Evangelical leader: Maybe straights should worry about divorce, not gay marriage
Sun. October 3, 2010 11:36 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Louisville, Ky. -
A leading evangelical theorist now says straight Christians' willingness to accept divorce undermines what they think is their moral high ground on gay marriage.
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler discusses the issue in a recent blog post called "Divorce-The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience."
"Evangelical Christians are gravely concerned about the family, and this is good and necessary," he writes. "But our credibility on the issue of marriage is significantly discounted by our acceptance of divorce. To our shame, the culture war is not the only place that an honest confrontation with the divorce culture is missing."
Mohler argues that a close reading of the Bible shows a clear condemnation of divorce, one that Protestants have ignored for convenience sake, while focusing on other issues.
"The challenge represented by the possibility (or probability) of legalized same-sex marriage demands our attention and involvement... But divorce harms many more lives than will be touched by homosexual marriage," he writes. "Children are left without fathers, wives without husbands, and homes are forever broken. Fathers are separated from their children, and marriage is irreparably undermined as divorce becomes routine and accepted."
He said that if straight people don't work to lower divorce rates, they won't have the moral authority to complain about gay marriage.
"The real scandal is the fact that evangelical Protestants divorce at rates at least as high as the rest of the public," he writes. "Needless to say, this creates a significant credibility crisis when evangelicals then rise to speak in defense of marriage."
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler discusses the issue in a recent blog post called "Divorce-The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience."
"Evangelical Christians are gravely concerned about the family, and this is good and necessary," he writes. "But our credibility on the issue of marriage is significantly discounted by our acceptance of divorce. To our shame, the culture war is not the only place that an honest confrontation with the divorce culture is missing."
Mohler argues that a close reading of the Bible shows a clear condemnation of divorce, one that Protestants have ignored for convenience sake, while focusing on other issues.
"The challenge represented by the possibility (or probability) of legalized same-sex marriage demands our attention and involvement... But divorce harms many more lives than will be touched by homosexual marriage," he writes. "Children are left without fathers, wives without husbands, and homes are forever broken. Fathers are separated from their children, and marriage is irreparably undermined as divorce becomes routine and accepted."
He said that if straight people don't work to lower divorce rates, they won't have the moral authority to complain about gay marriage.
"The real scandal is the fact that evangelical Protestants divorce at rates at least as high as the rest of the public," he writes. "Needless to say, this creates a significant credibility crisis when evangelicals then rise to speak in defense of marriage."