A Christian Defense for Gay Marriage, Part II

I. The Bible and Homosexuality (Is the Bible That Clear About Homosexuality?)


Let me start with a question to Evangelicals. Where can I find in the Bible that homosexuality is wrong? You know the Bible talks about it, but tell me the verses. No, don't google it. Off the top of your head.


Sodom and Gomorrah, maybe? Anything?


That should be the first concern Evangelicals have. If you're willing to restrict the real and tangible rights of others because the Bible says so, then you ought to have a mental list on cue of why. Not knowing is an embarrassment. 


Let's take it a step further: look up the verses, and ask yourself, "Is this really talking about two men or women desiring marriage? Or something else?" Lots of Evangelicals point to Sodom for proof of God's wrath towards gays. I question if a town's worth of men breaking into a house to gang rape angels is fundamentally the same as two women spending decades of life together.  And most verses break down the same way. Many sites, books and articles analyze these passages better than I do here, so I won't. Here's a great link. 


The challenge I'm posting here is a rather simple one: does the Bible damn homosexuality as easily as NOM says it does? I don't think so. Evangelicals simply cannot assume the Bible is so clear. And if the Bible isn't so clear on homosexuality, are Evangelicals willing to set policy on it?




II. 'The Sanctity of Marriage' (Marriage Has Always Been One Man and One Woman?)

As a Christian, I struggle with the 'sanctity of marriage'. It was a term developed to combat gay marriage, but what the heck does it mean?! And how does enabling gay marriage denigrate it? As far as I can tell, the 'sanctity of marriage' means marriage between one man, and one woman.


The typical response I've heard looks something like this: "Britney Spears got a 72 hour marriage. Rush Limbaugh has had several. Straight people are destroying marriage, why can't we have it?" While the question posted is rational, it's always felt hollow to me. Making a broken system... broker... doesn't justify gay marriage.


So let's go back to the Bible. Jesus married a woman, right? David, the man after God's own heart, didn't he only had one wife too? Of course there is Solomon, the wisest man ever. Didn't he only have one wife? Obviously the answers are no, no, and no. Major characters in the Bible did not adhere to 'one man, one woman'. So how is this definition Biblical?


Straight people have expanded the definition of marriage throughout history. Women were once property, but are now treated as equals in marriage. Isn't this a fundamental shift? Marriage used to be arranged, following the logic that marriage was for mutual benefit and child rearing. Yet we consider love to be an integral aspect of marriage now. Sounds like a fundamental shift in definition to me. The argument that gays are fundamentally altering marriage is false.


One final thought. If Evangelicals are truly concerned about the 'sanctity of marriage', then keeping gays out is a queer (pun!) place to start. It's truly damaging to the sanctity argument that constitutional bans against gay marriage pass, but ones banning divorce are never proposed.