There have been various rulings by the Supreme Court in the last few days. I agree with some of them, and I disagree with some of them. The one that has been getting the most discussion among Christians is the one on gay marriage. I have been reading several analyses. And, by analyses I do not mean some of the absolutely off the wall conspiracy theory rants that I have seen on Facebook and various alleged news sites. I say alleged news sites because, at best, they are one step above click-bait.
The most reliable analysts that I have read all agree that we are in for years of legal battles in the future. There are now new conflicting laws and rights that will have to be harmonized in the future. And that is assuming that no Constitutional amendment is passed and that no future Supreme Court reverses that particular decision. I doubt that any future Supreme Court will simply because there is a tendency for precedent to stand. I will say again what I have said before. We are NOT purely a country of written law to be interpreted in one and only one way, and we never have been. The Constitution explicitly mentions common law as being as much a part of our legal heritage as written law. And, common law is indeed an evolving set of interpretations, based on precedent and changing understandings of what is right and correct. So, chances are that the precedent will stand.
Given that, the legal work must be done to work out a new legal equilibrium. Decisions about gay marriage will need to be balanced against freedom of religion and freedom of expression. Both Judge Kennedy and Judge Roberts wrote about how “sincerely” held beliefs must be able to be expressed without suffering discrimination. Judge Scalia is not so sanguine about the possibility. His writings express the deep concern that many, from Christian, Muslim, and other backgrounds, feel that they will be cast as racist and excluded from jobs and other positions. The decision to harshly treat, and try to drive out of business, a baker who opposed making a cake for a gay marriage points to how real the fear of backlash is.
I do not know what the end result will be. It may be that the worst of the click-bait forecasts will be true and that some Christians will become a hated and oppressed minority that will have trouble even making a living because of their exclusion from various jobs. Or, it may be that this is a cultural shift in which traditional Christianity will no longer have the predominant role in setting the moral and ethical agenda in this country. In the cultural shift scenario, traditional Christians would be able to express themselves and worship as they desire, but within a cultural bubble. They would have the same type of protected status that Native American religions now have.
The best possible outcome would be a seriously difficult balancing act that would have several libertarian elements. Traditional Christianity would lose its predominant place in the USA cultural milieu. But, what would develop would be a live and let live approach, “don’t bug me and I won’t bug you.” Those who work for state or federal governments might could experience a type of whiplash depending on who is in charge at the legislative and executive level. Legal interpretations would be present that would allow one part of the culture to express disagreement with the other part of the culture while preserving the right of both sides to exist.
What many traditional Christians are not talking about is the need for self-examination. It has become a trope, even a meme, that traditional Christians are not getting their way on everything because of the devil. However, I was recently talking to a very conservative scholar who freely admits that he has come to hate Obama, is against the Affordable Care Act, goes to a conservative congregations, is against gay marriage, etc. He commented to me that he has come to realize that Christians in America have actually done much to make themselves disliked. From attitudes to writings to statements, we have managed to alienate many, not because of our faith, but because of the way in which we express it.
Reading many so-called Christian statements on Facebook over the last few days has made me cringe repeatedly. We will not win friends and influence people by peddling statements that call us to pray for the death of Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner. Yes, at least two Christian pastors asked their congregations to pray for that. We will make our point in society when we can behave as Emanuel AME church behaved after the recent shootings. We will make our point when we express our disagreement in such a loving way that people cannot but want to talk to us.
What do I project for the future? Frankly, I do not know. There are so many extreme arguments on the web now that it makes it difficult to evaluate what will truly happen as these rulings are implemented. But, I can with certainty project that if some of the angry, even rabid, Christian statements I read on the net become policy, then we will become a despised minority.
Believing that you can transform the secular culture by passing laws to force Christian behavior is to deny the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus ate with sinners.
Deat Fr. Ernesto, the best thing I have read is the statement put out by the ROCOR Diocese of the Midwest and this sentence, “If an Orthodox Christian chooses to engage in public political discourse this should be done with moderation and with a firm intention and watchfulness not to fall into extremism. Extremism is not conducive to softening hearts or bringing others to the faith.”
Source: http://www.pravmir.com/statement-by-the-chancery-of-the-diocese-of-chicago-and-mid-america-on-the-issue-of-homosexual-marriage-to-the-clergy-and-flock-of-the-diocese/#ixzz3eI9zpKdN
As well, the statement by His Grace, Bp. Paul of the OCA Midwest.
May we embody God Who is Love in all we do and say. And be strengthened by Him.
I am so tired of all of this, the hand-wringing, the fussing and the crying. Christians are being beheaded in the middle east, churches are being burned there and in our south. And yet we fret that we might have to extend a contractual relationship to those whose behavior we do not like. Over at a conservative magazine site, an Orthodox Christian is calling for the removal of ourselves from society, and many Orthodox priests I respect and whose teachings I enjoy are agreeing with him.
We are to live our lives as Christ. Period. We are not to scream and holler. We are to be at peace among all men, as much as possible and as much as it depends on us. We don’t need to behave as if we are about to be trapped under the rubble of civilization.
Am I missing something, Father?
Nope, you are correct. But in this country many, including many Orthodox in the South, have fused a rebellious attitude with their expression of Christianity, leading to a willingness to rebel at the drop of a hat, just like Satan did.
Does his call include the Oath of Galt’s Gulch?
I have a great respect for the Amish, the plain clothes Mennonites, the Old Order Brethren, and the Bruderhoffs. If what the writer means is something like that, or a loving intentional community akin to the monastic experience, then there is something to be said for that.