In Michigan, a homosexual man is suing two Christian publishers—Zondervan and Tyndale House—for $70 million dollars. Bradley Fowler claims they violated his constitutional rights and caused him “emotional distress” by publishing versions of the Bible that call homosexuality a sin. In my view, Fowler is suing the wrong party, but perhaps he realizes he is likely to have difficulty hauling the real author into court.
While the lawsuit may strike us as funny, we ought to take such attacks on Christian teaching seriously: We are going to see many more of them if same-sex “marriage” is foisted upon us by the courts.
As Seana Sugrue explains in The Meaning of Marriage, edited by Robert George and Jean Bethke Elshtain, marriage is a pre-political institution, rooted in biology and moral obligations. Sugrue writes, “The reality of sex differences between men and women, leading to the potential for offspring, is essential to the pre-political foundation of marriage.”
But marriage as a political form of social order, independent of the state, “is precisely what advocates of same-sex ‘marriage’ seek to change,” according to Sugrue. “Marriage rooted in procreation and sexual differences is to be replaced by marriage for the gratification of two consenting adults.”
But unlike traditional marriage, “same-sex marriage requires a condition of soft despotism to exist,” Sugrue warns.
“In claiming for homosexuals the right to marry,” she reasons, the “state also claims for itself the ability to declare what constitutes marriage . . . It transforms marriage from a pre-political obligation into its own creation.”
But as an artificial creation of the state, same-sex “marriage” is “an institution that needs to be coddled . . . Its very fragility demands a culture in which it is protected.” This means, as Sugrue argues, that “once marriage becomes a statist institution for the sake of consenting adults, the state will increasingly be called upon to create the social conditions to protect these unions.”
The need for coddling means the state will use public education for this end, and align itself against churches that refuse to recognize same-sex “marriage.”
So, the state has to use its power against two of society’s civil institutions: the family and the church.
Sugrue is right: We are already seeing the courts go after institutions and people who refuse to recognize the legitimacy of same-sex “marriage” where it is imposed. State-ordered gay “marriage” is an attack, not only on legitimate marriage, but upon religious freedom and the freedom not to have one’s children indoctrinated into alien ideas about marriage.
You need to understand the reasoning here so that we can present this argument in a winsome way to our neighbors. And we better be supporting efforts to pass constitutional amendments and laws defining marriage as one man and one woman; the issue is up in Florida, Arizona, and California this year. We also need to find out what the presidential candidates want to do, because they will be choosing the next Supreme Court justices who will ultimately decide this issue.
If we do not act, lawsuits against Bible publishers will not any longer be a joke, but a despotic reality.
From BreakPoint®, July 22, 2008, Copyright 2008, Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with the permission of Prison Fellowship Ministries. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of Prison Fellowship Ministries. “BreakPoint®” and “Prison Fellowship Ministries®” are registered trademarks of Prison Fellowship
Comments
daniel, I agree that even though someone may be predisposed to something does not negate the fact that they still have the ability to choose.
daniel, as much as he hates to admit it he tends to cut and run when the kitchen gets to warm for him.
Exactly! Just because someone may be drawn to homosexuality doesn't make it OK.
I noticed that ifeelfine didn't respond! Where'd ifeelfine go?
daniel, I agree they are no excuse for us to do whatever we want, but for some it means they will have to be more careful with their lifestyle choices as opposed to many of us.
"genetics or a hormonal imbalance"
So do I!!! I would like him to also give his opinion and the fact that I don't accept genetic dispositoin or hormonal imbalance as an excuss to simply go what I want. That I do what I need to no matter.
daniel, your absolutely right obesity can be a result of the sin of gluttony, but it can also be a result of genetics or a hormonal imbalance, but to be honest I really wanted to hear ifeelfine's response to his own response.
" how does one commit the sin of obesity"
Let me try to answer that one. There are several examples in the Bible. One is manna in the wilderness. They were only to pick up what they needed that day and they got exercise picking it up!
Another example comes under "be not drunk with wine but filled with the Spirit". People find comfort in the bottom of a bottle. Some people find comfort in the bottome of an ice cream tub. Both are wrong. They replace the comfort from the Spirit with the comfort of food or drink (or 'toys' or recreation or sex or.....).
Over indulgence is the actual sin...obesity is simply one way it manifests itself. The sin nature is 'smooth and slick' now isn't it?
"and you cannot tell me how homosexuality is part of the sin nature...how it obviously comes against the fruit of the spirit."
Doing anything the Bible says is sin comes from the sin nature. Christians have two natures who war against one another. The one that wins is the one you feed the most. The one you feed the most says the other nature is wrong when they contradict. Kind of like the victors write the history sort of thing.
