In a new column, theologian and author Carl Trueman argues that Christians should never attend LGBT weddings. To do so is to affirm the relationship and “mocks at the central teachings of the New Testament and at Christ himself.”
Mr. Trueman is a professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Grove City College in Pennsylvania and an author of The rise and triumph of the modern self and several other books, he says in his column. First time As society becomes more secular, the question of whether Christians can attend gay weddings is becoming more common.
“It's not hard to guess why Christians attend gay weddings: they want to show the couple they don't hate them, or they want to avoid offending or hurting them. . But if either is of decisive importance in the decision, something has gone wrong,” Truman wrote.
But Truman argues that Christians should not attend gay weddings.
“Whatever the supposed benefits of keeping couples from seeing morally amorphous forms of love and from offending, the cost of attendance is steep,” he writes. “Much has been said about the embarrassment caused by the Pope's recent statement blessing gay couples. Equally significant for individuals and the Church is the question of attending gay weddings. It could be confusion caused by not thinking clearly. After all, being present to show 'love' or to avoid offending is a kind of blessing, even if it doesn't have a name. It is.”
Truman wrote that there are multiple reasons why Christians should decline to attend.
“Many wedding liturgies, including the Book of Common Prayer, require the officiant to ask early in the service whether those present know why they should not be united as husband and wife,” he wrote. ing. “At that point Christians have a duty to speak out. It is dangerous to assume that such an intervention is far more offensive than simply refusing to serve.
“This issue is also inseparable from broader issues of sex, gender, and humanity,” he writes. “If marriage is rooted in the complementarity of the sexes, then marriages that deny that call into question the Christian understanding of creation. It is one thing for the world to do that; it is one thing for Christians to do the same. It is quite another thing to acquiesce.”
Refusing to attend a gay wedding is not an expression of hatred, Truman wrote.
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“To think of a rejected invitation as necessarily an expression of hatred,” he writes, “is to employ the concept of 'hatred' as a mere refusal of affirmation.” “That is our worldly understanding, not the understanding of the Christian faith. Refusing to attend can also offend, but making offending itself a moral category “is to replace the moral categories of taste with the aesthetic categories of taste.In the realm of ethical questions, the latter should always be subordinated to the former.''
Attending a gay wedding, he writes, involves “remaining silent when you should be speaking.”
“It includes concessions regarding physical sex that undermine any attempt to uphold the importance of the biological distinction between men and women,” he writes. “And that includes endorsing rituals that mock the central teachings of the New Testament and Christ himself. There is a very high price to pay to avoid hurting someone's feelings. And if Christians still think it's worth paying for, the future of the church is certainly bleak.”
Trueman's column comes as Christians continue to debate the comments of Alistair Begg, an Ohio pastor and radio preacher who encouraged a Christian grandmother to attend a transgender wedding. Begg's advice included several caveats. Truman's column does not mention Begg.
“People may not like this answer,” Begg said. 'yes. “Does your grandchild understand that because you believe in Jesus, he cannot positively acknowledge the choices Jesus made in his life?'' Yes. '
“I said, 'Okay, okay. As long as he knows about it, I'd definitely recommend that he attend the ceremony. And I'd recommend that you buy them a present.' ” “Oh,” she said, “What?” She was caught off guard.
“I said, 'Well, here's the thing: Your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence may make them realize that these are the people I always thought they were. It only emphasizes the fact that you are critical, judgmental, and not ready to face anything. ”
Begg added: “If we want to build bridges into the hearts and lives of people who don't understand Jesus and who don't understand that Jesus is King, we have to take that risk even more. Probably,” he added.
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Michael Faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His story was published in Baptist Press. Christianity Today, Christian Poecent, of leaf chronicle, of toronto star and of knoxville news sentinel.
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