Is It Time for Biblical Conservatives to Throw in the Towel?

Republican leaders have capitulated, pro-family pundits have caved, and gay activists have announced that their struggle for equality is just about over. Is it time for biblical conservatives to throw in the towel?

What a ridiculous thought. Why in the world would we do that?

I’m fully aware that:

• Newt Gingrich recently announced his belief that same-sex unions are “inevitable” and that Republicans must accept this if they want to win future elections.
• Pro-marriage leader David Blankenhorn has recanted his opposition to same-sex “marriage,” saying “the time has come for me to accept gay marriage and emphasize the good that it can do.”
• Recent polling indicates that “the public has gradually become more accepting of same-sex marriage … More Americans favor it in 2013 than oppose, according to the Pew Research Center.”
• The 2012 elections marked the first time that any states voted to legalize same-sex “marriage” and President Obama, in his inaugural speech, declared that it is the task of this generation to legalize gay “marriage.”
• Last week, in a 400-175 vote, British “MPs approved the second reading of a bill legalizing [same-sex] marriage, indicating a significant majority of members support the measure” as it moves through the process of legal approval.
• A poll last week claimed that Americans, by “a margin of 55 percent to 33 percent” believe that the Boy Scouts “should drop its policy against openly gay members.”

Yes, I’m fully aware that gay activists have declared that the “National Movement Opposing Same-Sex Marriage Is Done,” and that, to quote pioneer gay journalist Mark Segal, what’s happening today is not a “watershed” but “a tidal wave.”

Long-time gay activist Cleve Jones has even stated that, “The opposition is just melting away. We have reached the hearts and minds of the American people,” and there is no turning back the clock. Yes, Jones said, “I am kind of beside myself. I have to pinch myself sometimes. I never thought I would live long enough to see this. Never. Ever.”

Things have gotten to the point that, on Jan. 31, Hank Plante wrote on SFGate.com that, “I received a provocative e-mail from a prominent gay journalist this week. It had two words: ‘It’s over.’”

Is the battle for “gay rights” really over? Should conservatives who differ with these “rights” throw in the towel? After all, there’s no use wasting our time and energy and resources fighting against the inevitable. In fact, the longer we fight a losing battle, the more we make ourselves look irrelevant.

Why not consolidate our losses and live to fight another day? Surely there are other battles that deserve our attention. Why not throw in the towel when it comes to opposing the full acceptance of homosexual practice?

Here are four answers to these fair and weighty questions.

1. For many years now, the unspoken mantra of gay activists (going back to the famous “zaps” of the early 1970s) has been, “We will intimidate and we will manipulate until you capitulate.” Today, when gay activists announce that we conservative believers are on the wrong side of history, it is just another form of intimidation. Surely they are not telling us these things so as to help us! So, in case it isn’t clear, let me say it plainly: We will not be intimidated.
2. We do what is right because it is right, not because it is pragmatic or popular. To quote the Oregon Christian baker Aaron Klein, “I’d rather stand up for what I believe in and what I feel is right and get totally annihilated when it comes in the end than to bow down to this and say ‘go ahead.’ Because that sets the standard for the next one, the next one, and the next one.” In the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”
3. Polls and popularity trends do not determine what is morally right and wrong. One generation ago, sex out of wedlock was frowned upon. Today, it’s accepted as a normal part of life. Yet a recent U.S. Census report indicates that “Being raised in a married family reduced a child’s probability of living in poverty by about 82 percent.” Popularity does not necessarily equate with morality, and only a fool makes moral choices based on the polls.
4. I’m not in the least bit surprised by the victories of the “gay revolution.” In fact, when I first became involved in this specific aspect of the “culture wars” less than nine years ago, I saw back then that our side had already lost the battle and that gay activism had won the day. So, these recent developments don’t faze or surprise me in the least. From day one, my trust was in God, not people, and that’s where my trust remains. Attempts to redefine marriage and family and to normalize different sexual orientations may have their day, but that day will pass.

In the end, I can truly thank gay activists for helping us understand their world better—including the pain of bullying and the unique struggles they have endured—and for that, I am grateful. And I can admire their zeal and courage, even while differing with their goals.

But just as they didn’t throw in the towel when they were a tiny, vilified, minority, much less we will throw in the towel when their revolution seems to be winning the day. This too shall pass.

Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.