What the Supreme Court decision on marriage means to Christians

Today’s 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court that says bans on so-called homosexual marriage are unconstitutional, raises the fear that, not only will marriage itself be marginalized, but that the Church and church-related organizations will now be subject to legal attacks from the gay-rights community.

But many today are hailing the decision as one for “love” and claiming that today is a day to celebrate. Unfortunately they are wrong, both morally and legally.

The question is always put to us: What harm does recognizing a gay marriage do to your marriage? Well, the answer is simple: nothing directly. But what it does do is to undermine the bedrock of society: the family. One need only look at the rise in illegitimacy to see how falling sexual morals have eroded the lives of so many children born into single parent homes, and the strain it has placed on society at large. Over time the same type of fallout can be expected from gay-marriage.

But the harm will go further than that. “No one is forced to do anything against their conscience,” the gay-friendly crowd and many television pundits will say.  Nonsense! Ask the wedding photographer, the baker, and the florist who have been run out of business because they did not wish to participate in a ceremony that celebrates sodomy. Ask the former CEO of Mozilla who lost his job because he donated $1,000 to an effort to support traditional marriage. Ask the university administrator who lost her job because she wrote a letter to the editor supporting the Christian view of marriage.  

Across the nation the gay-friendly crowd is using public accommodation and non-discrimination laws and rules to force Christians to accept and participate in ceremonies that they find morally reprehensible. They have even attacked the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts as hateful and bigoted … remember Indiana and how its spineless governor capitulated rather than stand up for religious liberties?

And remember how the Obama Administration and many Democrats have changed the phrase from “Freedom of Religion” to “Freedom of Worship” in an attempt to narrow the focus and the religious liberties of Americans? Wait, it will get worse.   

While the harm to society will be long-term, some of the legal results will be immediate: Loss of tax exempt status for organizations that don’t support gay-marriage, a position that President Obama’s attorney at the Supreme Court admitted was a possibility; denial of the use of public facilities, remember the Boy Scouts?; disfavored status with charitable organizations such as United Way, again remember the scouts? And how about the already politicized IRS, do you really expect it to sit by and do nothing? Already Catholic Charities’ adoptions have been forced from three jurisdictions because of its refusal to adopt to same-sex couples.

And if you want a really good picture of what will happen look to Canada where you can be fined for even expressing your views against homosexual marriage.

How far will it go and can it be stopped? These are the lingering questions that we will have to face.  In the upcoming weeks we will explore these topics starting next Tuesday when Law Professor Ed Morse of Creighton University will join us to begin the conversation. 

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