LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Gay Marriage: Should Christians Oppose it?
Submitted to Dr. Malcolm Hester in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the completion of
THEO 650-B03 LUO
Public Theology
by
Shaun Higgins
February 21, 2020
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 1
Defining Marriage ..................................................................................................................... 1
Historical Understanding… ............................................................................................ 1
Secular Interpretation...................................................................................................... 2
Old Testament Portrayals ................................................................................................ 2
New Testament Portrayals .............................................................................................. 3
Legal Arguments ...................................................................................................................... 3
Legal Arguments for Gay Marriage ................................................................................ 3
Legal Arguments against Gay Marriage .......................................................................... 4
Court Rulings ................................................................................................................. 5
Evangelical Response ..................................................................................................... 5
Ethical Reasoning ..................................................................................................................... 6
Moral Relativism ............................................................................................................ 6
Descriptive Relativism .................................................................................................... 7
Utilitarianism.................................................................................................................. 7
Ethical Implications on the Church ................................................................................. 8
Theological Arguments ............................................................................................................ 9
Queer Theologies............................................................................................................ 9
Liberal Theologies ........................................................................................................ 10
Conservative Theologies ............................................................................................... 11
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………
12
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 13
iii
Abstract
The topic of gay marriage has been a hotly debated issue in past and recent years. The question of
whether Christians should continue to oppose gay marriage even after the Supreme Court ruled in its
favor has placed sustained pressure on evangelicals to abandon their position. However, what the justice’s
decision addressed was the sanctioned practice of restricting the rights of its citizens within the confines
of a system of governance that is meant to remain separate from church and state. Furthermore, the
legalization of civil marriage as a state mandated ordinance has no influence or authority in amending
what Scripture establishes as a God ordained union. Another question that arises out of this issue is if
Evangelicals where to abandon the Bible’s position on what it clearly defines as sin, what implications
would this infer upon Christian theology and the inerrancy of Scripture? What this study will seek to
demonstrate is that though moral relativism may establish grounds for the legalization of homosexual
marriage, this does not compel God to ordain these unions and therefore are incompatible with Christian
ethics.
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