On Marriage

by Q Ideas

Same-sex marriage is once again filling headlines across the nation. Obama announced his personal support for same-sex marriage the day after North Carolina voters amended their constitution to limit marriage to one man and one woman. We want to help inform your discussions by giving you access to several of the conversations we've been having around this issue and other issues of marriage and sexuality.

Could Same-Sex Marriage Benefit Traditional Marriage?
Short essay by Gabe Lyons

"According to Christianity Today, the effect of the New York law has moved well beyond The Empire State, inducing a “surge in sexuality debates” among religious communities across the nation. Richard Land of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said, “This is probably the biggest challenge to traditional marriage that we've seen.” And many in the Christian community still struggle with how to engage their friends in the LGBT community. Some are confused, unsure of how to react to this new law...We must remember that there are many ways to influence and to engage our culture’s definitions of marriage and sexuality. Only a small portion of the American population, after all, identifies as gay or lesbian. And while a few states legally recognize same-sex unions, the majority of states have laws defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman."

Redefining Hate
Short Essay by Jonathan Merritt and Tim Willard

Are organizations that oppose same sex marriage, and people who associate with them, hate-mongers? Jonathan Merritt and Tim Willard reveal the irony in public discourse over hate, same-sex marriage and Christians.

The Gospel and Sex
Essay by Tim Keller

"It’s easy for modern people to find the Christian view of sex to be repressive. To say this, however, is to make some unfounded assumptions...Sex only works in the fullest way God intended for one man and one woman within the exclusive, permanent, legal commitment of marriage. Put another way: sex is a God-invented way to say to another person, “I belong completely and exclusively and permanently to you.” That cannot be said outside the permanent, exclusive covenantal commitment of marriage. The modern sexual revolution finds this rule so unrealistic as to be ludicrous, even harmful and psychologically unhealthy. Yet despite the incredulity of modern people, this has been the unquestioned, uniform view and law of not only one but all the Christian churches (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant) and of Jewish, Muslim, and most older pagan morality as well."

Saving Marriage Before it Starts
Q Talk by Mark Regnerus

While Christians often bemoan the state of marriage in America and groan about shifting sexual norms, there are structural reasons—some that have nothing inherently to do with sex or marriage—that have accelerated such changes. It’s actually become socially more difficult—not just personally more challenging—to withhold sex before marriage. Recognizing the economics and market dynamics of modern romantic relationships can make all the difference. Hear how you can save marriage before it starts by recognizing that the low price of sex cheapens marriage.

The Meaning of Marriage webcast
Tim and Kathy Keller hosted by Gabe Lyons and Bethany Jenkins

Modern culture would have you believe that everyone has a soul-mate; that romance is the most important part of a successful marriage; that marriage does not mean til death do us part, but merely for as long as my needs are being met; and that when serious differences arise, divorce is the best solution. According to the bible, all of these modern-day assumptions miss what marriage is all about. In The Meaning of Marriage, Timothy Keller, along with Kathy, his wife of thirty-six years, draws a profound portrait of marriage from the pages of Scripture that neither idealizes nor rejects the institution but points us back to the relationship between God and man.

The Return to Sexual Holiness
Q Excerpt by Jenell Williams Paris

Sexual identity has become an idol in both the culture at large and in the Christian subculture. And yet concepts like "gay" or "straight" are relatively recent developments in human history. We let ourselves be defined by socially constructed notions of sexual identity and sexual orientation--even though these may not be the only or best ways to think about sexuality. Anthropologist Jenell Williams Paris offers a Christian framework for sexual holiness that accounts for complex postmodern realities.

Project Love: Restoring a Bridge With the Gay Community
Q Essay by Andrew Marin

Discover new paths toward educating and equipping both the religious and gay communities with a better understanding of one another, based on one man’s story and his extraordinary response.

Three Ways with Families
Short Essay by Tim Keller

Recently, some scholars and cultural observers have decried the so-called "decline of the family." In parts of Asia and Europe, for example, the birth-rate has fallen below replacement levels. Many blame secular society's penchant for individualism and call for a return to the so-called "traditional" view of the family. But pastor Tim Keller says the gospel-based community practices a view of family that is contrary to both secular and traditional societies.

How do we love our neighbors as ourselves while adhering to the strict sexual morality our faith requires of us?
What can we do to teach, equip, and encourage the younger generations who are coming of age in this sexually charged culture?

Editor's Note: This image was found here.

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