Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon - What Do We Do Now That Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal?

Episode Date: April 23, 2018

Alan discusses how Christians should respond to the recent legal challenges in Australia and the United States. Download the mp3...

Australia recently legalized same-sex marriage. And many Australian believers who opposed the new legislation were met with all kinds of angry attitudes and nasty name-calling leading up to the vote. In fact, they found that they tried to share their convictions in a civil manner, but were often met with hostility. And so then the legislation passed, same-sex marriage became law, and then they were faced with this sort of new cultural landscape. Now, I just returned from Victoria, Australia just a few months ago,

and I was invited partly because of the national debate over same-sex marriage. Many believers were eager to kind of get equipped to understand the subject, the rational arguments for and against their view, and, of course, the art of persu and against their view, and of course the art of persuasive yet civil dialogue with people who disagree with them. And I spent about eight days teaching theology and apologetics on numerous subjects, but of course also addressed the public policy concerns with same-sex marriage. Now, one of the questions I was asked was, now that same-sex marriage has become legal, what should we do?

And in fact, many Americans have asked a similar question after same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States back in 2015. And my answer has been that we should do the same thing Christians did when abortion became legal. You see, it's true that many pro-life Christians were very despondent after Roe v. Wade, but they didn't just sulk in their misery. They regrouped, they prayed for wisdom, they put together a strategy to save unborn lives and support women facing crisis pregnancies. And despite abortion remaining legal, pro-lifers started numerous pro-life organizations that are committed to training people to persuasively yet graciously make a case that abortion kills innocent human

beings. And so they have speakers, they have video curriculums, workbooks, textbooks, and a whole bunch of hands-on training that equip believers to change minds on abortion. And by changing minds, they can change public opinion. And by changing changing minds, they can change public opinion. And by changing public opinion, they can change public policy. Now, realizing that changing laws can also save lives, pro-lifers also invested in legal and legislative groups that fight against abortion rights. And so they put their money where their mouth was

and they petitioned to pass parental notification laws, fetal pain laws, and institute waiting periods before abortions, and other kinds of things, and also ban all kinds of grisly abortion procedures, like partial birth abortion. Of course, making elective abortion illegal would be a great legislative victory,

but in the meantime, they knew they could still save lives with other legislation. And finally, pro-lifers didn't only care about unborn people, they decided to also care about born people, vulnerable women who are considering abortion. And so to accomplish that end, pregnancy resource centers, also known as crisis pregnancy centers, they began popping up all across the country. And these facilities provide counseling, medical services, diapers, clothing, and other support to pregnant women who have nowhere to turn.

And some of these centers even find housing for women if they need it during their pregnancy. And in fact, today there's about 3,000 centers in the United States that care for women, far more than the 1,000 or so abortion clinics that would kill their unborn children. Now, notice how after abortion became legal, Christians sought to change minds through rational arguments, change laws through legislation, and care for women who are or potentially are abortion-minded. And today the pro-life movement is surging and despite the current legal landscape

there's hope that more unborn lives can be saved each year. Now Australians and of course Americans as well faced with legalized same-sex marriage can take a cue from the pro-life movement. Despite the political loss, Christians can still serve, minister to, and of course love people who identify as LGBT or who are married to a person of the same sex. In fact, they can make headway in the same categories that the pro-life movement did.

So for example, believers can learn how to make a persuasive case against same-sex marriage by not only understanding the biblical arguments against it to, of course, address Christians who support same-sex marriage, but also learn the secular arguments to address secular individuals. Furthermore, even though the legislative process is in its infancy,

there is still a legitimate case that can be made against same-sex marriage that draws upon many of the public policy concerns with the law. And finally, of course, believers can also reach out to friends and family who identify as gay and lesbian and show them the love of God. Now, whether these men and women are married to a same-sex partner or not, the gospel, of course, can still reach any heart. In fact, we've seen people in a committed same-sex relationship accept Christ and then become convicted of their sin and end their relationship and then pursue God with every fiber of their being. So whether same-sex marriage is legal or not, believers can still make a huge impact in the lives of people in the gay community. And so that's not only the message I gave to Australians, it's also the message I offer to anyone who's lost hope because a political process or legislation didn't go their way. Right? I mean, the gospel isn't hindered by human laws. The government can't shut down the work of the Holy Spirit.

No matter the political landscape, individual believers can still reach out to those who don't know Christ.