In less than a week North Carolina voters will have
determined if they want a state constitutional amendment saying the only
legal union recognized by the state and defined as marriage will be between one
man and one woman. Often called an anti-gay amendment, this amendment is far
broader than that. Such unions as polygamy and communal marriages would also be
declared unconstitutional, not to mention unions involving one partner with two
legs and the other partner having four.
If the amendment does not pass, legal action is already
pending in North Carolina that if found in favor of the plaintiffs would
declare unconstitutional current state statutes defining marriage as between one man and one
woman. This would open the door to court cases seeking
state approval for a diversity of relationships such as polygamy. This scenario, combined with a
broadening definition of hate crimes, would leave individuals in numerous
difficult situations while trying to fulfill what they deem as their Christian responsibilities.
Will a minister be able to say that he will perform only a wedding
ceremony in which the participants are one man and one woman? Will a
congregation be able to say its facilities can be used only for services or
ceremonies that are in line with its religious convictions? Will a minister be
able to expound upon biblical texts in a way that says sexual behavior that
deviates from the one man-one woman traditional relationship are antithetical
to the will of God? This of course does not begin to address the issues of age restrictions
and the definitions of adulthood which may also be seen by some as arbitrary and discriminatory.
I suggest for consideration a proposal that the twenty-first
century Church return to an understanding of its role similar to that of the first
and second century Church. Proclaim the gospel as the written word of God.
Forget all those twenty-seven adjectives that some feel they have to attach to
the phrase. It is the written word of God. Proclaim it as God-breathed (II Tim.
3). Take the lumps that come with preaching the truth. If you get fined or sent
to jail, count yourself blessed (Matthew 5).
Agree to presiding in wedding ceremonies that God will recognize and
bless according to the standards he has set (Matthew 19). To do this with
integrity involves insisting on the participants themselves understand God’s
expectations for a marriage he will bless. This will be made easier if
ministers refuse to perform a wedding as a representative with state granted
authority (“By the power invested in me by God and the state of…). If a couple
wants secular recognition, let them go to a magistrate, get the marriage
license signed, and say the proper “I do’s”. With the announcement by the
magistrate, they will be recognized as married by the state. Then they can come
to the church facilities and receive the blessings of God upon a marriage that
should last until death ends it.
Is this an unforgiveable separation of church and state? I don't think so. Rather
is this not the Church standing up and saying we are not the state? Is this not
the Church standing up and saying we are different from the state, we operate
under a different set of standards from the state, and we answer to no one but
our God (Acts 4)? We fight compromise, yet demanding that the secular state recognize
our divine commission may be the worst compromise of all.
