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Talking Marriage

Comments (15)
  1. John T. Moeller says:

    I love this idea of using Facebook to express our religious doctrine, and our support for what we know as using the word marriage in a sacred context, which is/was a gift from our Creator.

    The secular world might think they can take away religious freedom, but our Lord will keep telling us how to meet the public – even if we need to sit again at the city gates with a welcome sign. History is on our side as many people know the pendulum swings both ways.

    A blessing of the digital age might just be the peace and quiet when a person reads and has a quiet time to accept and new idea about TRUTH as known by a LCMS Christian ….

    1. Craig Vickstrom says:

      Allowing non-hetero couples, triples, quadruples, etc. access to the civil marriage contract is not “taking away” anyone’s religious freedom. It is acknowledging the rights these people had all along, but were unjustly denied.

  2. Rebecca Brunner says:

    Thank you for this article, as I work with a lot of people who are open to many different situations. This gives me some ideas and background information to base my opinion on.

  3. Elizabeth says:

    As someone who grew up an LCMS member, this is sickening to me. At 19, I consider myself to have very strong faith in the one true God that the Bible has taught me about. I went all through Lutheran grade school, continuing my faith education through high school and my first year of college. One thing that older generations of Lutherans need to understand is that for the most part, us younger members are much more accepting than our older counterparts. I cannot begin to express how sad this makes me that this is how my church feels. Granted, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when that opinion is presented as a belief of a church as a whole, when members do not necessarily believe it (like myself) it becomes intrusive and disrespectful. Do not misunderstand me Dr. Scaer, I respect your opinion and believe that you are entitled to it. It just frustrates me that this is presented as a belief of all LCMS Lutherans. Because I can assure you that is not the case. Also, to say that children are so much worse off because they grow up in a home without both a mother and a father is insulting to me as a child of divorce. Had my parents not split up, I would have grown up in a broken, angry home. My parents were unhappy and we were all suffering from it. I am sure you (or anyone) could say that that would have been a better situation for me. All I am saying is that this world is changing and though everyone is entitled too their own beliefs, the church needs to be mindful of said changes. I as a young member am seriously considering leaving the church because of the archaic beliefs expressed in this article in order to find a more inclusive, understanding church. That devastates me.

    1. Lin says:

      Elizabeth, I am an “old” LCMS member and do agree with you that the rationale and reasoning used by Dr. S. is NOT valid, makes no sense nor has statistical support, and is not a reflection of our Christian church. I am not a supporter of gay marriage, simply on the basis that I believe this is not a practice instituted by God. Instead, it may be a building block in a wall we build that separates us from His grace, as all sin does. I am not worthy to condemn or judge anyone. I do believe, as Christians, that we must continually show our love for all people and pray that God will continue to bless their lives and lead them in knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ.

      Please keep your faith strong in knowing that the saving loving of Christ is the only measure of our lives.

      1. Jena Gorham says:

        Fantastic comment. That is my feeling about this article. “Do not subtract or ADD anything to the word of God” this article ADDs a lot! a lot of stuff that goes past what the bible says- majority of it is pure opinion.
        I personally don t think marriage should be regulated by the government. It is s religious institution instituted by God. Civil unions are what the government should regulate- if anything.
        I do not believe God sanctioned Homosexuality or gay marriage.

    2. Val says:

      Elizabeth when we are really a Bible based Christians our focus would be on what God says (which is the same in all era’s of time, His word doesn’t change to conform to the world) not the world.
      Judging is for God, we need to love each other and guide each other in the ways of the Lord. I pray that we all can stay focused on God’s plan and be completely devoted to serving Him and His people. When we pray and seek God He will always reveal to us what is right or wrong (because He dwells in our hearts when we believe in Him )We are either for Him or against Him.
      God bless and guide us to make choices according to His will.

    3. Sharon says:

      I’m sadden here…THE TRUE WORD of God not the author’s opinion is reflected in this article……you cannot be Christian and be more accepting of the world, modern society and how it is shaping up into ignoring The Word of God for The True Word will NEVER change…. God is Our Creator, we belong to Him…It is our Lord and Savior who went to the cross to pay our ransom, this beautiful love which transcends our ability to even comprehend…. We are so broken by sins…. I do not know Why so many finding offending Jesus so easy and His sacrifice for the sins of the world to be so meaningless just to be accepting of the world and how little respect for God’s creation????We were created male and female and by design to be a compliment to each …it is written what a marriage is…it is there for our own good….you cannot rewrite scripture… You cannot change nature…Please pray for strength in your faith… Re read the Bible..do not let the flesh be your guide… Look to Jesus and His Holy Word and see the devil, the evil foe, in how he is using weakness in the knowledge of scripture to make sin look harmless and right…it will destroy … Don’t be deceived… Don’t use excuses that old LCMS members are unaccepting… It is those regardless of age who ignore God’s Word who are unaccepting of the sacrifice of Jesus,His Grace…and are on the paved road to destruction…

    4. Jason says:

      Dear Elizabeth,

      You are a child of God and I love you as a sister. Because I love you, I must be honest with you, even when it is hard. I hear your struggle. I read your anguish. I see your anger. People are uncomfortable with the idea of sin (as they should be). No one enjoys having their sins lit up like the neon lights of Times Square. That being said, it does not eliminate the fact that sin exists and we are all sinful in our own ways. There is sin and there is grace. There is law and there is gospel.

