Christian support for gay marriage

Why the Bible supports gay marriage

By Tristan Sollecito ’24, Staff Writer

DISCLAIMER: For the purposes of this short article, “the Bible” will be used interchangeably with the New Testament. Although the Torah is fundamental to these texts and should not be excluded from the discussion, I contain decided to limit my direct evidence to strictly New Testament scripture in the interest of brevity.

I read the Bible an awful lot, and while a huge proportion of ideological opinions across the globe are directly rooted in scriptural text, I — like countless others for whom these passages remain fundamental to their identity and thought — perpetually find myself searching for explicit theological answers that simply do not exist in writing. There are countless examples of religious beliefs that stem abstractly from biblical interpretation but lack specific reference within the text. Gay marriage, or homosexual activity in particular, cannot be included in this list. Saint Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers

Support for gay marriage reaches all-time high, survey finds

Seventy percent of Americans support same-sex marriage, according to the 11th annual American Values Survey, the highest percentage recorded by a major national poll. The results, released Monday, found just 28 percent of respondents oppose the right of gay couples to wed.

Approval crossed the political divide, with majorities of Democrats (80 percent) and independents (76 percent) supporting same-sex marriage, and 50 percent of Republicans, according to the poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) in partnership with the Brookings Institution.

Most major religious denominations back marriage equality, too, including white mainline Protestants (79 percent), Hispanic Roman Catholics (78 percent), religious non-Christians (72 percent) Hispanic Protestants (68 percent), white Catholics (67 percent), Jet Protestants (57 percent) and other Christian denominations (56 percent).

Religiously unaffiliated Americans were the most supportive, with 90 percent endorsing same-sex marriage.

White evangelic

Same-sex marriage

Facts

  • The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 introduced same-sex ‘marriage’ in England and Wales.
  • The 2013 Act specifically excludes same-sex weddings within the Church of England.1 It also states that no church or church minister can be compelled “by any means” to carry out a same-sex wedding.2
  • The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced same-sex ‘marriage’ in Scotland, with similar protections for church ministers who disagree with same-sex marriage.
  • The Northern Ireland Assembly has opposed the redefinition of marriage on three separate occasions. The most recent vote, in April 2014, saw MLAs voting 51 to 43 against redefining marriage. MLAs rejected a similar motion in 2013 by 53 votes to 42, and in 2012 the plans were voted down 50 to 45.3 However in January 2015 a legal move commenced in Belfast seeking to force same-sex marriage on Northern Ireland.

Biblical arguments

The Bible clearly teaches that marriage is the exclusive and lifelong union of one man and one lady. Genesis 2

The Case Against Christians Attending a Gay Wedding

The case against Christians attending a gay wedding is relatively straightforward. We can lay out the case in three premises and a conclusion.

The Argument

Premise 1: Gay “marriage” is not marriage.

No matter what a government may sanction, the biblical definition of marriage (see Gen. 2:18–25, Mal. 2:13–15, Matt. 19:4–6; Eph. 5:22–33) involves a man and a woman. I won’t belabor the point, because I assume in this post that I’m speaking to those who agree with the Westminster Confession of Faith when it says, “Marriage is to be between one guy and one woman” (WCF 24.1). Gay “marriage” is not only an offense to God—sanctioning a kind of sexual activity that the Bible condemns (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:24–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; 1 Tim. 1:9–10)—gay “marriage” does not actually exist.

Premise 2: A gay wedding celebrates and solemnizes a lie.

Whether the service is done in a church or in a reception hall, whether it is meant to be a Christian service or a secular commitment ceremony, a gay wedding declares what is fals