Many are rejoicing in our day about the advances of same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court ruling by a margin of 5-4 now makes it illegal for any state to ban same-sex marriage. Depending on where you land on the spectrum of "tolerance" or rejection of same-sex marriage there are some myths to dis-spell regarding this issue.
Before I get to the myths, it is crucial for me to point out that the Bible treats homosexuality as a voluntary act of rebellion against God (Romans 1:26-27). Scripture calls believers to respond to homosexual individuals with kindness, gentleness, and sympathy for their struggle (2 Timothy 2:24-26). However, there is nothing in Scripture that suggests homosexual behavior is natural or a part of God's design nor a part of human flourishing and fulfillment. Therefore, Scripture teaches that the correct response to homosexual inclinations is to repent and trust Jesus for forgiveness and strength (Luke 3:3).
Myth #3 - Tolerance of same-sex marriage is about civil rights, not religion
It is a myth to think that the foundations of marriage equality is a movement away from religion and rooted solely in what is considered an issue of civil rights. Interestingly, the controversy over marriage equality and gender issues is likened to the civil rights movement of the 1960's, led by Martin Luther King, where Americans would no longer be judged on the basis of their skin color but on their character.
There is a growing discomfort with religion in our day, suggesting that religion is the cause of division and disunity. Adhering to the laws of a creator God only causes division, giving some individuals a basis for judging the actions of other individuals as wrong. Upon closer look, however, religion in general isn't what opposers have a problem with. The venom towards religion seems to be directed more particularly toward those that believe in a creator God, authority, and moral absolutes, such as Christianity. Additionally, civil rights can never be disconnected from some type of religious belief or spiritual conviction. In the case of Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement in the 1960's was completely motivated by the Christian conviction that God created ALL people and Jesus died on the cross to redeem ALL races. The movement from judging people on the basis of their skin to their character happened because Martin Luther King was able to convince people that the way African Americans were being treated was utterly inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thus, my point is that civil rights and religions belief cannot be separated. The embracing of same-sex marriage in our day isn't because we are culturally stepping away from religion, it is because our culture has by and large embraced a completely different religious system, a new type of spirituality. Make no mistake, people today are as religious and spiritual as ever, the only thing that has changed is the doctrines they believe.
The shift is what Author Peter Jones calls Monism, a word to describe the belief system of a pagan spirituality that most Americans embrace, whether consciously or unconsciously. More than that, this pagan spirituality forms the true root out of which the fruits of marriage equality and tolerance are produced. Here are some quotes from his book titled "Gospel Truth, Pagan Lies."
"In the Disney movie, Lion King, everything in the universe is a part of a mass of energy. There is no Creator: the circle of life swallows up God. Many non-Christian faiths use circles as a means of expressing this all-is-one philosophy. Hinduism, goddess worship, New Age/Taoist physics, witchcraft, and the Parliament of the World's Religions all show universal unity with circles. This circular, all-is-one notion inspires deep ecology and the worship of bewitching, encircling Mother Earth.
Jones refers to today's paganism as monism, which can be best understood by simply taking the "m" off of the beginning, leaving you with one-ism. Everything is "one" and there is no creator as opposed to the Christian belief of theism where a creator God is Lord of all and distinct from his creation (like a potter and his clay are distinct from one another). He goes on to say the following:
"A similar notion appears in the movie Star Wars. Obi wan Kenobi, the Jedi warrior, explains to young Luke Skywalker, in language like that of a pagan priest or priestess: 'The Force is an energy field created by all living things: it surrounds us, penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together...it is all-powerful [and] controls everything.' When Luke abandons himself to his intuitions, he is able, in harmony with the Force, to pilot a complex flying machine in a pinpoint bombing of the headquarters of the evil empire...some who claim to be Christians argue that our thinking is too linear. The goddess or Mother Earth should be restored to Christianity. Because Mother Earth is everything, we shouldn't see things as opposites, but as different sides of the same thing. Could we not simply bring an end to conflict by changing the way we think? So in Star Wars the dark side of the 'Force' is not evil, but just the other side, like the Yin and the Yang of Buddhism. George Lucas, the director of Star Wars, said he made it to introduce Buddhism to the west."
Notice the line about bringing an end to conflict. In a theistic worldview in which there is creator and created there are also distinctions between male and female, animal and human, good and evil to name a few. There are distinctions. This new type of pagan spirituality is not only religious in nature, it is a new system of belief that is forming a worldview aimed at ending conflict and the problems of the world, for which theism is to be blamed.
