{"id":172,"date":"2015-06-27T08:30:58","date_gmt":"2015-06-27T14:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/?p=172"},"modified":"2015-06-27T08:32:09","modified_gmt":"2015-06-27T14:32:09","slug":"the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social ostracism, and a loss of career prospects are just a few of the possible consequences. It might seem easiest for sexual traditionalists at this point just to slink away and hide, hoping that a same-sex marriage side that is flush with victory will not be vengeful to the losers. Life is hard and there are lots of times in its course when it seems easiest just to quit struggling, to give up, and to let the waves of fate wash us up on some random seashore.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But today is not the day to slink away and hide. As a Christian I believe that the truths of Scripture remain true in spite of the decisions of human courts. As a Christian I am confident that I know the final outcome of the human story \u2013 an outcome in which the truths of a loving God will triumph over the annals of human sin and misery. Countless times in history we have, collectively, rejected the truths of natural morality and of Scripture and have found that things have gone badly for us. Countless times in history, whole cultures have thought that they could discard longstanding moral principles \u2013 just throwing it all out \u2013 and they have found instead that it was their own flourishing that suffered. Think of the French Revolution, or of Lenin\u2019s Russia, or of Mao Zedung\u2019s abolition of private property in China in the 1940s and 50s. In all of these cases people eagerly and joyously threw out timeless moral truths, and found very quickly that things went badly for them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

So what exactly is today a time for?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

1) First, today is a day for grace and kindness.<\/strong> It is important for us to remember the reasons why we are supporters of heterosexual marriage. I am not a supporter of heterosexual marriage because I am trying to impose some constrictive set of moral beliefs upon persons who I hope will suffer under the yoke. Far from it, in fact. Instead, I am a supporter of heterosexual marriage because I am confident that it is a better way of life, a way of life that will lead to greater flourishing for those persons who live in accordance with it. I am a supporter of heterosexual marriage precisely because I want the best for persons who are on the same-sex marriage side, precisely because I want them to flourish, and precisely because I know that that flourishing will come from a life in accordance with timeless sexual truths. Thus, it is because I believe in grace and kindness for persons on the same-sex marriage side that I am a heterosexual marriage supporter.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every sin seems sweet for a season. And right now it seems very sweet to a lot of persons to run full-speed after this fun and trendy same-sex marriage movement, sampling the exotic sexual delights along the way. But at the end of this road, a road that rejects the timeless moral truths, there is going to be a lot of misery. And I don\u2019t want that misery to fall upon persons on the same-sex marriage side. Instead, out of grace and kindness, what I want for persons on that side is that they would experience the fullness of life that is possible for those who accept timeless sexual constraints. True freedom is not the ability to indulge in our bodily desires. Rather, true freedom is freedom from slavery to sin.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, it is out of grace and kindness that I am a heterosexual marriage supporter \u2013 it is because of my desire for the flourishing of persons on the same-sex marriage side. I do not agree with the sexual revisionists, but I certainly can continue to be gracious and kind to them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Courage is contagious,\" photo by emijrp, Wikimedia Commons<\/a>
\u201cCourage is contagious,\u201d photo by emijrp, Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2) Today is also a day for courage.<\/strong> Let\u2019s face it. As a culture the United States is now embarked upon a great sexual experiment. No culture (to my knowledge) in human history prior to the year 2000 ever defined marriage as anything else than a union of a man and a woman. And a lot of persons in this new and radical sexual movement are going to be out for revenge against the sexual traditionalists. There are reasons for the traditionalists to be cowardly at this time. Capitulation to the new sexual norms will mean social acceptance, a cessation of persecution, and no more raised eyebrows at the water cooler. But it will also mean living with oneself, knowing that one was a capitulator. \u201cI changed my longstanding moral views for the sake of the advancement of my career\u201d is a thought that I do not want to have to share with my grandchildren when I am 65. \u201cI had the courage to stand up for what I believed, in spite of the pragmatic costs\u201d is a thought that will make me more comfortable in 35 years. Live your life with courage \u2013 and with no regrets.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a Christian, when I open my Bible I find countless passages in which the saints of yesterday were courageous in the face of opposition. Much of that opposition was far greater than what sexual traditionalists face today.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joshua 1:9 \u2013 \u201cBe strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking for myself, I can say with confidence that I will not be shutting up anytime soon about the timeless moral truths. As Father Richard Neuhaus once said, in a different context, \u201cWe know the justice of our cause, we trust in the faithfulness of [God\u2019s] promise, and therefore we shall not weary, we shall not rest.\u201d So have courage!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

