Randall Balmer’s July 9 column, “Commentary: Evangelicals came to accept divorce; they can do the same on gay marriage,” is breathtakingly, but unsurprisingly, confusing.
As a priest, he embraces the widespread theological confusion within the Episcopal Church. As a member of the Episcopal clergy, I’m painfully aware of it.
Evangelicals have come to “accept” divorce. We all learn to “accept” things we don’t like – be it greed, envy, lying or an annoying neighbor. We accept their reality, while indulging in them ourselves.
Christians call this “sin.” Acceptance of sin’s presence, however, differs from its glorification and celebration.
Like most Episcopal clergy, Balmer chooses to glorify and celebrate gay marriage. Recently, our General Convention officially legislated gay marriage. The stated source of authority is the culture. The ultimate authority for Christians, however, is the Bible.
To state that Scripture supports gay marriage is wishful thinking. “Jesus said nothing about homosexuality” is true. Twisting that into an argument for gay marriage is absurd.
Balmer claims “love always trumps law.” This is a good soundbite, but incomplete and misleading. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; l have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
Jesus tells the woman caught in adultery: “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). Nowhere does he offer rousing support for sinful behavior!
Finally, Balmer is uninformed about history and current events. Evangelical Christianity went mainstream when Democrat Jimmy Carter, not Republican Ronald Reagan, became president.
Today, people are losing their livelihoods because they refuse to celebrate gay marriage. The Roman Catholic bishop in San Francisco requires bodyguards. Adoption services are no longer available in Massachusetts through the Catholic Church.
Balmer challenges evangelical Christians with Matthew 7:1 (“Do not judge, or you too will be judged”). He should direct this scriptural injunction elsewhere.
Kirk Duffy
Portland
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