The Bible clearly says homosexuality is wrong. The Bible says your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Quite frankly, I understand the obesity thing. My situation is a bit different. I look about 80 pounds less than I weigh. People think I weight 220-230. Big boned? I don't know. I don't care what the reason is. I want to be here for my children...therefore, I will not accept excuses and am careful about what I eat.
You either accept there is a problem in an area and deal with it...or you accept excuses and do what you want (in my case it would be to eat what I want).
A MAJOR issue concerning mankind is the desire to say we are not sinful. "I'm OK, You're OK". If that were the case then Jesus didn't need to die.
If you are a Christian you then accept you have a sin nature to be forgiven and accept it is the Bible that says what is sin and what is not.
ifeelfine, please explain to us how obesity is a sin, how does one commit the sin of obesity?
feetlxxx--
Two men cannot share love "in its perfect form", because God did not design it that way. That perfect love he reserved for a husband and his wife, it exists between a man and a woman. What you are engaging in is a corruption of what God intended, and it is exactly why the Apostle Paul condemns homosexuality repeatedly (and I know the underlying Koine Greek and I have numerous Greek Lexicons, so don't tell me that the Greek doesn't really mean homosexual - it does. There was no exact word for "homosexuality" in Greek, because such relations weren't accepted as equal to male and female relations - but Paul uses the words for men who engage in sexual relations as either the active or passive partner - that was the only way he *could* describe homosexuality in Koine Greek).
God created them "male and female", Jesus reiterates this, and anything outside of that is abomination. It is spoken in the Old Testament and confirmed in the New Testament repeatedly (Romans, 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy). Stop lying to yourself, you know the truth, just as every person walking the planet does. This is why homosexuality has *always* been a cultural taboo, in every culture throughout history (even the Greeks did not accept it like revisionist historians would like one to believe). The natural law is written in man's heart, as Paul says. People know right from wrong instinctively, and it is why homosexuality inspires revulsion in the majority of people in the majority of cultures in the majority of countries - and it always has.
There can be nothing of "God" in a homosexual relationship, it is only deception. It is listening to false teaching with itching ears if someone is telling you otherwise. It is not a lifestyle that can ever reflect God's glory or his intention and will - that makes it against God, and that makes it perverse. Abomination. That's why that word was used.
Jesus didn't speak about "homosexuality" because it wasn't even necessary to discuss it. It was a non-issue. A non-starter. It was a cultural taboo in Judaism from the beginning and would never have been accepted - it was a stoning offense in Jewish Law. Jesus didn't speak about it for the same reason he didn't speak about necrophilia or bestiality. He *didn't have to*. It was *assumed* (or presumed). The only argument that could be made for homosexuality in that context would have been if Jesus *specifically* said something that argued for it - which would have been overturning Mosaic Law. Sort of like how he modified the understanding of the Sabbath, or the Fourth Commandment, etc. But he never did. Because Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, and he would have accepted exactly what God said about homosexuality - that it was abomination.
The only option open to a homosexual who truly loves God and wishes to serve him, is to struggle against their sinful inclination and to remain celibate. Anything else is sin.
and you cannot tell me how homosexuality is part of the sin nature..................how it obviously comes against the fruit of the spirit.
maybe you dont acknowledge the importance of the fruit of the spirit.
then how does it come against loving ones neighbor as oneself........the summation of all the law.
maybe you hold other things up, that trump that commandment.
then how is it a sin thru what was created(romans 1:20)
I'm looking forward to the day when there are as many articles on CP about the sin of obesity, etc. After all many of our Christian brothers and sisters disagree as to whether that is a sin or not . . . that sin just strikes home a little more usually so I doubt it.
feet,
You are being led by the spirit of the Antichrist and you need to repent of your continual endorsement of homosexuality.No gays should ever be persecuted/killed or assaulted for their lifestyle-it is a sin like many others, not better or worse-sin is sin and GOD will have nothing to do with it. If you think you can sin and get away with it GOD have mercy on you come judgement day.We are ALL sinners and fall short of the glory of GOD.Praise to our LORD AND MASTER JESUS CHRIST
reedit
"dearly beloved we are gather here together because of the sexual differences of this couple, and their ability to procreate. these and these alone have been the bedrock for allowing 2 people to have a one flesh relationship that is given sanction by both church and state."
so much for being led by and serving of the spirit.
"dearly beloved we are gather together because of our sexual differences and our ability to procreate. these, and these alone have been the bedrock for allowing 2 people to have a one flesh sanctioned relationship by the state."