When gay marriage was unpopular a few short years ago, advocates appealed to tolerance and minority rights. But now that public opinion has shifted, supporters of gay marriage warn skeptics to get in line, or else. You can’t blame Christians for wondering if the game has been rigged.
In a recent article for The Gospel Coalition, Greg Forster described the predicament facing Christians still contending for gay marriage. Following up, he argued that we need new methods in the fight for marriage. Even after writing two articles, Forster had a lot more to say about what these new methods might include. Mark Mellinger and I interviewed Forster about easy divorce, religious freedom, and glimmers of hope in a culture ravaged by the effects of broken marriages. And at a time when soaring support for gay marriage puts pressure on the Supreme Court to strike down bans across the nation, we look at the influence of television on shaping morality, for better and worse. You can hardly produce a television show today unless it features a sympathetic gay character. But how might our neighbors’ attitudes change if we told stories of marriage in its gritty beauty, such as the relationship between Eric and Tami Taylor of fictional Dillon, Texas, in Friday Night Lights?
If we have learned anything from the last decade, we should know that electing the right politicians won’t solve what ails marriage. We should have learned that lesson when Ronald Reagan backed no-fault divorce as governor of California in 1970. We believe humans flourish when they obey biblical morality, but we’re not afraid of religious freedom. We’re not fighting to get the civil order to exclusively reflect Christianity. Love for our neighbors compels us to pursue more than a moral majority of 51 percent to enforce the definition of marriage. We want our neighbors to know Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Forster helps us see the need for more sophisticated, faithful, long-term thinking about cultural change in light of the gospel.
As the podcast continues, The Gospel Project managing editor Trevin Wax talks with Halim Suh, pastor of teaching and theology at The Austin Stone Community Church. Suh has written two small-group studies on Genesis and covered the first five books of the Bible for The Gospel Project. As Suh explains, when you miss the beginning of the story, you’re lost, no matter where you come in. He also discusses the two creation accounts of Genesis 1 and 2 and why we’re tempted to divide God and relate to him in ways we individually prefer.
Wrapping up, Mark and I preview the upcoming National Conference of The Gospel Coalition, starting April 6 in Orlando. We discuss auxiliary events hosted by Reformed Theological Seminary, the conference Premiere Sponsor. When you register to join us in Orlando next month, you can watch these dinner panels of RTS professors on “Having Confidence in the Scriptures” and “Seeing Christ in the Old Testament.”
