The importance of the decision handed down yesterday by U. S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker in California’s Proposition 8 trial will be difficult to exaggerate. Proponents of same-sex marriage immediately declared a major victory — and for good reason...You can read the whole thing here, which I recommend to understand the legal arguments used during the proceedings, and to understand the next step in the constitutional process.
...The religious liberty dimensions of the decision are momentous and deeply troubling. While Judge Walker declared that the religious freedoms of citizens and religious bodies were not violated because no such body is required to recognize or perform same-sex marriage, the very structure of his argument condemned religious and theological objections to homosexuality and same-sex marriage as both harmful and irrational...
We are witnessing major moral erosion before our very eyes. Yet the deepest need for our state is not a return to morality. It is a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I grieve over these developments in the Prop 8 case, but realize that a "moral," heterosexual family is no closer to the gospel than an immoral, homosexual one. Ultimately, we all need to be broken over our sin, admit our fallen condition, and trust wholly in Christ. He is our hope, our rest, and our righteousness.
No one can predict what the long-term implications of this ruling will be to churches, non-profit organizations, and individual Christians. We can expect the moral and ethical dilemmas to continue to increase. I have to guard my own heart not to grow anxious but instead to take comfort in Jesus' words, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world" (Jn. 16:33).
But whether Prop 8 prevails or is permanently overturned, I pray this cultural battle will result in more people bowing the knee to King Jesus and surrendering completely to the only One who can save.
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