Same-Sex Marriage and the American Church

On Wednesday, five members of the Supreme Court struck down a 1996 decision by the people’s representatives that had limited marriage to one man and one woman.

We have included for you a number of insightful posts addressing this issue below, but let me offer 4 brief thoughts of my own by way of introduction.

1. As one of the articles below says, we as believers must get used to being a “missional minority” rather than a “Christian majority” in our culture. 

This is not altogether a bad thing—the church does best in environments like these. The end result of our culture’s departure from Christianity will probably not be less actual Christians (i.e. true disciples of Jesus), but simply the elimination of more cultural Christians. What is sad is that when any people depart from God’s righteousness, their society deteriorates. As Proverbs says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” God uses his church as salt and light in their community (Matt 5:13–16), praying for the peace (shalom) of our city (Jer 29:7), and pleading with the civil magistrates to preserve our freedom to be disciples of Jesus in our culture (1 Tim 2:1–4).   Continue at J. D. Greear

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Gay Marriage and the Eclipse of Religious Liberty

Ever since the court handed down its DOMA decision yesterday, it has becomeincreasingly clear that we are one lawsuit away from gay marriage being ensconced as a Constitutional right. My hunch is that such a lawsuit will come sooner rather than later, and that the matter could end up before the Supreme Court in relatively short order. President Obama is already saying that gay marriages performed legally in one state should be recognized by every other state in the union. This matter will be litigated, and—as Scalia noted in his dissent—that other shoe is going to drop.

In any case, the Supreme Court has led us to the precipice of legal gay marriage in all fifty states. As gay marriage moves forward, there is a real question whether proponents of gay marriage will allow any legal accommodation for the consciences of those who hold marriage to be the union of one man and one woman. Observant Christians, Jews, and Muslims would all have religious reasons for defining marriage in the traditional way, but will their religious liberty be respected as gay marriage becomes the law of the land?   Continue at Denny Burk

See also:

What has the Gay Lobby Revealed to You about Your Faith

Where the Prop 8 ruling leaves us?

How Should You Explain the Same-Sex Marriage Debate to Your Children?

Supreme Court Defies God’s Clear Teaching on Marriage
 

7 Lessons for Christians from the “Gay Victory”

Hobby Lobby Faces Millions in Fines for Bucking Obamacare

Washington (CNN)– Craft store giant Hobby Lobby is bracing for a $1.3 million a day fine beginning January 1 for noncompliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare.

The company opposes providing some contraceptives to employees through its company health care plan on religious grounds, saying some contraceptive products, like the morning after pill, equate to abortion.

After failing to receive temporary relief from the fines from the Supreme Court, Hobby Lobby announced late Thursday through its attorneys that it "will continue to provide health insurance to all qualified employees. To remain true to their faith, it is not their intention, as a company, to pay for abortion-inducing drugs."

In September, Hobby Lobby and affiliate Mardel, a Christian bookstore chain, sued the federal government for violating their owners' religious freedom and ability to freely exercise their religion.

"All they're asking for is a narrow exemption from the law that says they don't have to provide drugs they believe cause abortions," Hobby Lobby attorney Kyle Duncan, a general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told CNN affiliate KFOR in November. "Our basic point is the government can't put a corporation in the position of choosing between its faith and following the law."    Continue at CNN

See also: 60 Second Summary: The Biblical Billionaire Backing The Evangelical Movement