An Assault upon Marriage - Where Is the Outrage?

Last Friday morning Marlys and I were driving down to Iowa to spend time with our son and his family. We tuned into WHO, one of the large Iowa radio stations, and heard a conversation that I thought I would never hear coming out of my home state. That morning the Iowa Supreme Court, in an unanimous decision, had ruled that Iowa's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional based upon the First Amendment. Beginning on April 28, the State of Iowa will provide same-sex couples the freedom to marry. I was shocked! And I think many in the State of Iowa were as well!

Then, yesterday, the legislature of the State of Vermont overrode the veto by their governor, thus making it legal for same-sex couples to marry in Vermont. Now there are four states where same-sex couples can go and be legally married: Massachusetts (which started this whole mess), Connecticut, Vermont, and Iowa.

What I am wondering is where is the outcry from the Christian community in this country. In many ways, this assault upon marriage poses as great a danger as did the Roe v Wade decision in 1973. The belief in the marriage of one man to one woman is foundational to all cultural norms, going back to the Garden of Eden. One of the first commandments God gave to man after his creation was this: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Notice the words that God used: It was to be a relationship between a man and his wife, not between a man and another man, or between a woman and her wife. Jesus, in His dialogue with the Pharisees concerning the matter of divorce, reiterated the words of God: "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19:4-6).

Marriage is defined as: the state of being married; relationship between husband and wife. Another definition described marriage as: the state of, or relation between, a man and woman who have become husband and wife or to the ceremony marking this union. Will the actions of the Iowa Supreme Court and the Vermont Legislature mean those definitions are now null and void? Will my grandchildren grow up learning that the word "marriage" means something entirely different than what I learned in school? If same-sex marriages are legalized, then will same-sex divorce also?

What is one of the intended purposes of marriage? It is procreation. God told Adam and Eve to fill the earth with children. And that act was to be accomplished within the context of marriage. Biologically it is an impossibility for two men, acting in a gay same-sex marriage, to create a child. Two sperm cells can never unite to form anything. And it is biologically impossible for two women, acting in a lesbian same-sex marriage, to create a child. Two egg cells can never unite to form anything. A child can only be created through the biological process of a man uniting sexually with a woman; ideally this happens within the context of a marriage.

Now here is what I find very disturbing. In an interview on one of the Iowa television stations, a lesbian couple was asked how the Iowa Supreme Court ruling would impact them. Their response included the privilege of being recognized in their community as being married, and the right to begin a family. How can that happen?

Around the globe and throughout the annals of history - whether in civilized or uncivilized cultures - marriage was always the same: a legal or religious ceremony binding together one man and one woman. Each culture viewed this concept of marriage as foundational to the strength of that culture. We are now, not only rewriting marriage contracts, but also redefining cultural and societal mores. If same-sex marriage becomes legalized...and four states now say that it is, and one can assume that others will follow suit...what cultural foundation stone will crumble next?

Let me close with this warning: Whenever a culture decides that it has a better way for people to live than does God, such a decision will not set well with the One on the throne in glory. The Bible is full of examples of those who tried to do their own thing in their own way. The consequences were not pretty. But God's judgment must come. It is time for the Church of Jesus Christ to shake off its apathy and realize that we are in the fight of our lives. The quote from Jude, we need to strongly contend for the faith that was delivered to us, must become our motto. It is not time for fellowship with cookies and coffee; it is time for counsels of war.