by  Rev. Rob Schenck

This week the California Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the recent amendment to that state’s constitution reserving marriage to a man and a woman will stand or be struck down as “unconstitutional.” It’s hard to understand how an amendment to a constitution can be “unconstitutional,” but, that said, this most recent skirmish is a critically important one. California is not only one of the nation’s largest states, geographically and by population, but it’s also an important trend-setter. So, as California goes, so often goes the nation. Happily, even if the California State Supreme Court re-defines marriage for a second time (as they did in 2008), Californians still have a remedy: start throwing judges off their High Court. (There’s a mechanism to do that.)

All this is only prologue to my interest in California’s struggle to resolve the meaning of marriage. As I’ve pointed out before, our ministry here at Faith and Action is concerned principally with matters of the mind, heart and soul, not with public policy issues. There are many groups working on legally preserving Holy Matrimony in our culture, and we pray for their good success. Our focus is instead on helping public officials understand the nature and consequence of this debate. As we slide into a new era dominated largely by secular and or New Age belief systems, we need to rehearse again and again why marriage is reserved only for opposite sex couples.

Before I go any further, I must say this: My concern for preserving God-ordained marriage does not equate to hating homosexuals. In fact, my duty to God and disposition to my fellow human beings is to love them as God loves them. Here’s where we meet the conundrum, though. While Christians understand the principle of “hating the sin, but loving the sinner,” non-Christians just don’t get it. In a non-Christian view of life, personal practice defines the person. Yet, there are plenty of times when this notion is challenged in the popular culture. For example, just because you practice law doesn’t mean your only identity is “lawyer.” You might be a son or daughter, a husband or wife, a brother or sister, a friend, etc. Just because you play sports doesn’t mean your only meaningful identity will be “athlete.” In fact, in many social circles there’s an effort to get away from such labels and categories.

The same is true with homosexual and heterosexual persons. I’m glad I enjoy an identity that goes way beyond my heterosexuality. I don’t want to simply be a “Hetero.” That is just one aspect of my being, it is not the totality of it. If sexual behavior and/or proclivities were the be-all and end-all of human identity, every celibate person would have no identity at all. So, my point is simple: We can separate our identity, value, dignity and behavior from our sexual practices. It’s very possible to separate behaviors from the people doing them. That’s why we say that God and we can love any “sinner,” while we reject their “sin.” How do I know this can work? Because it’s true of me. I have a boatload of sinful inclinations and behaviors, but as I bring them to the Lord in confession and repentance, He looks beyond them, to the real me, whom He loves with an everlasting love.

Years ago, I stood in line at the US Supreme Court with Julian Potter, then President Bill Clinton’s official White House liaison to Gay and Lesbian groups. As we exchanged pleasantries, Ms. Potter asked me if I was the kind of minister who believed that she, as a lesbian, was a “great big sinner.” I answered, “Of course.” Then I went on to explain,”But if we were to compare notes, I bet my list of sins would top yours any day.” She smiled and said no one had ever put it that way to her before, then extended an invitation to visit her at the White House to talk more. I did. She reciprocated by attending our outreach Bible study.

Now, back to the marriage debate. Marriage is sacred not simply because it is built on love between two people (which it most certainly must be), but because it completes God’s purpose and the natural design for male-female complementarity. Our bodies are, in fact, extensions of our souls (see 3 John 1:2). There is a “male soul” and a “female soul” (see Genesis 1:27 and 2:7)–even a “male mind” and a “female mind.” (Lots of recent scientific data on that.) It’s in the union of these two distinct sexes, spiritually, intellectually and physically, that “marriage” is consummated. Nothing about this negates the importance of love between men or between women. I love my father, my son and my brother, and I love them passionately, but the nature of this love is different from the love I share with my wife. I do not love the men in my life any less than I love my wife, but I love each distinctly and in distinctly different ways.

There are those who do hate persons of homosexual orientation, and they are wrong, sinful and unChristian for doing so. They need as much or more help in their moral formation as the people they condemn with their hatred. The other side isn’t without their haters, though. I’ve been spit on, shouted down, threatened and even urinated on by homosexual activists, and I certainly wouldn’t call any of that loving. So, we’re back to basic principles: The Bible says, “all have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

The fact that I’m a sinner, guilty of all sorts of violations of God’s holiness, is why I know sin can be hated, while the sinner is loved. I know I am loved by God, but I also know how far short I fall from His moral standards. God does not hate persons trapped in same-sex sexual attraction anymore than he hates me for all my sins. However, love doesn’t equate to indulgence or permissiveness. Just because we love people doesn’t mean we allow them to do whatever they want, especially if it will harm them. Marriage between a man and a woman is a good thing that contributes not just to procreation. For the children of that marriage, it leads to an intimate and balanced view of the human social order, as well as a greater appreciation for the nature of God and the nature of human beings.  The larger society also benefits from the male-female compliment. Witness the positive effects of marriage in urban centers. This is why what happens in California is so important. Advocates for and against same-sex marriage both need to understand this.

There is no time-line for the California Court’s decision, but we will report it to you and comment on it whenever it is announced. In the mean time, as you know, Faith and Action has launched an initiative to reach out to State Supreme Court judges to help them grasp the moral and spiritual dimensions of the marriage debate, along with many other questions. Please pray for this aspect of our work. As you can see from this example, it’s critically important these jurists fully comprehend what is behind these controversies and their far-reaching consequences.