3) Finally, today is a day for thanksgiving.<\/strong> We can be thankful that we live in a society that provides so much latitude for disagreement with the new sexual majority. I know, of course, that nowadays the view of many persons is that the sexual revolution ought to trump our longstanding religious freedoms. Sometimes they even say that the First Amendment does not guarantee freedom of religion at all \u2013 it merely guarantees \u2018freedom of worship.\u2019 This may be a rather cynical view, but I take \u2018freedom of worship\u2019 to mean religion that is wholly privatized and that makes no claim to public importance. The \u2018freedom of worship\u2019 of such persons might mean no more protection for religious views than, say, the ice cream consumer receives for his consumption of ice cream in his home.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fortunately, even in spite of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in the recent Obergefell case, there were a lot of provisions in Justice Kennedy\u2019s decision that allowed for religious freedom. This is no time to panic. The same Supreme Court, in the 2014 case Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby<\/em>, ruled that the religious freedom provisions in the \u2018Religious Freedom Restoration Act\u2019 of the early 1990s protect in abundant ways the right of businesses to restrict their health care coverage for the sake of their religious convictions. In the 2014 cases, the owners of Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods argued that they could not abide by certain provisions in the government\u2019s Affordable Care Act which mandated that they had to pay for health coverage for abortifacient for their workers. The gist of the Hobby Lobby <\/em>opinion is just this: \u201cNo matter how much I might disagree with your religious views, nevertheless I feel so strongly about the correctness of your right to hold those views that I am willing to protect and cherish them in the law.\u201d And that certainly is a reason to be thankful.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What the 2014 Hobby Lobby ruling suggests to me is that even if things continue to get difficult in the years to come for sexual traditionalists, nevertheless the sense of fairness in America\u2019s judicial ranks continues to be strong. Religious freedom is still strong in the United States, even in spite of the increasing hostility to traditional sexual values. There is no reason to be worried at this point.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t panic. Instead, be gracious, have courage, and be thankful.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social ostracism, and a loss of career prospects are just a few of the possible consequences. It might seem easiest for sexual traditionalists at this point just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2178,"featured_media":173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Everyday Ethics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-27T14:30:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-27T14:32:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/526\/2015\/06\/Courage_is_contagious.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeremy Neill\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeremy Neill\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/\",\"name\":\"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-27T14:30:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-27T14:32:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0dac36c239689f4b09d82eff7a09dad7\"},\"description\":\"No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/\",\"name\":\"Everyday Ethics\",\"description\":\"Reflections on family, ethics, and piety\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0dac36c239689f4b09d82eff7a09dad7\",\"name\":\"Jeremy Neill\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d697f2be83e7ddf3bedb742ec2181b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d697f2be83e7ddf3bedb742ec2181b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeremy Neill\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/author\/drneill\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling","description":"No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling","og_description":"No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/","og_site_name":"Everyday Ethics","article_published_time":"2015-06-27T14:30:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-27T14:32:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/526\/2015\/06\/Courage_is_contagious.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jeremy Neill","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeremy Neill","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/","name":"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-06-27T14:30:58+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-27T14:32:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0dac36c239689f4b09d82eff7a09dad7"},"description":"No one likes to be on the losing side. In the case of same-sex marriage, it is likely to go especially badly for the losers \u2013 hostility, reprisals, social","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/2015\/06\/the-day-after-the-courts-same-sex-marriage-ruling\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Respond to the Court\u2019s Same-Sex Marriage Ruling"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/","name":"Everyday Ethics","description":"Reflections on family, ethics, and piety","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0dac36c239689f4b09d82eff7a09dad7","name":"Jeremy Neill","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d697f2be83e7ddf3bedb742ec2181b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d697f2be83e7ddf3bedb742ec2181b1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeremy Neill"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/author\/drneill\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/everydayethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}