Legality of Same-Sex Marriage Consistent with Biblical Teachings

Yes, I’ve read the Bible. Yes, it was a real Bible. There were quite a few spots in there that addressed morality, sin and God’s law. But there was nothing about whether a same-sex marriage should be recognized as valid by a 21st century secular government—a government built on the principle of separation between church and state.

The proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot this November prevents the State of Minnesota from recognizing the legal validity of a same-sex marriage. We’re talking about whether the state government will recognize a marriage contract. We’re not talking about whether the marriage is a sin or acceptable under religious teachings.

After all, there are many marriages deemed unacceptable by different church teachings that are perfectly legal. For example, Roman Catholics are supposed to marry other catholics. However, I don’t know any catholic who thinks that a catholic/protestant marriage shouldn’t be recognized as valid by the State of Minnesota.

The same-sex marriage issue is the same type of thing. Some churches currently marry same-sex couples. In their eyes, the marriage is valid regardless of what government says. In this same way, it’s perfectly legitimate for a church to not recognize a marriage as valid regardless of what the government says.

Just to be clear—even if the amendment fails, no one who’s against same-sex marriages will be forced to marry someone of their same sex. No one is asking anyone to be for anything or against anything in a religious or moral sense. This is simply about fairness under state law. Hopefully voters will view the issue in this light come November.