Which is Worse: Gay Marriage or Straight Divorce?
Jesus gives us the answer
I occasionally receive mail from readers that says something like this:
“Gay marriage is a sin. The Bible is very clear on this point.”
Is Gay Marriage a Sin?
Those who believe gay marriage is a sin will cite to me the following two verses from the Bible:
· “Male and female He [God] created them” (Genesis 1:27)
· “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24)
The traditionalists will assert that the above two verses “very clearly” show that God made a man and a woman to be united together [to which they derisively state, “God made Adam and Eve — not Adam and Steve”].
Traditionalists also maintain that the Bible “very clearly” [there is that phrase again] states that the institution of marriage is only to be between a husband and his one wife — no gay marriage, no polygamy.
That seems clear enough. Who would argue differently?
Well, Jesus.
Jesus’s Teaching
Jesus uses the exact same two verses — Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 — to make His point that divorce is the issue — not heterosexual marriage.
Allow me to set the context for you. Some Pharisees were once again trying to trip up Jesus. Their apparent goal was to make Jesus be at odds with the Torah (i.e., the primary laws for all Jesus). The clever Pharisees ask Jesus:
“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
Jesus then uses Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 to make His point in Matthew 19:3–9 that divorce is wrong.
“Haven’t you read, He [Jesus] replied, that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ [Genesis 1:27] and said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh’ [Genesis 2:24]. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Here is the bottom line: for Jesus, the two famous Genesis verses do not describe the “correct” configuration for marriage. Rather, they are a preamble that speaks of the ultimate importance of staying married.
Jesus does not say that two men cannot be married.
Rather, Jesus very clearly asserts that whoever gets married should not divorce.
But, you may say, “gay marriages are doomed to fail.”
Wrong.
There is currently very little research on gay marriages because the number of gays who are married (versus single) is about one in ten. However, at least one credible source of research indicated that straights are twice as likely than gays to get divorced.
Nowhere in the Bible is gay marriage condemned. Jesus’s only comment about gay marriage is that some men were born incapable of impregnating a woman (i.e., gay men) — and thus, they should not marry a woman (Matthew 19:10–12).
Jesus did not condemn gay marriage.
Jesus did, however, condemn divorce.
Conclusion
So, based on everything stated in this article, which is worse: gay marriage or straight divorce?
Jesus’s answer is “very clear.”
Dr. Mike Rosebush (Ph.D., Counseling Psychology; he, him, his;) is the creator and editor of GAYoda, plus a writer for Backyard Church. A short synopsis of Dr. Rosebush’s life can be found at I Lived the Most Unusual Gay Christian Life Ever. He may be contacted at mikerosebush75@gmail.com.
