Friday, December 08, 2006

More arguments for civil same-sex marriage

Should Christians oppose civil same-sex marriage because the Bible says homosexual relationships are sinful? Bill Baldwin points out that according to Jesus, God permitted and regulated the sin of divorce for Old Testament Israel, even though divorce was a violation of the moral standard for marriage that was established at creation.

But as Jesus points out, [divorce] is not the creational norm for marriage. As God created marriage, he intended it to be a permanent bond between a man and a woman. How dare a civil magistrate lower that standard? Well, when the civil magistrate is God, I guess we have to let things slide. Not only did the sin of divorce go unpunished under his theocratic rule, the sin was permitted and regulated without comment.

Wow.

Even in the theocracy, God watered down the institution of marriage in the interests of civil order. We’re talking Israel, a holy people set apart to God. Even there God permitted and regulated divorce.

Do you see where this is going?

Is it perhaps possible that, given the current political and social situation in the US, it would be better to permit and regulate gay marriage than to ignore it?

Read the complete argument here, which is addressed to a largely Reformed audience that believes the State should impose laws and sanctions upon society according to biblical morality.

And if you’re confused about his references to “Misty’s controversy,” you can learn more about that here.