The Supreme Court’s decree in Obergefell v. Hodges redefining marriage was marked by a smug, self-satisfied “we know best” attitude. That must be obvious because one does not overturn the public policy choices of tens of millions of voters and millennia of human experience without being arrogant. That said, Obergefell has another dimension to it: there is the unspoken assumption that after the Supreme Court speaks those who object to its decision will roll over and submit.
In the vast majority of cases that would be true. In this instance, however, the Supreme Court has badly misjudged the situation because its edict explicitly contradicts the teaching of the Church on matters of the definition of marriage and the dual nature of human sexuality (male/female complementarity). These are not negotiable positions. The press trumpets announcements from every wayward church but ignores the real story.
The real story is that orthodox churches have almost instantly discerned the severity of the situation but have not retreated an inch in refusing to accept the redefinition of marriage. Here is one example.
Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia (“Tenth”) is a significant church in the history of American Protestantism in the last one-hundred years. Truly major figures including Donald Grey Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, and Philip G. Ryken have been the senior ministers there. On July 2, 2015, the current senior minister, Liam Goligher, wrote a pastoral letter to the congregation about the Obergefell Supreme Court decision.
It is a powerful letter that minces no words and leaves no door open for accommodation:
The world is hostile to God and its institutions eventually reflect the widespread rejection of his law— [a] "mystery of lawlessness" is at work and we have already seen this in the abortion horror that has swept away the lives of millions of American children, and we see this daily in our own instinct to do things our own way. Perhaps an even greater evil was perpetrated in the redefinition of "freedom" as each individual having the freedom to pursue their own vision of happiness no matter its impact on others. That irrational view is likely to come back to bite us. SCOTUS may have had its say for now but there is a higher court and a greater judge before whom they and we must one day stand. The law of God does not rely on any human court or cultural consensus for its legitimacy.
Pastor Goligher added, “Marriage between a man and a woman was [God’s] idea—it perfectly expresses unity in diversity—and it remains the revealed setting for the continuation of our race; the best context for the raising of our children; and the sure foundation of a sane society.”
The Tenth will not be retreating – like myriad other churches across the nation. Is this really the fight the Supreme Court wants? I guess so.
