The ostensibly Christian assault on gay people took a huge step forward yesterday when the Catholic Church
released a vile little document warning that homosexuality risked "destabilizing people and society," and further proclaimed that homosexuality "does not represent a social value and even less so a moral virtue that could add to the civilization of sexuality." All of this is in an adjunct to the Church's ban on even celibate gay men from entering the priesthood.
The Pope, of course, is not the only, but merely the latest, self-proclaimed Christian who claims that Christian doctrine compels the secular inequality of homosexuality. Texas earlier this month became the latest state to incorporate into its State Constitution a ban on same-sex marriages, and its Governor, Rick Perry, signed the bill to create the referendum at a Christian evangelical school alongside what he called his pro-family "Christian friends." When asked earlier this month why he supports the ban, he replied, simply enough: "I am a Christian and this is about values."
Whatever one might think of this tactical linkage between Christian religious doctrine and secular attacks on homosexuality, it is indisputable that the tactic is incredibly effective. And efforts by gay groups and other liberal advocacy organizations to undermine this argument have uniformly failed. Bans on same-sex marriage have been approved in all cases when put to voters, usually overwhelmingly, and bans on same-sex marriages -- often including bans on any recognition even of civil unions --
are spreading rapidly with no end in sight.
The great difficulity in trying to undermine these arguments by invocations of lofty concepts like equality or civil rights is that the vast, vast majority of people are not restricted in any way by these laws and therefore are not moved by such appeals. But the premise of these attacks on same-sex marriage - namely, that Christian doctrine opposes homosexuality and therefore our marriages law must also do so - extends far beyond homosexuality. Although one wouldn't know it from listening to the loudest Christian conservative voices, Christian doctrine has something to say about things other than homosexuality and abortion. It also strongly restricts or even outright bans, among other things, divorce and re-marriage -- something which does effect a huge portion of the population, including those supporting these anti-gay measures.
Thus, the premise which is being sold in order to justify attacks on gay equality - that our secular marriage laws must comport to Christian doctrine - can be used just as strongly to compel a ban on divorce and re-marriage. Given that huge portions of the population are restricted by those equally Christian measures, gay groups can much more effectively fight against anti-gay measures by insisting that if Christian doctrine is to ban gay marriages on the ground that such marriages are contrary to Christianity, then divorce and re-marriage, which is at least as contrary to Christian doctrine, must be banned as well.
Comforming marriage laws to Christian doctrine requires a ban on divorce and re-marriage.
If Christian values, along with a desire to promote a pro-family agenda, are the motivations behind the gay marriage ban, one would expect that these same advocates would be advocating a ban on divorce and re-marriage as well, institutions at least as un-Christian as same-sex marriages. And yet, while 15 states have now approved referendums enacting gay marriage bans into their state constitutions, none of them has voted to ban divorce and re-marriages, or even to make them more restrictive.
Texas has one of the most permissive divorce laws in the nation. "Second and third marriages" -- concepts as foreign to Christianity as are same-sex marriages -- are not just common, but also accepted, both socially and under the law.
How can Christians possibly allow - and, worse, enthusiastically participate in - the continuation of permissive divorce laws which plainly violate Christian beliefs?
After all, there is little doubt that Christianity prohibits divorce every bit as much as it does same-sex marriages. As one Methodist minister and Associate Professor of Old Testament put it:
Jesus himself explicitly prohibits divorce and remarriage in the New Testament (in Matthew 5:31-32, 19:3-9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18). For Jesus, remarrying a divorced person constitutes adultery, a serious sin which the entire Bible has much to say about.
Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D. of Andrews University, explains that while some liberal Christians claim that there is a narrow exception in the Gospels allowing divorce on the grounds of adultery,
there is no question that:
The teaching of Jesus is fundamental to the study of the Biblical view of divorce and remarriage because Jesus clarifies the reason for the Old Testament concession (Deut 24:1) and reaffirms God's creational design for marriage to be a permanent, indissoluble covenant. . . . .
God's original plan consists of a man and a woman being united in a marriage bond so strong that the two actually become one flesh (Gen 2:26; Matt 19:6; Mark 10:8). The "one flesh" unity of the couple is reflected especially in their offspring who partake of the genetic characteristics of father and mother, and the two are absolutely inseparable. Jesus affirms that it is God Himself who actually joins together a couple in marriage and what God has joined together no human being has the right to separate.
The permanence of the marital union is every bit as fundamental to the Christian concept of marriage as is the requirement of having a man and a woman. Christians are required, of course, to vow to God to remain with their spouse "`till death do us part" and "for as long as we both shall live." Christian ministers routinely proclaim: "That which God has brought together, let no one put asunder."
And yet, the divorce laws of Texas could not possibly be further away from Christian teaching. Obtaining a divorce in Rick Perry's Texas is shockingly easy. Texas law allows "No Fault Divorces" -- about the most un-Christian law possible. Under that law, to obtain a divorce, one need merely be able to demonstrate one of two very permissive grounds:
No-Fault Divorce Grounds: (1) the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities that has destroyed the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation; or this no-fault ground (2) living separate and apart without cohabitation for 3 years.
That's all there is to it. If you are a Texas citizen who wants to violate the marital vows you made before God by tearing apart your marital union -- a union which, according to Christian doctrine, God has mandated be permanent and indissoluble -- all you have to do is claim that you have irreconcilable differences with your spouse, or live apart for three years, and the divorce is yours.
