National Cathedral Dean Slams “Filthy Enactment” of Voting Rights Ruling

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Dean Gary R. Hall, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Episcopalians, Gary Hall, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Jeff Walton, same sex marriage, Supreme Court, The Episcopal Church, Voting, Washington National Cathedral

Gary Hall, center, dean of Washington National Cathedral, recently led a delegation from the cathedral at the annual Capital Pride Parade in Washington. (Photo credit: Sarah L. Voisin / The Washington Post)

By Jeff Walton (@JeffreyHWalton)

A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court “essentially gutted” the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and recalls the infamous Fugitive Slave Act of the 1850s, according to the dean of the Washington National Cathedral.

In a Sunday sermon celebrating recent Supreme Court decisions on same-sex marriage and lamenting a ruling on the Voting Rights Act, Dean Gary Hall sought to link the church’s public engagement with Jesus Christ’s turn towards Jerusalem in Luke Chapter 9.

Already thrusting the Cathedral into debates over firearms control and same-sex marriage, voting rights is just the latest in a string of politically charged issues championed by the activist Episcopal Church official.

Hall celebrated court marriage decisions overturning the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 as “victories for all of us who support marriage equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered people.”

“Those who had suffered so much discrimination savored a cultural and legal turning point in our shared march towards justice,” the Episcopal priest reported of a special Wednesday service for LGBT persons at the cathedral. Hall also noted “as we exalt in the joys of our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters, we must also weep with the pains and the losses of our brothers and sisters of color.”

“On Tuesday I found myself as dejected as I would find myself elated on Wednesday,” Hall told of the VRA and DOMA rulings. Recalling his own participation in the civil rights movement as a high school junior, Hall said it brought him into contact with Christian people and the life and ministry of the church.

Designating the VRA ruling “a filthy enactment,” Hall quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson’s declaration that he would not obey the Fugitive Slave Act, which required residents of Free states to return escaped slaves to the south.

Acknowledging his own record of political sermons, Hall insisted Sunday’s message from the pulpit wasn’t just “another instance of the Dean going all political on you” but was instrumental to following Jesus Christ.

“Jesus sets his face to go towards Jerusalem both literally and figuratively,” Hall pronounced of Luke chapter 9:51-62, in which Christ begins his journey towards the Jewish capital, the center of public life.

In going to the capital city, Jesus “is taking his critique to the heart of Roman and Jewish life,” Hall assessed. The cathedral dean termed the week’s events as “triumph and tragedy in our own capital.”

“We are a public church and public churches cannot be neutral where issues of justice are concerned,” Hall charged. Adding that Jesus went to Jerusalem “not out of anger but out of compassion,” Hall portrayed Jesus’ journey as one of solidarity “with and for those who are up against it.”

Declaring that God “loves and blesses and accepts everyone as they are,” Hall pronounced that “Jesus does not go to Jerusalem alone” and calls Christians to go with him.

“Therefore, following Jesus as he sets his face to go towards Jerusalem is part of what it means to be a Christian,” Hall interpreted. “If we are really following Jesus – and not just being personally pious in a private way – we try to care as much about the sufferings of people we don’t know as our own children, parents, spouses and friends. The only way you can care for people you don’t know is by establishing justice.”

In a call to the U.S. Congress “to rebuild what the court has taken away,” Hall insisted that Christianity has never been about only private suffering or personal joy, but rather about public social struggles. The cathedral dean asserted that Christians experience persecution “because they dare to make their private compassion a public virtue.”

“Today we both rejoice and lament,” Hall concluded. “Tomorrow we take up again the work again of standing with Jesus and God for those Jerusalem and Washington would oppress.”

Update: Full text of Hall’s sermon has been made available by the Washington National Cathedral. Access it by clicking here.

