Posted on 04/29/2015 10:13:48 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Arguments over same-sex marriage played out in the U.S. Supreme Courton Tuesday, but many religious groups opposed to gay marriage aren’t waiting for a ruling.
A court ruling expected two months from now could sanction same-sex marriage nationwide. In anticipation, some congregations and religious advocacy groups are re-emphasizing their teachings on marriage, fine-tuning their approach to gays and lesbians and bracing for legal battles and public criticism.
“The outcome of this decision will shape the landscape of the church’s ministry in the U.S. for generations to come,” wrote Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. In an interview, he added, “If we have a redefinition of marriage across the board by judicial decree then the church will have a responsibility more than ever to articulate what marriage is in the first place.”
The Southern Baptist Convention, the U.S.’s largest Protestant denomination, is preparing a video series and booklets on marriage and how to address homosexuality, Mr. Moore said. The church is hosting symposiums for pastors on “teaching the biblical witness to marriage” while also “equipping them to minister to gay and lesbian people who don’t agree with us,” he said.
Gay marriage is already legal in 36 states plus the District of Columbia, and the most recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, released in March, showed support for gay marriage at an all-time high of 59%, nearly double the 30% support in 2004.
While many religious groups and congregations accept openly gay members, a segment of believers remains opposed to homosexuality and gay marriage and fears the ruling could further marginalize their position.
“We’ve reached a stage of vilification,” Wallace Henley a columnist for the Christian Post, wrote last week.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
I don’t get it
Is not marriage a sacrament (at least in most churches, it is in the Catholic church)
who are the courts to be ordering churches to perform sacraments for anyone?
someone thinks a church is “discriminating” for not making sodomy a sacrament, find another church or start yer own
Really?
I agree with you. Even if SSM is permitted at City Hall, NO religious organization should be forced to perform them if it is against their beliefs.
Yes, it is a sacrament in the Catholic Church; but, I also believe in the Catholic Church that is is considered one of the vocations.
The Church vs. the state church. Bring it on government, Constitutional first amendment aside, consequences be damned.
If the feds want to control and establish their PC religion, they’ll have one hell of a fight on their hands.
First tax exempt status will be taken away from Christian schools and organizations that are not churches, though they may be directly affiliated with churches. Then from churches. I can’t say it will be entirely undeserved because of the ineptness of the “wisdom” offered from the church on this subject. I do not mean only those that come from the left. I mean the squishy “I just want to say how much I love homosexuals” crowd. If you love someone one you do not help keep them in bondage. So the monster they protected will bite back. But they will NEVER admit error because it is not in their bag of tricks.
Will true freedom rise again somewhere in the world?
The WSJ elites strike again—the same ones that insist that “There shall be open borders”.
AND....Russell Moore is a sorry spokesperson and a perfect example of what I was referring to in my previous post.
The purpose of this is to destroy all the moral principles passed on down to us by the churches and synagogues. They have to destroy this in order to set up the State as the ultimate and only source of right and wrong.
It’s not about “gay rights.”
They do not have to directly force them to officiate homo marriages. They will start with removing tax exempt status. Hurt them in the pocketbook first. Then at least some of the donors will fuss and whine until compromises are made — little by little the transformation is made.
They want to destroy moral principles, true. But also some of it is about their obsession with population control. Liberals see this as a way to reduce population growth and to transfer responsibility of children from the natural family to the state.
I agree. But if a baker can be forced to participate in a SSM ceremony, then why can't a minister be forced to preside over SSM. One's claim to religious objection should not be stronger than the other's by virtue of occupation.
RE: NO religious organization should be forced to perform them if it is against their beliefs.
Ahhh, but will religious based organizations be forced to RECOGNIZE such marriages?
For instance, a gay teacher in a Catholic school now demands benefits for his “spouse”.
A gay employee of Samaritans Purse now demands benefits for his “spouse”.
unlike “officiating” a wedding, baking a cake has never ever been defined as a religious sacrament
can a judge order a church to baptize someone?
to admit them to membership regardless of their faith?
to administer the Eucharist?
RE: But if a baker can be forced to participate in a SSM ceremony, then why can’t a minister be forced to preside over SSM. One’s claim to religious objection should not be stronger than the other’s by virtue of occupation.
________________________
They can always start with what the government can control — THE MILITARY.
Military Chaplains are commissioned officers with a government salary. A devout, evangelical chaplain or a devout Catholic priest will now be FORCED to perform same-sex weddings under threat of DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE.
What is to prevent two straight men from getting “married” to take advantage of various tax incentives, and still have GIRLfriends on the side. If they decide later to marry their girlfriend do the men need to get a “divorce”? Or just ignore their so-called same-sex “marriage”.
The chances for abuse of the marriage laws are too numerous to mention.
NOBODY...Butcher, baker, or candlestick make should be forced to participate in something that is against their religious beliefs.
And that includes Public School, Common Core, Sex Ed programs, SSM, etc.
But that’s just me, I guess.
Well for that matter, why stop at same-sex marriage?
Historically, POLYGAMY was accepted in most societies.
Once you start on that road, polygamy is the next logical step.
As for tax incentives, think of the tax incentives of having more that one wife ( or husband ).
And then think of immigration.
I am the distant cousin of Mr. X, a Green card holder ( or a US citizen ). I want to live in the USA ( and be eligible for welfare benefits by extension ).
So how does Mister X help me to come to the USA?
Well, he can “marry” me and make me his wife, He brings me his “wife” to the USA after the “marriage”. I live with my cousin for a while and then a few years later, we “divorce”.
Hoo Ha, I can marry any girl I want and my cousin can marry any girl he wants. I other words, we don’t have to be really gay. We can just pretend to be gay (after all, how do you prove you are gay?)
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