Here is how this relates to marriage equality and the transgender issues of our day:
"If all is one and one is all, then humanity is a part of God, an expression of divine oneness. Humans are a kind of concentrated cosmic energy who create their own reality. Belief that humans are divine, and essentially good, explains today's quest for personal spiritual discovery and the hope that we can create heaven on earth. This monistic humanism becomes a very attractive path to religious and social utopia...By finding God in ourselves, monists hope to break down the divisions in our world and accomplish God's loving work by uniting with one another. If we are little holograms of divinity--smaller, cloned versions of the great divine circle--then we are uncreated and eternal. We are outside the jurisdiction of any authority--a kingless generation. What need have we to submit to outside rule? If we are God, then we can make our own rules. We also decide our own truth. Each person contributes his piece of truth by constructing his own version or reality. When it all comes together, it makes some kind of mystical, nonsensical sense. This explains why tolerance is so important. Each self is a source of truth, so each must be tolerated, even encouraged."
Wow. According to Jones and the pagan worldview of one-ness, tolerance is not an end to be achieved but a necessary means to fulfilling a much larger worldview and spiritual reality. In other words, tolerance is necessary to create heaven on earth and religious and social utopia. If every person is a source of truth, tolerance of the unique piece they might bring is required in order to create this cosmic energy that will help the human race to achieve one-ness and unity. Theism gets in the way of this.
Jones goes on to address how children fit into this equation:
"Children refer to their natural, inner Force and abandon themselves to what feels right. They are encouraged to discover their natural sexuality as well as their one belief system. The individual is the final judge of all. Intuition is the inviting bridge over which we stroll, in calm self-affirmation, into human freedom and into oneness with the universe."
In other words, the real goal in marriage equality and the transgender policies that are sweeping the nation isn't to make room for the otherwise small population who deal with what has traditionally been viewed as the exception the rule. Rather, the goal in marriage equality and the transgender policies are to celebrate and normalize what has been traditionally been considered not normal, to rid of any distinction that would potentially leave someone out and by so doing, religious and social utopia can be achieved.
Christians do indeed sympathize with the desire to create a world that is pleasant for everyone. On the other hand, Christians must not be deceived into thinking that Christianity is also a part of a global unity and that it is simply a part of what Jesus taught. Our culture's embrace of marriage equality is rooted in a religious ideology that is quite different from what Jesus taught and died for. Christians share the desire for all to find freedom and love, the means of accomplishing this, however, is where there is true disagreement.
Jesus diagnoses the issues leading to social problems as sin, or human rebellion against their creator, for which he came to die on a cross in order to forgive and restore. And before Christians are quick to point a finger, please consider your own sin and the ways you misrepresent Jesus in hypocrisy. Unfortunately, even Christians fail to love as Jesus does, this doesn't make Jesus and the truth he proclaimed any less valid, however.
Quite opposed to the idea of monism, Jesus came to proclaim an absolute truth and call people to submit their lives to God in their newly forgiven state. Through Jesus, fully God and fully man, he becomes the un-flawed mediator that restores our fellowship with the living God. This is the truth and the truth is the only pathway to freedom, for everyone.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16
Myth #3 - Tolerance of same-sex marriage is about civil rights, not religion
It is a myth to think that the foundations of marriage equality is a movement away from religion and rooted solely in what is considered an issue of civil rights. Interestingly, the controversy over marriage equality and gender issues is likened to the civil rights movement of the 1960's, led by Martin Luther King, where Americans would no longer be judged on the basis of their skin color but on their character.
There is a growing discomfort with religion in our day, suggesting that religion is the cause of division and disunity. Adhering to the laws of a creator God only causes division, giving some individuals a basis for judging the actions of other individuals as wrong. Upon closer look, however, religion in general isn't what opposers have a problem with. The venom towards religion seems to be directed more particularly toward those that believe in a creator God, authority, and moral absolutes, such as Christianity. Additionally, civil rights can never be disconnected from some type of religious belief or spiritual conviction. In the case of Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement in the 1960's was completely motivated by the Christian conviction that God created ALL people and Jesus died on the cross to redeem ALL races. The movement from judging people on the basis of their skin to their character happened because Martin Luther King was able to convince people that the way African Americans were being treated was utterly inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thus, my point is that civil rights and religions belief cannot be separated. The embracing of same-sex marriage in our day isn't because we are culturally stepping away from religion, it is because our culture has by and large embraced a completely different religious system, a new type of spirituality. Make no mistake, people today are as religious and spiritual as ever, the only thing that has changed is the doctrines they believe.
The shift is what Author Peter Jones calls Monism, a word to describe the belief system of a pagan spirituality that most Americans embrace, whether consciously or unconsciously. More than that, this pagan spirituality forms the true root out of which the fruits of marriage equality and tolerance are produced. Here are some quotes from his book titled "Gospel Truth, Pagan Lies."
"In the Disney movie, Lion King, everything in the universe is a part of a mass of energy. There is no Creator: the circle of life swallows up God. Many non-Christian faiths use circles as a means of expressing this all-is-one philosophy. Hinduism, goddess worship, New Age/Taoist physics, witchcraft, and the Parliament of the World's Religions all show universal unity with circles. This circular, all-is-one notion inspires deep ecology and the worship of bewitching, encircling Mother Earth.
