed many politicians, media pundits, network executives and creative types gush in glowing terms. This is sociological schizophrenia. Fortunately, some gay thinkers see the shortsightedness of this line of thinking.
Those who approve of “marriage equality” continue to ignore the camel’s nose already in the tent. After all, like advocates of natural marriage, they too advocate for marriage to one partner. If the God-given institution of marriage is redefined by mere men to begin with, then polygamists, polyandrists, polyamorists, etc., will have every right to demand their own form of “marriage equality.” Would this cheapen the same-sex community’s sense of the “sanctity” of their own marriages? Moreover, will these new forms of “marriage” be matters for the states to decide, and will states that don’t approve of these “marriages” be obligated to recognize them? Will the federal government see this as an opportunity to irreversibly seize more power in the name of “regulating” such a morass?
In the end, marriage confusion will be the order of the day, all because our society didn’t clarify or value natural marriage in the first place. If the litigious ramifications were to lead state and federal governments to “wash their hands” of the whole issue, then separation of marriage and state will be the ultimate result and another human right will be sacrificed on the altar of “fairness.”
I am no conspiracy theorist, but if there were a conspiracy afoot that required the elimination of marriage and the nuclear family, then our society could now be the proverbial frog in an increasingly hot pot of water.
We face the dawn of a ‘cowardly new world.’ If we don’t think through the underlying issues critically, all of us who appreciate “marriage” on any level will eventually be reduced to mere mindless wards of the state.
I have to disagree with my former WTS classmate here. Same-sex marriage, as unbiblical as it is, does not devalue marriage. Rather, within a different sexual context from heterosexual married couples, their struggle for their right to participate in marriage, a long term, public commitment to a single partner, shows that they place a high value on marriage. It is only our view of homosexuals that would cause us to interpret their actions otherwise. According to such logic, same-sex marriage devalues marriage itself because of the character of the participants. They are less than us, according to this logic. Of course, this logic invokes judgment according to Romans 2:1. And perhaps our view of homosexuals also enables us to preach the slippery slope scenario if same-sex marriage is allowed (see article on Anti Same-Sex Marriage Rhetoric).
Let us remember that, for the most part, the struggle to legalize same-sex marriages is occurring in society. Our steadfast objection to them enjoying and committing themselves to marriage drives some in the church to extend this struggle to within the church since they then conclude that the only way to regard and treat gays as equals is to find ways to biblically condone what they are doing.
The point that comes from recognizing that same-sex marriages should be legal in our society is equality. Should homosexuals have an equal say and participation in our society as heterosexuals? Not if they are less than us says the above stated logic. And that is how some want to keep it.
Certainly, same-sex marriage is unbiblical and should not be condoned in the church. So the question becomes, how should the Church approach same-sex marriage in a democratic society where each participant should be regarded as an equal member? Prohibiting the legalization of same-sex marriages denies both democracy and equality. So perhaps we could rely solely on evangelism to persuade those in the homosexual community to repent.
That was on point Carl.