United Methodist Icon Maxie Dunnam on Supreme Court Marriage Rulings

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Maxie Dunnam, same sex marriage, Supreme Court, United Methodist

United Methodism’s bishops and General Board of Church and Society refuse to acknowledge their church’s official position, affirmed at General Conference by over 70 percent, affirming “laws in civil society defining marriage as the union of man and woman.”

So revered evangelical leader Maxie Dunnam, former Asbury Seminary president, articulates the United Methodist reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on marriage:

Anything that could have happened today with the Supreme Court would have been culturally impactful. It’s what happens now that will be culture shaping. As I noted in a Tweet, a part of the Defense of Marriage Law was struck down because of financial reasons. The way the Federal Government taxes people should not define marriage. And interestingly, California’s Proposition 8 was annulled not by deliberate decision of the Court, but by “default” (the defenders of the Proposition had not standing with the Court.)

It is not only the witness of the Christian Church, but the witness of previous generations and various cultures that marriage is between a man and a woman…and the Church says, “between one man and one woman.” We do not have to change that understanding of marriage to guarantee people civil rights as it relates to the sharing of financial resources and other dimensions of committed relationships.The Church can champion the guaranteeing of those rights without compromising the meaning of marriage.

The echoing refrain from the secular quarter and the public square is that the die is cast and that the pattern of marriage as defined by the Church is doomed. But the Church is not shaped by culture; we are called to shape culture. Let’s take hope and have confidence in the fact that, as Kingdom People, we have been at our best when we have had to set ourselves against culture. Somehow we must learn to be “in the world” but not “of the world.”

I personally don’t know a more challenging need today than for Christians to demonstrate the meaning of marriage, and for us to model the rich meaning and blessing of sexualty expressed procreatively and faithfully and in the covenant of marriage. If marriage is, as we understand it, a life covenant between one man and one woman, we must not allow the decision of the Court to determine otherwise.

The Tide is Turning

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LGBT, MIchael Bradley, same sex marriage, sexuality

by Michael Bradley

A recent Pew Poll has found that most Americans, regardless of their perspective on same sex marriage, view its coming as inevitable.

Yes, the tide is turning, and the Pew Poll surely sounds like the ringing of victory bells to those for whom the bell’s tolls are a welcome and much anticipated sound; not just advocates of same sex marriage but those who have pushed for the demise of any sort of “traditional” sexual mores from American life.

Even though such numbers can be misleading due to the wording of questions, nobody can doubt that the general acceptance of same sex marriage is on the rise. Nor can anyone deny the chilling numbers on out-of-wedlock births, abortions, fatherless children and divorce rates. The tide is indeed turning.

But perhaps not in the direction you think.

The impetus for the same sex marriage movement has been the continuation of a line of logic that began long ago and was accelerated by a complex nexus of cultural developments in the 1960s.

My generation of young adults is now living in the wake of the destruction of the institution of marriage and traditional sexual norms, and the result has been an entire demographic confused about and longing for authentic intimacy, unsure of how to manage opposite sex friendships, romantic relationships and their own sexual desires.

Of course, the sexual revolution itself was just the next step in a process the goal of which has been the conquering – or subjugating – of human nature and its pesky way of imposing limitations on our wishes.

Increasingly, America’s young people are beginning to pierce the web of lies that we can enjoy sex without strings attached, ignore the biological and spiritual dimensions of our existence, contradict the normative structures of our embodied existence and remake God’s creation according to our likeness.

Scores of books and articles are being written about how the sexual revolution has been destructive for women especially. Such works can fairly be considered their own genre, the gist of which is simple: It was a lie, and we’ve been duped.

Young men, too, are realizing that the basic truths that society has repressed and replaced with fantasies of freedom and autonomy are inescapable. More and more men are finding a voice and speaking out against the sorts of insults to manhood that our media presents through sitcoms.

