Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.
The 15 December 2008 edition of Newsweek magazine carried a cover essay entitled "Our Mutual Joy", and subtitled "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage". That title really caught my attention, and that of many others too, as it has stirred up anew a heated debate between advocates of so-called "gay marriage" and Bible-believing Christians.
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
The cover essay was written by Lisa Miller. It got me so worked up, I wrote and posted a paragraph-by-paragraph response to "Our Mutual Joy". The bottom line is that you just can't make the Scriptures support such an idea. In fact, the very notion of "gay marriage" is an oxymoron. Homosexual practices are universally condemned, first in the Old Testament and subsequently reaffirmed in the teaching of Jesus and other New Testament writers.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.
Worse than the cover story itself was the introduction to it by the Newsweek editor, John Meacham. I also wrote and posted a paragraph-by-paragraph response to "The Editor's Desk". I say that it's worse because he not only endorses the conclusions of Lisa Miller's story, but says "this conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism," and "to argue that something is so because it is in the Bile is more than intellectually bankrupt - it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition." Say what? It is nearly unbelievable to me that a respected journalist could print such an asinine remark. He doesn't seem to understand anything about what real Christians believe and why they believe it.
I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
To make the whole thing even worse, in the following issue of Newsweek (22 December 2008), in the section called "The Popularity Index", a comment on "Our Mutual Joy" said: "The Bible is the basis for much opposition to gay marriage. But Scripture does not proscribe it." Outrageous! First they publish an essay chock-full of bad scholarship, the editor endorses it with his own poor understanding, and then they have the gall to basically declare God is OK with it! God save us.
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
-- Psalm 2 (ESV)
It's hard to know how to conclude this. I feel outraged that people have (mis)used God's word, which is precious to me, to try to justify abominable behavior. This is just my way of trying to think through the whole thing, and provide a reasonable response. May God grant readers of these articles to see the truth.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
