Let's meditate and take comfort in the following two verses of Scripture today, Tuesday, as oral arguments are made before the California Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage in California. (Please remember that live oral arguments before the court can be heard here today.)
I have absolutely no doubt that this cause is in God's will, and God will usher in justice for ALL of His children.
I'm optimistic that the decision before the court at this time will vindicate that optimism, as it will vindicate the claim for equality for marriage rights for same-sex couples in California.
If by some chance the decision doesn't go our way at this time, that decision will likely be a spring board to further activism to gain full and equal civil and sacramental rights. We will ultimately win this fight! Of that I am supremely confident!
The following are the verses of Scripture that I hope you'll keep in mind today, and every day, in the quest for full and equal civil and sacramental rights for LGBT people.
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:17)
"If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)
2 comments:
Jerry and all -
If the people who like to call themselves Christian actually understood the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth, this would no longer be an issue.
My post later today at:http:bpleland.wordpress.com will touch on the fact that Christianity as we find it today has almost nothing to do with Jesus. This is why it is even an issue.
As a parallel issue I would like to see the entire marriage thing separated into two issues. The first is marriage as a civil contract which provides a series of benefits conferred by law of the state. The second type of marriage would be one which is a sacramental rite of the religious group to which one belongs. Most European countries have done this a long time ago.
My denomination already practices this separation of church and state issue because we marry same sex couples. The state may not tell us how to administer any of the sacramental acts of our church whether it is Baptism, Communion or Marriage or anything else.
People who find themselves in churches which will not recognize their relationships as sacred need to understand that they are being spiritually and psychologically abused and leave. Why should anyone stay in an abusive relationship whether it is with another individual or with an institution.
Leland: "People who find themselves in churches which will not recognize their relationships as sacred need to understand that they are being spiritually and psychologically abused and leave. Why should anyone stay in an abusive relationship whether it is with another individual or with an institution."
Absolutely! It is equivalent to an abused spouse returning to her/his spouse for ever-increasing punishment. No one deserves that!
Whether you're Gay or Straight, flee those toxic places as fast as you can! They hurt one's spiritual, emotional, mental, and even physical health.
No Christian worthy of the name can or should lend any legitimacy or credibility to those toxic institutions by their mere presence, let alone by their time and money.
When leaders of the institutional Church can decide what secular rights accrue to others, it's about time people wake up and smell the coffee. Marriage is a secular institution!
If one wants to view it as a sacrament (a rather recent view in the eyes of the institutional Church), then by all means go to a church and partake of that sacrament. But no religious institution should be allowed to decide who gets married, as marriage is a civil right and civil rights are to be available to all citizens.
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