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SCOTUS decision disappointing but not surprising
K. Allan Blume, BR Editor
June 30, 2015
7 MIN READ TIME

SCOTUS decision disappointing but not surprising

SCOTUS decision disappointing but not surprising
K. Allan Blume, BR Editor
June 30, 2015

As widely reported, the Supreme Court of the United States announced its ruling on the matter of marriage Friday morning, June 26. In a 5-4 decision, the court said the 14th Amendment requires states to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples and to recognize marriages performed in other states.

While the court’s 103-page opinion was not a complete surprise, it was immensely disappointing that five men and women ignored the foundational principles of the constitution and invented a new form of legal marriage, imposing their personal agendas on an otherwise free nation.

The dissenting opinions of Justices Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts said the Constitution has nothing to say on the subject of gay marriage.

President Barack Obama used the occasion to continue to divide a nation that needs unity – racially, morally and politically. He desecrated the White House on the day of the court’s proclamation, lighting the exterior with the bright rainbow colors that have become a symbol of gay rebellion.

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Allan Blume

This act was infuriating to decent Americans. It reflects this president’s consistently poor judgment and disregard for the Christian faith.

Calling for the nation to bow down to one more piece of his godless agenda, the act takes me to the third chapter of the book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar built a large golden image, calling everyone in the nation to publicly bow down and worship it. To refuse the king’s command provided the disobedient a trip to a “furnace of blazing fire.”

The political correctness police of that day reported to the king that “certain Jews” (probably a racial slur) in his administration did not bow down and worship the king’s golden image. The three young Jewish men were identified but did not resist arrest. They said, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, … but even if He does not, let it be known that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up.”

You know the rest of the story. God delivered them from the furnace, and a profound witness of God’s glory went out across the world.

John Piper, pastor and founder of Desiring God, lamented the “new calamity.” In his blog, Piper wrote, “For those who have forsaken God’s path of sexual fulfillment, and walked into homosexual intercourse or heterosexual extramarital fornication or adultery, Jesus offers astonishing mercy. But today this salvation from sinful sexual acts was not embraced. Instead there was massive institutionalization of sin.

“My sense is that we do not realize what a calamity is happening around us,” Piper said.

Homosexual behavior is not new. “What’s new is not even the celebration and approval of homosexual sin. Homosexual behavior has been exploited, and reveled in, and celebrated in art, for millennia. What’s new is normalization and institutionalization. This is the new calamity.”

In his response to the court’s decision, Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote “The Supreme Court’s decision … is a central assault upon marriage as the conjugal union of a man and a woman and in a five to four decision the nation’s highest court has now imposed its mandate redefining marriage on all [50] states.

“As the Chief Justice makes clear, Justice Kennedy and his fellow justices in the majority wanted to legalize same-sex marriage, and they invented a constitutional theory to achieve their purpose. It was indeed an act of will disguised as a legal judgment,” Mohler said.

“In one sense, everything has changed. And yet, nothing has changed. The cultural and legal landscape has changed, as we believe this will lead to very real harms to our neighbors. But our Christian responsibility has not changed. We are charged to uphold marriage as the union of a man and a woman and to speak the truth in love. We are also commanded to uphold the truth about marriage in our own lives, in our own marriages, in our own families, and in our own churches.”

Russell Moore, president of Southern Baptists’ Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said, “As Christians, we believe in marriage. We believe that it is from above, not below. We believe that it matters supremely to agree with God about the definition and purpose of marriage and family. So today we grieve for our country and solemnly pray that soon God would grant the leaders of our nation new hearts to see the beauty of biblically defined marriage law.”

Milton A. Hollifield Jr., executive director-treasurer of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage. “As North Carolina Baptists, we continue to believe and affirm that God’s biblical design for marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.

“Even before today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, we know that there are those who may disagree with us about how marriage is defined. As followers of Jesus Christ, we remain committed to God’s Word and a biblical view of marriage. At the same time, Jesus instructed us to love and minister to everyone in a spirit of grace and truth, including those who may disagree with us on this issue and on other issues, as well.”

Apologist and author Alex McFarland said, “Today’s atrocious Supreme Court decision took the definition of marriage out of the hands of the people – and out of the Bible. The fact is that marriage is biblical; it’s a gift from God, and no one should have the power to change its definition or meaning because of societal trends and perceived cultural shifts.

“God was the first to define it in the Garden of Eden and He should be the last to define it. It’s a sad commentary on society when nine human beings have the power to change God’s laws for an entire nation.”

GuideStone Financial Resources released a statement from Executive Director O.S. Hawkins, “The Supreme Court’s decision, which now redefines marriage, will have lasting ramifications. GuideStone will work with internal and external counsel to determine its impact. It will likely take weeks to determine next steps.

“In the meantime, churches should work with their legal and accounting advisors to determine whether their governing, employment, building use and other documents or policies need to be reviewed in light of the expanding definition of marriage. Our co-laborers at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission have created a free handbook, Protecting Your Ministry, which may be useful for churches, available on their website, ERLC.com.

“The cultural and legal landscape, which has been shifting for some time, has made a radical change with this ruling, perhaps as large or larger a shift than Roe v. Wade,” Hawkins said.

“GuideStone remains committed to advocating for the churches, ministries and pastors we serve during these days and will share information to help churches remain compliant in their health care and retirement plans.”

We are indeed a broken nation. But until we bow before Almighty God in spiritual brokenness and repentance, there will be no healing.