Love and marriage...

I'd like to underscore something to put some context into the posts about same sex marriage that are posted on this blog.

We need to know what we're up against as traditional Christians. There are movements afoot by certain elements of the gay community to try not just for accommodation by the greater culture but to use the power of law and society to harass and marginalize us. In the same way that gay activists used Christian's natural compassion and unwillingness to close doors to engage in an endless round of "dialogue" designed not to seek understanding but rather to wear down opposition the larger society is now experiencing this skilled maneuver aided by the deep sympathy of many in the media and academic worlds to the gay causes. The goal for these people is victory and we need to understand this.

Knowing that, however, does not mean we must respond in kind. We must be firm, factual, truthful, but also loving and understanding. By this I mean we cannot weaken our Christian vision but we must understand that our vision includes not just the truth but grace as well. Our goal is not social conquest but salvation. Those who oppose us, as harsh and vicious as that opposition can be, are still objects of God's love, persons in His image, and although we believe they have strayed in a part of their life (just as we have strayed in parts of ours) we can never lose the hope that one day they, and the whole world if possible, could be reconciled to God in Christ.

I'm not advocating quietism, the living of our lives under the radar of life in the hope that the world will leave us alone. We can and should be involved in all the processes of our culture. Rather I believe we need to live as revolutionary Orthodox Christians, working out our own salvation and through this bringing salvation to others and then to the larger culture. One person at a time our lights must shine and and the be passed on. In time, as in many cultures of the past, the light of Christ, the light which can never be overtaken by night, will again prevail.

It would be easy to see what is happening in the larger world and grow angry. It would be easy to see our culture so full of flagrant and unhealthy sexuality and grow disgusted. Instead we need to see to our own salvation and as part of that pray. When you see two men romantically kissing in public, pray for them. When the newspapers are full of pro-gay propaganda pray for the people mentioned and the writers as well. When court cases emerge pray for the judges who will decide. Pray for their salvation, not for revenge, and pray for wholeness and healing for them and yourself.

Above all remain confident and do not give in to fear. History remains in God's hands and the end of things will not escape God's love, God's plans, and God's design.