Post by ebonywnd on Jan 27, 2005 10:01:05 GMT -5
Rally against same-sex marriage misses the point
By The Rev. Jason Poling
Originally published January 27, 2005
AS AN EVANGELICAL pastor with conservative views on most political issues,
I might be expected to attend today's expected Defend Maryland Marriage
Rally in Annapolis. But I'll skip it, and here's why:
This rally misses the point about marriage.
I share with rally organizers a concern for the state of marriage in our
society. As a pastor, I am intimately familiar with the tragedies that are
involved in once-healthy marriages that are threatened and dying, and I
have counseled people through the pain of infidelity and divorce. I am
very aware of the responsibility I bear when I unite a couple in marriage.
But I am not convinced that same-sex marriages are the primary threat to
marriage today. Far more dangerous are the many pseudo-marital
arrangements that allow people to experience "marriage lite" without
entering into the serious commitment involved in marriage. The recognition
of "domestic partnerships" and "civil unions" among homosexual couples can
necessitate the same recognition for heterosexual couples. This phenomenon
is well advanced in Scandinavia, where marriage has become the exception
rather than the rule even for families with children.
It is the commitment involved in marriage that makes it so fulfilling when
it is pursued faithfully. It seems ironic that at a time when marriage is
threatened by the lack of commitment, those who want to uphold marriage
are seeking vigorously to oppose those who pay this noble institution the
honor of participating in it.
This rally misses the point about sexuality.
I share with my colleagues a conviction that same-sex behaviors are not
faithful to the way God wired human beings to relate to one another
sexually. I hold this view because Scripture and the tradition of our
faith have clearly taught that the gift of human sexuality is to be
expressed in a monogamous marital relationship.
Yet just as marriage is more threatened by "marriage lite" than by
committed homosexual unions, sexual purity is more threatened by
nonmarital heterosexuality than by marriage-like homosexual practices.
Promiscuity, adultery, cohabitation, serial monogamy and the "friends with
benefits" phenomenon all present alternative arrangements that promise
physical and emotional gratification without being tied down to a spouse.
Condemning homosexual arrangements is easy for people who have no interest
in homosexual behavior, much easier than addressing inappropriate
heterosexual behavior. It's been my experience that it's a lot easier to
fall into immoral behavior when one's attention is directed at somebody
else's immoral behavior rather than at one's own faults.
This rally misses the point about religion.
The Bible has much to teach us about how God has wired us as human beings
and the kind of life that brings pleasure to Him, joy to ourselves and
peace with others. But I do not believe that it directs the church to call
the state to make illegal those things it condemns as immoral.
Twice in our nation's history, people of faith mobilized to support
amendments to our Constitution. The first time was in the cause of
abolition of slavery, and the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments began a
movement to eradicate legal discrimination that again benefited from the
vigorous work of the churches in the civil rights movement of the 20th
century. The second instance was Prohibition, which produced both the only
amendment to be repealed and a massive backlash against people seeking to
impose their views of right and wrong on their neighbors by force of law.
I would submit that in this free society, it is the duty of God's people
to uphold the cause of justice for the oppressed, the voiceless, the
people not treated as people - which is why many religious leaders,
including myself, advocate for the protection of unborn life. But in
matters of private morality, we are better citizens when we seek to
influence behavior by persuasion and example rather than by legislation.
The Rev. Jason Poling is the pastor of New Hope Community Church in Owings
Mills.
By The Rev. Jason Poling
Originally published January 27, 2005
AS AN EVANGELICAL pastor with conservative views on most political issues,
I might be expected to attend today's expected Defend Maryland Marriage
Rally in Annapolis. But I'll skip it, and here's why:
This rally misses the point about marriage.
I share with rally organizers a concern for the state of marriage in our
society. As a pastor, I am intimately familiar with the tragedies that are
involved in once-healthy marriages that are threatened and dying, and I
have counseled people through the pain of infidelity and divorce. I am
very aware of the responsibility I bear when I unite a couple in marriage.
But I am not convinced that same-sex marriages are the primary threat to
marriage today. Far more dangerous are the many pseudo-marital
arrangements that allow people to experience "marriage lite" without
entering into the serious commitment involved in marriage. The recognition
of "domestic partnerships" and "civil unions" among homosexual couples can
necessitate the same recognition for heterosexual couples. This phenomenon
is well advanced in Scandinavia, where marriage has become the exception
rather than the rule even for families with children.
It is the commitment involved in marriage that makes it so fulfilling when
it is pursued faithfully. It seems ironic that at a time when marriage is
threatened by the lack of commitment, those who want to uphold marriage
are seeking vigorously to oppose those who pay this noble institution the
honor of participating in it.
This rally misses the point about sexuality.
I share with my colleagues a conviction that same-sex behaviors are not
faithful to the way God wired human beings to relate to one another
sexually. I hold this view because Scripture and the tradition of our
faith have clearly taught that the gift of human sexuality is to be
expressed in a monogamous marital relationship.
Yet just as marriage is more threatened by "marriage lite" than by
committed homosexual unions, sexual purity is more threatened by
nonmarital heterosexuality than by marriage-like homosexual practices.
Promiscuity, adultery, cohabitation, serial monogamy and the "friends with
benefits" phenomenon all present alternative arrangements that promise
physical and emotional gratification without being tied down to a spouse.
Condemning homosexual arrangements is easy for people who have no interest
in homosexual behavior, much easier than addressing inappropriate
heterosexual behavior. It's been my experience that it's a lot easier to
fall into immoral behavior when one's attention is directed at somebody
else's immoral behavior rather than at one's own faults.
This rally misses the point about religion.
The Bible has much to teach us about how God has wired us as human beings
and the kind of life that brings pleasure to Him, joy to ourselves and
peace with others. But I do not believe that it directs the church to call
the state to make illegal those things it condemns as immoral.
Twice in our nation's history, people of faith mobilized to support
amendments to our Constitution. The first time was in the cause of
abolition of slavery, and the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments began a
movement to eradicate legal discrimination that again benefited from the
vigorous work of the churches in the civil rights movement of the 20th
century. The second instance was Prohibition, which produced both the only
amendment to be repealed and a massive backlash against people seeking to
impose their views of right and wrong on their neighbors by force of law.
I would submit that in this free society, it is the duty of God's people
to uphold the cause of justice for the oppressed, the voiceless, the
people not treated as people - which is why many religious leaders,
including myself, advocate for the protection of unborn life. But in
matters of private morality, we are better citizens when we seek to
influence behavior by persuasion and example rather than by legislation.
The Rev. Jason Poling is the pastor of New Hope Community Church in Owings
Mills.
