Anwering Questions #18- How Should We Respond To Gay/Homosexual Marriage? (Part 7)

Marriage for the unbeliever is like all things....ultimately sinful. It's part of what condemns them. The little bits of relationship, love, and humanity they experience result from Common Grace. Sometimes people will experience a great deal of this and are very guilty when they stand before God.[i] Others receive very little of this in their miserable lives, but they still stand condemned.

Answering Questions #18- How Should We Respond To Gay/Homosexual Marriage? (Part 6)

The Israelite Theocracy presented a multi-faceted picture of Adam (the Hebrews) in the Garden (the land of milk and honey) as well as a picture of man's inability to find his own righteousness (the law standing alone) and a picture of the gospel (the law's condemnation and the picture of redemption). With Israel we have a picture of both the 1^st and 2^nd Adam, the condemnation/despair and the redemption/hope.

Or to put it another way, from start to finish it was a picture of Jesus Christ the True Israel and demonstrated the consequences of rejecting Him.

Answering Questions #18- How Should We Respond To Gay/Homosexual Marriage? (Part 5)

At this point Proverbs 14.34 is usually invoked to contradict what I’ve said….

Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people.

We see this everywhere, on billboards and certainly on Church signs[i] around election time.

Answering Questions #18- How Should We Respond To Gay/Homosexual Marriage? (Part 4)

To answer my first question:

For the unbelievers among us, what purpose does marriage serve?

Answering Questions #18- How Should We Respond To Gay/Homosexual Marriage? (Part 3)

There were some Christians in the 1600's...early Congregationalists who refused to perform marriages.[i] These elders said the Bible nowhere teaches that a 'minister' should marry you,[ii] nor does it give any credence to the whole idea of a 'church wedding'.... all holdovers from medieval Catholicism and the Romanist view of marriage as a Sacrament, viewing the building as a holy temple, etc...

A Miscellany for 21 August 2012 (MacArthur, Zenawi, and Akin)

I have several more articles just about ready to go, but tonight I wanted to comment on three things.

Answering Questions #18- How Should We Respond to Gay/Homosexual Marriage? (Part 2)

There are others who have made America into an idol and created a myth-narrative to go with it. Essentially the United States has become the present manifestation of the Kingdom of God or at the very least the leading vehicle for the Kingdom of God to work on this earth. It's not that far of a leap if you incorporate culture (and thus politics) into the definition of the Kingdom. Following Verduin, we have labeled this extra-Biblical and very pervasive error...Sacralism.

If America or the West abandons its supposed Christian heritage, then it's as if the Gates of Hell have triumphed.

Answering Questions #18- How Should We Respond to Gay/Homosexual Marriage? (Part 1)

I've received a couple of questions regarding this matter and basically I can sum up the questions in this way...

Why are so many Evangelical and Reformed leaders so adamant about the need for Christians to oppose the Homosexual agenda, not just theologically, but in social and political terms as well? And why has this become so much more intense over the question of marriage?

It's a complex question, but to put it simply....for different reasons.  Since that's not very helpful, we'll have to look at some of the larger issues, or to put it differently, we have to look at some basic or foundational issues and assumptions that are driving people to think a certain way and thus respond a certain way. After examining this a bit, we can weigh their considerations and then attempt to come up with an answer, hopefully one that is Biblical and helpful.

Philosophical Wanderings 2

 

Since these comment threads are so long, I'm just putting them up as posts. The comment module will only take about a page at a time. If I want to type a 5 page response, I have to break it up and copy-paste. Plus it's harder to read for anyone following. This is easier.

Pardon any typos....I'm not getting too carried away since this is just an ongoing discussion.

Philosophical Wanderings....A discussion thread that took on a life of its own.

This is just an topically eclectic thread that has grown to the point that I thought I would just post it by itself and then we can continue the discussion under this heading.

Here are the original comments.......followed by a long response by me.

Why No Time? 2/2

Anyway, this is what I'm dealing with. It's no big deal...just consumes a lot of time and energy. One of the advantages of punching a time-clock is that you go home and don't have to worry about your job anymore.

God willing by dropping this electrical job and perhaps/hopefully dropping this other job...I will have more time. Some might balk at this and suggest I'm breaking a commitment. There's no contract, it was tentative agreement. I'm very careful about how I commit myself. And I don't do this in a shady or ambiguous way. I'm cautious. There are just some people that I don't want to work for and you don't always know that right away.

Why No Time? 1/2

Personal issues and a little window into my world....

To the anonymous who is praying for me and all others likewise engaged....

As always, thank-you.

This is just a personal note. Nothing profound, but an explanation regarding my lack of web activity.

We're fine, I'm just insanely busy. This summer has been especially bad in terms of 'after-hours' work. I've been dealing with the electric company which is a nightmare. In fact, that job I just cancelled. I did so because it has been a dreadful experience and it has reached the point of absurdity.

One day when I get to my 'Life in Babylon' series that will basically be a small book...I hope to share and elaborate on my observations and experiences regarding the Christian interacting with our economic and social system. I have much to say.