Religious institutions are largely responsible for carrying the torch during the dark times, although it must be said that a massive failure on the American Church’s part in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council to properly evangelize and catechize its faithful is partially to blame for the way things are now. Nevertheless, if it weren’t for the Church’s voice crying out in the wilderness against the emptiness of the world’s wisdom, many young people now would never find the mooring that has proved the stabilizing factor in a time in which many are adrift on the Sea of Lost Self.

I recently attended the Ruth Institute’s “It Takes a Family” conference in sunny San Diego, where a group of scholars and experts presented a more robust vision of the sexual good than I have ever seen the world offer. From the perspective of biology, theology, philosophy, legal theory, political thought and common sense, we attendees were treated to graceful and eloquent articulations of the intuitions and recognition that had brought us to Ruth in the first place: it’s not true, what the world is telling us about our sexuality, about happiness.

At the Gala event that concluded the conference, a lady at my table leaned over and said of Dr. Morse, the dynamic founder and president of the Ruth Institute, “When she arrived here, everybody just seemed to come out of the woodwork.” Americans across the country are doing the same, emerging from the margins of a public discourse ruled by militant secularists to proclaim with vigor the vision of life and love they hold dear.

This vision, upheld almost exclusively now by the religious institutions and their adherents, has a way of dashing the plans of those who plan for its demise from the public square, just as a South Carolinian valedictorian dashed the plans of his supervisors when he tore up his approved speech and prayed the banned Lord’s Prayer at his commencement ceremony to the raucous applause of the assembly.

In France, not exactly a conservative bastion, one million people recently took to the streets of Paris to defend children and the family. That’s considerably more protesters than took to the streets of Washington DC this past January to witness to the pro-life cause, another tide that is turning with mounting swiftness and power.

In Illinois, a group of black clergymen led the opposition to a same sex marriage bill that would have badly infringed on religious liberty.

Kermit Gosnell’s recent sentencing has turned even the heads of the most ardent pro-abortion advocates, giving pause to those who are typically unwilling to examine the heinous conclusions of their logical positions on abortion.

Same sex marriage is just one of many fruits on a tree that was planted at the beginning of time and has flowered and been pruned back over the course of history. The roots of this tree – the logic behind it all – are crumbling in America now after having usurped too much of the sun and soil and wrecked too many lives to count.

Yes, the tide is turning, and for the better and brighter shore, marked out by the light of a vision that endures.

This article originally appeared on Ethika Politika and was reposted with permission.

 

Press Release: Marriage is Worth Defending

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evangelical, Institute on Religion and Democracy, Kristin Rudolph, marriage, same sex marriage

June 26, 2013
Contact: Jeff Walton 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell

“Regardless of court rulings, churches and others, now more than ever, must defend and strengthen traditional marriage.”
-Kristin Rudolph, IRD Evangelical Program Coordinator

Washington, DC—The Supreme Court has issued its rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s voter-approved Proposition 8 defining marriage as one man and one woman.

The Institute on Religion and Democracy has a paper by Alan Wisdom extolling the social value of traditional marriage and taking stock of the debate about its future in U.S. society. The marriage paper poses the question: “Our society’s view of marriage, centered on mutual emotional satisfaction, is already far from classic Christian teaching. Now pro-homosexuality advocates are seeking to radically redefine marriage, reducing it to a relationship between any ‘two people who love each other.’ Amidst all this conflict, is it worth the cost for Christians to continue to defend this embattled institution?”

The paper examines biblical passages related to marriage, as well as the history of the church’s approach to marriage. It presents social science evidence showing the weakened state of marriage today, but also the benefits that marriage brings for both adults and children. It addresses sensitive issues such as cohabitation and same-sex marriage. The paper can be viewed free of charge on the Institute’s website at www.TheIRD.org/marriage

Kristin Rudolph, IRD Evangelical Program Coordinator, commented:

“Traditional marriage serves an important role as a building block for a flourishing society. There is an urgent need for churches and others to defend traditional marriage.

“Faithful church teaching contrasts with forces of cultural accommodation that would redefine marriage out of existence. Standing up for traditional marriage is an important responsibility in a confused culture needing spiritual and moral direction.

