Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?

On a recent cover from Newsweek magazine, we read the following caption: “The Religious Case for Gay Marriage.”  To boot, the cover image itself is of a Bible with a rainbow colored book mark stemming from its pages.  In a general gist, the entirety of the story, as written by Newsweek Religious Editor Lisa Miller, is based upon these two premises:

To which there are two obvious responses: First, while the Bible and Jesus say many important things about love and family, neither explicitly defines marriage as between one man and one woman. And second, as the examples above illustrate, no sensible modern person wants marriage—theirs or anyone else’s —to look in its particulars anything like what the Bible describes (Our Mutual Joy: Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side)

I imagine it would be safe to say that Newsweek magazine is staunchly promoting a pro-Same-Sex Marriage position.  This is not only evident within the contents of the cover story, but is also observed in the words in the editorial note provided by Jon Meacham.  Although this is the case, Meacham does provide a good point in his concluding remarks that Christian Leaders should prayerfully consider:

History and demographics are on the side of those who favor inclusion over exclusion. (As it has been with reform in America from the Founding forward.) The NEWSWEEK Poll confirms what other surveys have also found: that there is a decided generational difference on the issue, with younger people supporting gay marriage at a higher rate than older Americans. One era’s accepted reality often becomes the next era’s clear wrong. So it was with segregation, and so it will be, I suspect, with the sacrament of marriage.

The reality that Christianity is doing an abysmal job in equipping their young people with a well informed Christian worldview has been observed in the research conducted by Christian Smith, in Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers and by The Barna Group.  How else can one explain younger self-identified Christians acceptance of same-sex marriage apart from the failure of their parents and Church Leaders to instill within them a well informed Christian worldview? 

In getting back to the Newsweek cover story, Albert Mohler made the following observation at the end of his review:

The national news media are collectively embarrassed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California.  Gay rights activists are publicly calling on the mainstream media to offer support for gay marriage, arguing that the media let them down in November.  It appears that Newsweek intends to do its part to press for same-sex marriage.  Many observers believe that the main obstacle to this agenda is a resolute opposition grounded in Christian conviction.  Newsweek clearly intends to reduce that opposition.

Newsweekcould have offered its readers a careful and balanced review of the crucial issues related to this question.  It chose another path — and published this cover story.  The magazine’s readers and this controversial issue deserved better (for a detailed response to this cover story, read the entirety of Albert Mohler’s response here).

In the end, I would encourage you to make 28 minutes to watch the following video by Robert Gagnon, Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.  This video lays the basic groundwork for a Biblical response to homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Food for Further Thought:

Does the Bible Support Marriage: Part 2 and 3

Settling the Issue: Same-Sex Marriage IS NOT a Civil Right

From Tolerance to Intolerance: How the Normalization of Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage Will Lead to the Suppression of Freedom

Marriage: Its Foundational Importance

Enjoy this post?  Get more like them by subscribing to the Family Voice, the official blog of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia.