Popular Christian author Glennon Doyle Melton recently announced that she is dating Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach. This news comes after inspirational author Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame announced her romantic relationship with her female best friend. Two weeks ago, Christian author Jen Hatmaker and her pastor husband, Brandon, announced that they support same-sex marriage as well.
Unsurprisingly, the move to affirm same-sex marriage is affecting churches. For instance, First Baptist Church of Austin has adopted a "diversity statement" that welcomes members regardless of sexual orientation into "the full life of our community."
Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas announced last Monday that a majority of its members voted to open weddings, baby dedications, ordination and leadership positions to people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
With more and more Christian churches and public figures endorsing same-sex marriage, it might seem that those who do not go along will be left behind. But popularity must never be a test for truth. Conventional wisdom is often less than wise.
I am convinced for numerous reasons that God intends marriage to be a monogamous covenant between a man and a woman. Of course, this subject is much larger than I can address adequately in this brief article, so I invite you to download my white paper How to Defend Biblical Marriage: What You Need to Know About Homosexuality, Same-Sex Marriage and the Bible.
However, I do want to address one way many proponents of same-sex marriage have argued for their position. They claim that people in the biblical era did not know of monogamous, loving same-sex commitment or marriage, so the numerous biblical prohibitions against same-sex relations are irrelevant to such relationships. But it is a fact that same-sex relations were common in the ancient world; homosexual marriage continued in the Roman Empire until it was made illegal in A.D. 342.
This is not a new issue for God's Word or God's people. Every time Scripture addresses same-sex relations, it prohibits them. First-century Christians were as countercultural in refusing to normalize such relationships as defenders of biblical marriage are today. Scripture is never irrelevant or misleading regarding the human condition. The God who made us knows what is best for us.
It is regrettable that some churches and Christians are affirming what the Bible prohibits. But we need also to remember this: Homosexual activity is not the unpardonable sin. We are all tempted sexually. All Christians and Christian churches are imperfect. And we are all loved by God unconditionally: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).
It is an amazing fact that the God who knows me better than anyone else does loves me more than anyone else does. He feels the same way about you.
Jim Denison, Ph.D., is founder of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, a non-sectarian "think tank" designed to engage contemporary issues with biblical truth. Join over 100,000 who read Dr. Denison's daily Cultural Commentary:denisonforum.org/subscribe . For more information on the Denison Forum, visitdenisonforum.org. To connect with Dr. Denison in social media, visittwitter.com/jimdenison or facebook.com/denisonforum.
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