“By many measures, marriage has weakened in our society. Fewer people marry. More people divorce. More co-habitate. Increasing numbers follow a pattern of ‘serial monogamy.’ Those who suffer most are the next generation of Americans. Children suffer when adults are encouraged to pursue their own satisfaction over the good of their offspring.

“U.S. Christians have three options. They can yield to the trends devaluing marriage. Or they can admit defeat in society but try to maintain traditional teachings inside the church. Or they can swim against the current and insist that both church and society must uphold marriage. We believe that only this last option is faithful to the Scriptures and conducive to the long-term good of society.

www.TheIRD.org

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This Is Your Brain on Marriage

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American Anglican Council, Anglican, Barton Gingerich, cognitive science, Framed, Gay Marriage, homosexuality, John Jay Institute, LGBT, marriage, narrative theory, Nathan Hitchen, same sex marriage

(Photo Credit: Park Workshop)

by Barton Gingerich (@bjgingerich)

If there’s one thing Anglicans know, it’s that the West is fighting over the definition of marriage. Whether it be pansexual takeovers in the United States and Canada or English bishops debating in the House of Lords, followers of the Anglican Way are struggling to uphold marriage on an international scale. Revisionists within and without the Church work tirelessly to remodel mankind’s oldest-known, universal institution.  Their cause has become frightfully popular, especially with the younger set. Marriage defenders-especially orthodox Christians-struggle to marshal an effective defense for marriage as an exclusive lifelong covenant between one man and one woman.

Rational defenses abound. The latest volley includes a case based on natural law and reason. Authored by Robert P. George, Ryan Anderson, and Sherif Gergis;What is Marriage?: Man and Woman: a Defense offers a rational basis for the traditional definition of nuptials for all of society, not just religious communities. However, as the Manhattan Declaration’s Eric Teetsel pointed out, “It’s not an intellectual boxing match, it’s a beauty contest.” In luxurious, entertainment-soaked societies, people-especially Millennials-aren’t concerned with what is logical as much as they are about what is appealing. This is not necessarily how things ought to be, but how they are.

How, then, can marriage defenders address this increasingly emotive, hostile environment? Enter “You’ve Been Framed: A New Primer for the Marriage Debate,” a product of the John Jay Institute, which happens to be run by Fr. Alan Crippen, an Anglican clergyman. In “Framed,” researcher Nathan Hitchen (himself an Anglican layman) urges marriage traditionalists take a different approach to persuading fellow citizens on such an important issue.

Hitchen plumbs the depths of narrative theory and cognitive science in order to forge the intellectual tools necessary for a more effective engagement with marriage detractors and their sympathizers. First, marriage defenders need to address emotions, since people try to find confirming evidence for their emotional bias. Next, Hitchen observes that personal and social narratives grant people an identity in an otherwise confusing world. The author espouses the use of stories to concretely illustrate the essentials that only traditional marriage provides: the uniqueness of mothering and fathering, how this complementarity supports a kind of teamwork, etc.

Hitchen also encourages a renewal of metaphors. Current examples and tropes for marriage defense remain stale, archaic, or desiccated. Marriage defenders need to become “poets” of a sort, providing refreshed rhetorical tools that capture and retain the imagination. Finally, “Framed” encourages the use of memes, meaningful patterns that the human brain uses to better anticipate what might happen next. By way of analogy, as genes are to the human body, so memes are to human society. They are simple, credible, concrete, emotional mental constructs that help determine how people think about something. For example, marriage revisionists use memes of equality and victimhood to argue their point. Marriage proponents, on the other hand, could restructure the debate by highlighting children (who will suffer most from marriage redefinition).

All in all, “Framed” promises to be a valuable resource for the months and years ahead, allowing concerned Anglicans to intelligently champion marriage to a new generation.

This article was first published for the American Anglican Council and was reposted with permission.