PCA and marriage
The 32nd General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in America adopted a statement on Thursday, June 17th that
takes a bold stance against homosexual marriage
In the ongoing debate over redefining marriage to
include homosexual unions, the Presbyterian Church of America issued a statement on June 17th urging lawmakers
to "act within their lawful powers and use whatever legislative and judicial
instruments they deem most useful to ensure that marriage is legally defined and
interpreted throughout their jurisdictions as existing exclusively between one
man and woman. " Follow the link to read the entire text of what they
said.
I am a Lutheran, so neither I nor my church belong to the PCA, but I do think they did a good job in tackling this issue from the Church's proper point of view. Incidentally, that is why I filed this post under Christianity - Theology, and not under Politics, because this particular statement has more to do with the Church's stance than it does with the State's.
The first thing to notice is that they start off with the statement that God is truth and has revealed Himself to us through His Word (the Bible). This is a great place to start because, while there are pragmatic reasons for opposing homosexual marriage, the real issue at stake is whether or not we will obey God and His Word. As I told a friend of mine, I oppose homosexual marriage because I believe the God instituted marriage in the first place and if it was not our creation, we are not at liberty to simply redefine it as though it were a mere matter of opinion.
The other advantage is this removes subjective concerns from the discussion - at least inside of the Church. It is true that there are many homosexual couples that spend their lives in a committed relationship. It is not true that this behavior is normative, but there are plenty of subjective arguments for supporting marriage for these cases. I've even heard many conservatives make a case along those lines - "I've known so and so for 20 years, and they've lived together faithfully the whole time." However, these subjective cases don't enter an argument that is biblically centered. In other words, if the argument is what does the Bible (and that means God who inspired it) say about this topic, we need not argue over what your neighbors think about it.
Another point where I agree with them is that they called for the Church to strengthen marriage in all respects. In other words, not simply to stand against its redefinition by homosexual lobbyists but also by heterosexual couples who have long since treated marriage with contempt. This was raised by numerous liberals who asked which is worse - two gay people who have been together 50 years finally getting married, or Britney Spears getting married and annulled within a day or the countless other drive-thru style marriages that take place in Las Vegas? It is a fair question, I think, because if we are to defend the sanctity of marriage, we can't simply stand against homosexuals. Of course, this is still no argument to support redefining marriage - if they have shown anything by this argument it means we are inconsistent, not that we are incorrect. But for those of us who truly believe that God has ordained marriage and takes it seriously, we ought to pause and make sure we not only stop homosexual marriage but also the huge problem of divorce in our Church.
The last point I want to commend them for is that they have correctly set the role of the State and the role of believers response to the State. They first humbly asked all representatives to "act within their lawful powers". They did not say to enact legislation on this at all costs, or to impose it unjustly. This is good in that I think there should be a lot of further debate on whether or not a Constitutional amendment is the best means for solving this issue.
They also affirmed the truth that all legislative powers are subject to God and His rule. This is the foundational principle of American government, that there is a law higher than whatever is on the books, namely God Himself, by which any law we write will be judged. This cures us of the temptation to think that laws are malleable and subject to the will of the people.
I'm proud of the PCA to take such a bold and strong doctrinal stance in the face of what will soon be a heated debate in our country. It makes me sad for my own denomination, the ELCA, which will most likely affirm homosexual marriages, or any homosexual behavior for that matter, and end up splitting itself over the issue.
I am a Lutheran, so neither I nor my church belong to the PCA, but I do think they did a good job in tackling this issue from the Church's proper point of view. Incidentally, that is why I filed this post under Christianity - Theology, and not under Politics, because this particular statement has more to do with the Church's stance than it does with the State's.
The first thing to notice is that they start off with the statement that God is truth and has revealed Himself to us through His Word (the Bible). This is a great place to start because, while there are pragmatic reasons for opposing homosexual marriage, the real issue at stake is whether or not we will obey God and His Word. As I told a friend of mine, I oppose homosexual marriage because I believe the God instituted marriage in the first place and if it was not our creation, we are not at liberty to simply redefine it as though it were a mere matter of opinion.
The other advantage is this removes subjective concerns from the discussion - at least inside of the Church. It is true that there are many homosexual couples that spend their lives in a committed relationship. It is not true that this behavior is normative, but there are plenty of subjective arguments for supporting marriage for these cases. I've even heard many conservatives make a case along those lines - "I've known so and so for 20 years, and they've lived together faithfully the whole time." However, these subjective cases don't enter an argument that is biblically centered. In other words, if the argument is what does the Bible (and that means God who inspired it) say about this topic, we need not argue over what your neighbors think about it.
Another point where I agree with them is that they called for the Church to strengthen marriage in all respects. In other words, not simply to stand against its redefinition by homosexual lobbyists but also by heterosexual couples who have long since treated marriage with contempt. This was raised by numerous liberals who asked which is worse - two gay people who have been together 50 years finally getting married, or Britney Spears getting married and annulled within a day or the countless other drive-thru style marriages that take place in Las Vegas? It is a fair question, I think, because if we are to defend the sanctity of marriage, we can't simply stand against homosexuals. Of course, this is still no argument to support redefining marriage - if they have shown anything by this argument it means we are inconsistent, not that we are incorrect. But for those of us who truly believe that God has ordained marriage and takes it seriously, we ought to pause and make sure we not only stop homosexual marriage but also the huge problem of divorce in our Church.
The last point I want to commend them for is that they have correctly set the role of the State and the role of believers response to the State. They first humbly asked all representatives to "act within their lawful powers". They did not say to enact legislation on this at all costs, or to impose it unjustly. This is good in that I think there should be a lot of further debate on whether or not a Constitutional amendment is the best means for solving this issue.
They also affirmed the truth that all legislative powers are subject to God and His rule. This is the foundational principle of American government, that there is a law higher than whatever is on the books, namely God Himself, by which any law we write will be judged. This cures us of the temptation to think that laws are malleable and subject to the will of the people.
I'm proud of the PCA to take such a bold and strong doctrinal stance in the face of what will soon be a heated debate in our country. It makes me sad for my own denomination, the ELCA, which will most likely affirm homosexual marriages, or any homosexual behavior for that matter, and end up splitting itself over the issue.
Posted: Sat - June 19, 2004 at 01:50 PM | | | | | | |
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