When ThinkProgress blogger Zack Ford first published his review of Ryan Anderson’s new book, it bore the headline, “The Feeble Arguments Made by One of Marriage Equality’s Last Remaining Opponents.” That title has since been changed. It may have been too honest.
Not honest about Anderson’s work, which may fairly have been described with a thousand adjectives, none of which is “feeble.” And not honest about the number of us who understand what marriage actually is. Maybe ThinkProgress could sponsor a field trip to any of the dozens of states or 175 foreign nations that haven’t chosen to redefine marriage.
The headline epitomized with such brazen authenticity the hubris of the LGBT movement. Having successfully wrought one of the most significant reformations of cultural mores in history, liberal activists have moved ahead with an ironic agenda that threatens liberalism itself.
All-Inclusive Resource
Anderson, research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, offers in Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom an all-inclusive resource for pastors, politicians, and anyone else seeking to understand the current state of marriage and religious liberty, and to prepare for what’s ahead. The first three chapters argue—on the basis of philosophy, social science, and constitutional law—that marriage is the union of man and woman; that redefining marriage has consequences; and that the U.S. Constitution, contrary to what Chief Justice Anthony Kennedy said for the majority in the Obergefell decision, does not in fact require the redefinition of marriage. Anderson’s accessible analysis of that opinion and the dissents is perhaps the book’s most outstanding contribution.
The next three chapters tell the stories of Americans who have had their religious freedom violated by the government. They explain what religious freedom is and why it matters, and why so-called “anti-discrimination laws” protecting sexual orientation and gender identity aren’t like those protecting race, sex, or other classes.
The final three chapters report on the best social science on same-sex parenting, and the testimonies of children raised by two moms or two dads. The book closes with a four-fold plan for what the church can do to rebuild a marriage culture.
Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom
Ryan T. Anderson
Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom
Ryan T. Anderson
Exploring Ideas, Attacking Reason
Near the beginning of Truth Overruled Anderson benignly states, “Reasonable people can acknowledge that there are good arguments on both sides of this debate.” Yet consider Ford’s bizarre spin on this basic premise of debate: “[Anderson] is essentially disparaging any reader who disagrees with his book as unreasonable, but it doesn’t take much reason to reject his arguments.”
Ford cannot fathom the idea that Anderson wants to do the hard work of exploring ideas and following the best ones wherever they lead. For the illiberal Left, ideas don’t deserve to exist if they run counter to a preferred political agenda. Rather than countering arguments with better ones, they are attacked simply for being. Reason is unnecessary where air quotes and ad hominem attacks are sufficient.
Consider the case of University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus. When he published his New Family Structures Survey in 2012, the response was unmitigated vitriol. Despite having achieved publication in a top peer-reviewed journal, taking the precautionary step of having his research monitored by others throughout the process, and acknowledging openly the limitations of his methodology and its potential uses for public policy, Regnerus was made to be the posterchild of anti-gay hate. Lest you think this was merely the work of a few activists, consider the American Psychological Association’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns Office. Preventing or disparaging research you don’t like is easier than grappling with its conclusions, and attacking people is easier than engaging them. Witness The New York Times reporter Josh Barro. In July 2014, Barro tweeted: “Anti-LGBT attitudes are terrible for people in all sorts of communities. They linger and oppress, and we need to stamp them out, ruthlessly.”
His audience is listening. After a coalition of activists and corporate interests succeeded in killing religious freedom legislation in Indiana, the owner of a small pizza parlor was asked by a reporter if she would ever cater a same-sex wedding. When she said her faith would prevent her from doing so, she became the recipient of obscenities, harassment, vandalism, even death threats. One Hoosier tweeted, “Who’s going to Walkerton to burn down #memoriespizza w me?” For the illiberal Left, even hypothetical discrimination is unacceptable.
The list goes on and on. Anderson recounts many more examples in a chapter titled “Bake Me a Cake, Bigot!” Perhaps in its second edition the chapter will include a section on the LGBT response to the book itself.
When Truth Overruled went live on Amazon, reviews came flowing in, including those from a wide network of likeminded influencers who had been given advanced copies or were verified as having purchased from Amazon. Soon, a funny thing started to happen. Responses to the book were split: 60 percent provided five-star reviews while 40 percent gave just one star. Of the 49 one-star reviews, only one came from a “verified purchase” (compared to 35 of 76 five-star reviews). A campaign to attack the book had been launched.
Rule of Reason
As Anderson himself admits, there are reasonable arguments on the side of proponents of same-sex marriage. None of us is an island; we rely on others for companionship, encouragement, accountability, and help in times of need. In a nation that stands on the foundation of individual liberty and equality it’s reasonable to consider whether there are ways in which our public policies can best serve those currently left out of dated public policies. It’s reasonable to question whether the true definition of marriage ought to remain when the relationship of most heterosexual couples seems to exemplify a revisionist one. It’s worth asking if an errant understanding of marriage has been the norm for decades, and whether granting access to something like 3 percent of the population will truly make matters worse. Some research conflicts with the conclusions of Regnerus; who is right? It’s reasonable to conclude that the science is not yet conclusive.
A thorough public debate over these points would be consistent with America’s tradition of hammering out compromise to best satisfy the interests of a diverse citizenry, but the illiberal Left will have none of that truce. Pride has long been the motto of the LGBT activist movement, a corrosive sin that has hampered humanity from the beginning as recounted in the epic stories of the ancient Greeks and the poetry of King Solomon, who observed: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18).
That truth should encourage us, for the generational fight for life, marriage, and religious liberty has only just begun.