And Texans, like citizens in every state which has banned gay marriages, are taking advantage of these anti-Christian divorce laws with great enthusiasm. While the lowest divorce rate in the country belongs to the first state to legalize gay marriages (Massachusetts, at 2.4 per 1,000 population), Texas is in the top half of divorcing states with a rate of 4.1. The highest divorce rates are in the Bible Belt.
Put another way, the states which insist on banning same-sex marriages because Christianity prohibits such marriages simultaneously enjoy laws which allow its citizens to divorce and re-marry whenever the mood strikes, even though such divorces and re-marriages are plainly prohibited by Christian teaching. Indeed, by allowing re-marriages, these states affirmatively recognize and legally sanction relationships which Christianity considers to be sinful and adulterous.
Worse, permissive divorce is not only undeniably anti-Christian, but, as a study released just this month reveals, it is a phenomenon which shatters the lives of our nation's children.
And yet, not only do most pro-family activists focus on gay marriages to the almost complete exclusion of talking about the epidemic of divorce, many of them are themselves divorced and re-married, having taken advantage of the very permissive, anti-Christian marriage laws which they claim to oppose.
The congregations frequented by self-proclaimed Christian warriors like Gov. Perry are filled with divorced and re-married church goers, as are the mailing lists of the pro-family groups which are most vocal in their opposition to same-sex marriage. When Gov. Perry condemns same-sex marriage on the grounds that it violates Christianity, he is condemning very few of his constituents and political allies, since, presumably, virtually none of them want to enter such a marriage.
But if Gov. Perry were to condemn the equally un-Christian institutions divorce and re-marriage on the same religious ground, and if here were to advocate a Constitutional amendment banning divorce and re-marriage, scores of his constituents and allies would be personally implicated, since so many of them have either already divorced and re-married, or want to keep the right to do so, even though doing so is plainly prohibited by Christianity.
Is it really a mystery why those like Rick Perry proudly opposes same-sex marriages on the ground that he is a Christian, but says absolutely nothing about the profoundly anti-Christian divorce laws in his State? And how can Christians justify the continuation of such plainly anti-Christian divorce laws even in those states where pro-family politicians control almost every aspect of government.
Gay groups should advocate a ban on divorce and re-marriage in those states which ban gay marriages.
Once the Texas anti-gay referendum passed, the author of the referendum announced that he now wants to consider a similar ban on divorce, or at least significant restrictions on the grounds for divorce.
That's good news. Gay groups should support a law banning divorces for Texans, as well as for the citizens of all of the other states which have adopted an affirmative ban on same-sex marriage in their constitutions or in statutes.
If our marriage laws must conform to Christian doctrine so as to bar gays from marrying, then it also must prohibit married couples from divorcing, and must also bar them from entering into so-called "re-marriages."
Gay rights organization should actively support measures like these. For one thing, whatever they have been doing thus far isn't working -- at all. It is time for a new approach.
The people supporting these same-sex marriage bans should be forced to acknowledge that under the most basic Christian principles, they cannot support the idea that we must conform our laws to Christian doctrine only where doing so restricts other people's behavior. If Christian doctrine should be the basis for our marriage laws -- as proponents of these bans have been expressly arguing -- then all divorces and marriages which are sinful under Christianity should be banned, not just same-sex marriages.
Moralizing is easy when you don't have to sacrifice anything or restrain yourself in any way. That's why it's so easy for these large majorities to approve bans on same-sex marriage. It doesn't cost them anything, because they don't want to marry someone of the same sex.
But they do want to divorce and find new spouses, often more than once. So let's force them to follow through on their premise -- that our secular marriage laws must comport to Christian doctrine by excluding any "marriages" that are not permitted under Christianity -- to its logical conclusion.
Once they are married, they have to stay married. No more dumping your wife when the mood strikes or you find a newer, better, younger version. Till death do us part, for as long as we both shall live, vows before God, that which God has brought together, let no one put asunder - all of it - all of those Christian mandates should be reflected in our marriage laws.
And no more second, third, and fourth spouses either. Those are sinful and adulterous under Christian doctrine, too. Christian values and "pro-family" values compel that we not have our laws recognizing sinful, adulterous relationships as though they are "marriages."
The rhetoric about civil rights and equality is failing miserably - it is falling on deaf ears - because the vast majority of people aren't having their equality and rights abridged by these referenda. But if it is made clear to them that the principle they are embracing will, should and must abridge not just the marriage opportunities of gays but also their own divorce and marriage rights, perhaps they will pay a little more attention.
If we really need to change our marriage laws because of threats to marriage, families, and children, then there is no question that divorce is a substantial menace. So by all means, let's fix that, too. Let's comport all of our divorce and marriage laws to Christian doctrine and save the family and its children by banning divorce. That should be the argument made by groups fighting for marriage equality.
Texans and all other states which have enacted same-sex marriage bans should be forced to vote on a referendum to ban divorce and re-marriage, and Gov. Perry and similar politicians should be forced to support such a referendum on the ground that he cited for his support of the gay marriage ban: "I am a Christian and this is about values."
That will be the real test for how committed these advocates and their adherents are to the agenda they profess to support.