Jones refers to today's paganism as monism, which can be best understood by simply taking the "m" off of the beginning, leaving you with one-ism. Everything is "one" and there is no creator as opposed to the Christian belief of theism where a creator God is Lord of all and distinct from his creation (like a potter and his clay are distinct from one another). He goes on to say the following:
"A similar notion appears in the movie Star Wars. Obi wan Kenobi, the Jedi warrior, explains to young Luke Skywalker, in language like that of a pagan priest or priestess: 'The Force is an energy field created by all living things: it surrounds us, penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together...it is all-powerful [and] controls everything.' When Luke abandons himself to his intuitions, he is able, in harmony with the Force, to pilot a complex flying machine in a pinpoint bombing of the headquarters of the evil empire...some who claim to be Christians argue that our thinking is too linear. The goddess or Mother Earth should be restored to Christianity. Because Mother Earth is everything, we shouldn't see things as opposites, but as different sides of the same thing. Could we not simply bring an end to conflict by changing the way we think? So in Star Wars the dark side of the 'Force' is not evil, but just the other side, like the Yin and the Yang of Buddhism. George Lucas, the director of Star Wars, said he made it to introduce Buddhism to the west."
Notice the line about bringing an end to conflict. In a theistic worldview in which there is creator and created there are also distinctions between male and female, animal and human, good and evil to name a few. There are distinctions. This new type of pagan spirituality is not only religious in nature, it is a new system of belief that is forming a worldview aimed at ending conflict and the problems of the world, for which theism is to be blamed.
Here is how this relates to marriage equality and the transgender issues of our day:
"If all is one and one is all, then humanity is a part of God, an expression of divine oneness. Humans are a kind of concentrated cosmic energy who create their own reality. Belief that humans are divine, and essentially good, explains today's quest for personal spiritual discovery and the hope that we can create heaven on earth. This monistic humanism becomes a very attractive path to religious and social utopia...By finding God in ourselves, monists hope to break down the divisions in our world and accomplish God's loving work by uniting with one another. If we are little holograms of divinity--smaller, cloned versions of the great divine circle--then we are uncreated and eternal. We are outside the jurisdiction of any authority--a kingless generation. What need have we to submit to outside rule? If we are God, then we can make our own rules. We also decide our own truth. Each person contributes his piece of truth by constructing his own version or reality. When it all comes together, it makes some kind of mystical, nonsensical sense. This explains why tolerance is so important. Each self is a source of truth, so each must be tolerated, even encouraged."
Wow. According to Jones and the pagan worldview of one-ness, tolerance is not an end to be achieved but a necessary means to fulfilling a much larger worldview and spiritual reality. In other words, tolerance is necessary to create heaven on earth and religious and social utopia. If every person is a source of truth, tolerance of the unique piece they might bring is required in order to create this cosmic energy that will help the human race to achieve one-ness and unity. Theism gets in the way of this.
Jones goes on to address how children fit into this equation:
"Children refer to their natural, inner Force and abandon themselves to what feels right. They are encouraged to discover their natural sexuality as well as their one belief system. The individual is the final judge of all. Intuition is the inviting bridge over which we stroll, in calm self-affirmation, into human freedom and into oneness with the universe."
In other words, the real goal in marriage equality and the transgender policies that are sweeping the nation isn't to make room for the otherwise small population who deal with what has traditionally been viewed as the exception the rule. Rather, the goal in marriage equality and the transgender policies are to celebrate and normalize what has been traditionally been considered not normal, to rid of any distinction that would potentially leave someone out and by so doing, religious and social utopia can be achieved.
Christians do indeed sympathize with the desire to create a world that is pleasant for everyone. On the other hand, Christians must not be deceived into thinking that Christianity is also a part of a global unity and that it is simply a part of what Jesus taught. Our culture's embrace of marriage equality is rooted in a religious ideology that is quite different from what Jesus taught and died for. Christians share the desire for all to find freedom and love, the means of accomplishing this, however, is where there is true disagreement.
Jesus diagnoses the issues leading to social problems as sin, or human rebellion against their creator, for which he came to die on a cross in order to forgive and restore. And before Christians are quick to point a finger, please consider your own sin and the ways you misrepresent Jesus in hypocrisy. Unfortunately, even Christians fail to love as Jesus does, this doesn't make Jesus and the truth he proclaimed any less valid, however.
Quite opposed to the idea of monism, Jesus came to proclaim an absolute truth and call people to submit their lives to God in their newly forgiven state. Through Jesus, fully God and fully man, he becomes the un-flawed mediator that restores our fellowship with the living God. This is the truth and the truth is the only pathway to freedom, for everyone.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16
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