The army marches on in vain to stop gay marriage
 

 

(Exo 14:23 NKJV) And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

In the aftermath of the legalization of gay marriage in New York, the Christian Right seems to be revitalised with loud noises from John Piper (Reformed Baptist), Albert Mohler of Southern Baptist, Family Research Council, NOM, and the Catholic Bishops.   It gets absurd as the mutual love between two gay person (not impacting anyone else) is called terrorism by Mohler, and a “new calamity”by Piper eg natural disaster, drought, foreign invasion. Yet, there may be some truth that we may be in calamity because when we sow harm, we will in turn reap the harm sowed.

The Rev John Piper, the well-known Baptist Pastor of Bethlehem Methodist Church and author of more than 30 books talks about gay marriage being the “new calamity”. Perhaps he is afraid that a gay man will somehow seduce his wife. He took more than 8 months of his ministry in 2010 to work on his marriage. Gay men however have no interest in Piper nor his wife. Yet, we are selfish to deny gays of marriage to seal their love and commitment to each other even when many straight people are suffering and contemplating divorce hence causing a breakdown in the marriage institution.

We are coming towards a “moral revolution” says Albert Mohler the President of the Southern Baptist theological Seminary. Perhaps the only immorality is the insistence by the church to perpetuate harm. Our immoral actions to harm others causing death and suffering to put gays in closets in the name of religion and purely for our own religious construction should no longer be tolerated in a modern society where social justice prevail rather than the barbarian rule of orthodox Catholicism of the middle ages.

Dr Albert Mohler is trying to blow the gay marriage house down like a bad old wolf but the house which the Lord has built will not fall.  We are asked to not only follow Jesus, but the bible where same sex orientation was an exception marred by the unfortunate association with religious demonic worship by the Jews. How long will the likes of Mohler and Piper rage against gays? when it is an empty issue which only exemplifies our self-righteousness and legalism, and do nothing to reveal the love, grace and mercy of God as revealed in the bible towards the least and most persecuted in society.

In the bible, much to the dismay of some queer theologians idea of a loving God, God seemed to harden the resolve of the Pharaoh to maintain his hard-line position and not let go the Jewish people. As a result, he and the nation lost their first born and had to give to the Jews their expensive jewellery as they departed from Egypt. There seem to be a line of no return beyond which we will go beyond the grace of God and reap the harm due just as Pharaoh was taken to task for the 400 years he had put the Jews in bondage. We have put gays in the closet much longer.

One would have thought that God would soften the heart of the Pharaoh so that he would listen to Moses and let the Jews depart from their closets. Yet, God did the opposite. He made Pharaoh mad that he even went after the Jews with his army drowned in the Red Sea. Sometimes when our hearts are so full of hatred and without grace and mercy, God affirms it so that when we act it out we receive the maximum judgement due.

In the aftermath of the Gay marriage legalization in New York, you would see the Reformed Baptist, Southern Baptists, Family Research Council, Catholic church, Focus on the Family and NOM preparing for the next battle in Maine, New Hampshire, California, etc, with vicious rhetoric and urgency. Even in Singapore, the FOTF has begun sending their anti-gay literature to the churches. God appears to be hardening their hearts to step up to the next gear to prevent gay marriage in other states. The more vile and vicious it gets, the more the weight of judgement is due.

God works mysteriously, in that when more is the opposition coming against gay marriage, more the grace and mercy of God will arise to do the unexpected miracle just as happened in New York. The flood gates are opened and God is hardening the hearts of the Christian Right so that as the army comes against the Lord of Hosts, the banner of God will arise to meet the foes. ie the more hype and battle line drawn against gays, the faster gay marriage will come into reality. God likes to fight for the under-dog, the large resources and majority standing of the Church not being able to defeat the small gay minority.

We believe that God is stirring up the Christian Right to put it on the election ballot the issue of gay rights, to make it an election issue, so that it could backfire and those who charged their spears to limit the basic rights of gays will find themselves facing the flood of water.

The strong reaction to Gay marriage by the Christian Right will revitalise the GLBT groups in each of the battle fronts, which has shifted from a single front such as New York or California to many battle fronts at the same time. The Christian Right is fighting for a fictitious issue that does not concern them for their rights and marriage is not impacted and when the battle gets tough, the truth of the issue will arise. Gays are fighting for their own basic rights and freedom; whilst the Christian Right is fighting a make believe Gay agenda to “destroy” straight marriage.

Strength is drawn because the issue is very personnel for gays. It is much more difficult for an army to invade a foreign land far away than for those defending to give it all for their freedom is at stake. With the legalization of the New York gay marriage, a hope arises and they could see the light of dawn not too far away. And there will be new energy and passion to run after this vision. On the contrary, it is a fight of diminishing returns for Reformed Baptists, Southern Baptists, Family Research Council, Catholic church, FOTF, and NOM.

Therefore, when we see the large army of anti-gay troopers ready to march on, with loud shouts and insults, know that righteousness and justice will flow like a mighty river to drown the opposing armies. We need not do anything for the flood gates are opened.

The more the Christian Right make gay marriage an issue in America, the more likely Obama gets re-elected for people will see the absurdity of the Republicans fighting a non-issue whilst the country is burning due to economic strive with escalating war costs, big business bailed out, and generous tax breaks, where the rich have lots of tax breaks whilst the poor struggle to meet their daily needs and in danger of having their basic health protection taken away from them.

 

 

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