      We must focus on the law, how we violate the law through sin and how we are doomed to Hell while we are comfortable with our own sins. When we realize how we are turning our face away from God and His commandments and we are desperately uncomfortable in that state, then we can focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ and that every sinner has forgiveness through belief in Him. In this we can rejoice. And then we are charged to go forth and sin no more (which we shall certainly fail in this regard and be forced to repeat our repentance).

      Homosexuality is a sin. Adultery is a sin. Divorce can be a sin. Pride is a sin. And the list goes on. We all fail in some way. I, like you, am the product of a marriage that ended in divorce. I do not know the underlying reasons why they divorced, and frankly, I do not want to. I know that God saw fit to have each of my parents re-marry and I was blessed with two families and multiple brothers and sisters that I would never have known had they remained together. This does not eliminate the likely sin in my parents’ divorce. I love them nonetheless. It is not my place to judge my parents’ immortal souls. That is for one triune God. It is sufficient that I love them despite their imperfections, just as I hope they love me despite my imperfections.

      You mention “archaic beliefs” and how the world is “changing.” There are two problems I have with this: (1) The “archaic beliefs” you say are being expressed are based on the Word of God contained within the Holy Bible; and (2) The world is “changing” in the sense that there are ebbs and flows in righteousness and shifting political winds, but human nature has never changed from the time that Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge.

      To the first point, the Word of God is eternal. The scriptures cannot be molded to fit our human ideas of what should or should not be. This is a mistake of substituting our own will for God’s will. It is the sin of pride and arrogance. As humans we may not like what God tells us from time to time, but we should not openly disobey his commandments on penalty of relinquishment of our souls to the enemy. The Bible is littered with stories of people disobeying God. It never ends well.

      To the second point, human nature has never changed. Cain killed Abel. The world was destroyed by a great flood because of the rampant nature of sin. Sexual immorality was flourishing in Sodom and Gomorrah requiring the destruction of those cities. From a historical perspective it is believed that Jesus walked the earth from approximately 4 BC to approximately AD 30. During this time, the Roman Empire reigned supreme and modern day Israel was essentially a Roman province. Prostitution, homosexuality, pedophilia, adultery and other sexual sins were, in large part, accepted practices in society. It was Jews and the followers of Christ who stood out as condemning these practices.

      So you see, human nature was the same then, as now. Christians condemned the practices then, as now, because that is what God commanded by his Word and His Word is eternal and unchanging. While I understand the mindset from which you are speaking, your comments lack a contextual understanding of the scripture and of history.

      It is not our job to be “inclusive” by making people comfortable in their sin. It is our job as Christians to be “inclusive” by explaining that God loves all his children, but hates our sin. The good news is that there is love and forgiveness for all those that repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God. I love you and I pray for you. I pray you stay with our church. More importantly, I pray you follow God’s will wherever He takes you.

  4. Craig Vickstrom says:

    There is nothing wrong with a belief in monogamous, hetero marriage. If that is what you believe personally, and that is what your church believes, fine. But religious beliefs have no place in a secular society. Advocating against denying non-hetero people their right to a civil contract, in a court of law, is bigotry and spite. Hetero couples lose nothing by having homo couples get married. How the LCMS has hammered and hammered on this issue online, while leaving the issues of greed, wealth accumulation and poverty ignored, has made me ashamed to be an LCMS Lutheran.

    1. Jena Gorham says:

      Well said.

  5. Dan Sheppard says:

    Dr. Scare has written a very effective piece here. The corrosion of society seems to be ignored by those secular humanists.

  6. Jason Traxler says:

    The Lutheran presents sound logic, while the argument of the secular friend reflects the empty mantra of the LGBT community.
    The LGBT community does not only present an empty argument, but is also a much smaller percentage of the population than the mass media would have us believe. Federal judges have ambushed the overwhelming majority of the population by forcing same sex marriage on populations that have rejected it. Same sex marriage is the pathway to perdition. It is a slippery slope that society may well regret.

  7. Carol Sherrill says:

    Thank you! These have been my “debating . points,” but the SF just keeps coming. Patience, prayer, and what’s best for children, family, and faith.

    1. David Seifferlein says:

      Been done before. When sin becomes popular enough, we legalize it.