The free will God has given to man has led to the inevitable. Same-sex marriage is now the law of the land in the United States thanks to a 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court, making June 26, 2015, a red-letter, landmark day in American history.
By Friday’s ruling, all states are now required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and all 50 states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in all other states. The 14 states that had not been forced to succumb to “societal progress” must now do so — by law.
Is anyone surprised? You shouldn’t be. When the government removed prayer from public schools in 1962, people have said that was a shock (I was not yet born.) With the way society has deteriorated over the past 20 to 30 years, I don’t believe this was a fresh revelation for anyone.
With the ruling, it is likely that sometime in the near future Christian churches will be forced — by law — to open up their doors for same-sex weddings.
But imagine this: By law, if Christian churches are subject to said edict, then so are Jewish temples. And Hindu temples. Oh, and, yes, Islamic mosques.
At least that would be logical. But since when has the U.S. government shown much logic?
Can you even, by the wildest stretch of the imagination, picture a gay Muslim couple saying their vows inside one of their holy mosques? You think Muhammad is turning over in his grave right now?
No, you can’t imagine a gay Muslim couple exchanging wedding vows in a mosque. And why? It’s because their ideals simply won’t allow it to happen. The Quran Surah 4:15 says, “If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four reliable witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them.”
The Quran Surah 4:16 says, “If two men among you are guilty of lewdness, punish them both.”
The Quran Surah 26:165-166 says, “Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males…and leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing” all limits.
The Quran Sahih Bukhari, Book 72, Volume 7, Number 774 says, “The prophet cursed effeminate men (those men who are in the similitude – assume the manners of women) and those women who assume the manners of men, and he said, ‘Turn them out of your houses.'”
But then who cares what the Quran says, right? The Quran isn’t a threat to the American way of life, only the Christian Bible. Islam and its hatred of homosexuality isn’t a threat to the American way of life, only Christianity and its “haters.” (Please hear that I have more than a hint of sarcasm here.)
The gay agenda goes after Muslims for not allowing same-sex marriages in mosques. Now that’s a headline I’d like to see. But again, that won’t happen. I wonder why.
I know what many may be thinking: He’s just another conservative Christian radical who hates gay people. If that’s what’s on your mind, you’re not even close. Check out this article and this one I wrote for CharismaNews.com. Those articles represent my feelings on the subject.
It’s called compassion without compromise – love without compromising God’s Word. It can be done.
But don’t think for a second that the Muslim world is going to jump on the same-sex marriage bandwagon. Islam’s feelings on the subject are quite clear. (See the Quran’s passages above.) What’s incredible is that it’s one thing that Muslims and Christians can agree on. It’s just that Islam takes it to a whole different level when it comes with how to deal with homosexuality – a level no Christian would ever endorse.
That’s why I don’t believe you will ever see a gay couple marry in mosque, even if it is the law. Muslims simply won’t stand for it. Whatever their convictions, standing up for your beliefs is a noble sentiment.
Christians should develop the same attitude, and some, like Grace International Ministries and Churches President Steve Riggle have already expressed it.
“We affirm our love for all people, including those struggling with same-sex attraction,” Riggle said. “However, we cannot and will not affirm the moral acceptability of homosexual behavior or any behavior that deviates from God’s design for marriage. Grace Church and our related churches will not recognize same-sex “marriages,” will not host same-sex ceremonies of any kind, and we will not perform such ceremonies. We will never capitulate to any mandate by the state to accept and normalize what God calls unacceptable and unnatural.”
Hallelujah, and amen.
Can you imagine Christians and Muslims standing together for the same cause? How about Jews and Hindus, Christians and Muslims? Wouldn’t that be something?
Shawn A. Akers is the online managing editor at Charisma Media. He is a published poet and published a story about Dale Earnhardt in NASCAR Chicken Soup For the Soul. You can read his blog here.
