Theology Blog

I have decided to do some theological writing and reflecting on the same-sex marriage debate. While I cannot decide if this is a brave, stupid, unnecessary or necessary decision, there is no question that in the Christian church in the United States today, this is the most divisive and painful issue we face. I have seen families, churches, denominations, friendships and more torn apart as a result of this debate.

When I think about this debate, I have to ask myself, when it comes to the church, what should be our goal? It seems that our current goal is making sure our particular view is applied universally. This is not a helpful, healthy or even achievable goal. I am also not convinced that it is what God at all wants for us. We are each uniquely created in the image of God. Diversity is a good thing! Diversity of race, gender, viewpoint etc is a gift from God. Its not the end of the world for some churches to embrace same-sex marriage and others to not do so. Its reasonable to assume that some denominations will embrace same-sex marriage, others will not and others will allow for diversity within their denomination on this issue. Its ok for us to identify with the church and denomination that aligns with our view and its not impossible or wrong to identify with a church or denomination that embraces a perspective on this issue that is different from our own.

More importantly, in the midst of this diversity, it is ok for us to hold fast to our view and still embrace, work with, love and accept individuals, churches and denominations that we disagree with. Unity is essential. Unity is what God desires for his people and his church. We can (and should) achieve unity even when we disagree! There is no need to hate, mock or outright reject those who see this issue differently than we do. What we need the most in our church and in our world (especially the US government) is unity in the midst of disagreement and a greater focus on where we agree and can work together instead of putting all of our energy into focusing on where we disagree. We can be different and still united. It’s the call of all of God’s people. Instead of focusing on being right, maybe we should focus on serving one another and the world together.

Unity is possible and it should be our priority.