Mohler: Christians should boycott gay weddings

The president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary says in a new book that Christians should not attend a same-sex wedding ceremony – even of their own child – because it “signals moral approval” of the union.

Writing in “We Cannot Be Silent,” R. Albert Mohler Jr. says that while it may be “excruciatingly difficult” to boycott gay weddings of friends and loved ones, “at some point attendance will involve congratulating the couple for their union. If you can’t congratulate the couple, how can you attend?”

Addressing other topics, Mohler says that even if scientists prove people are “born gay,” it would not eliminate the “sinfulness of homosexuality” because “even the natural world" is “tainted by human sin.” He also says that transgender people who are “saved” should consult with their pastors about whether to undergo surgery to return to their original gender.

Gay-rights activists and some clergy denounced the book, to be published Oct. 27 by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, saying it will further divide gays and their families.

“Dr. Mohler's self-righteous intractability on this issue — even banning followers from simply attending the weddings of their LGBT loved ones — can cause nothing but strife, heartache and hardship,” said Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign.

The Rev. Joseph Phelps, pastor of independent Highland Baptist Church, praised Mohler’s intellect but called his words “harsh and offensive,” and said they will cause “damage and division” in “families and society.”

Whether to attend or avoid same-sex marriages has been a hot topic in conservative Christian circles.

While many evangelical leaders have sided with Mohler, others have urged Christians to go.

Stephen Arterburn, a best-selling Christian author who is president of New Life Ministries and host of the radio and television show “New Life Live,” said in a recent post that based on Jesus’ example of dining with prostitutes and drunkards, “I have to extrapolate that Jesus would be all for attending a same-sex marriage ceremony.”

The Chicago-based Marin Foundation, a nonprofit that tries to build bridges between gays and conservatives, says that attending a same-sex wedding doesn’t imply approval but instead personal support and love for the marrying couple.

Some Catholic bishops have urged parishioners not to attend gay weddings, although the Archbishop of Louisville, the Rev. Joseph Kurtz, who was in Rome this week and couldn’t be reached for comment, has not addressed the question.

Mohler says in the 213-page book, his eighth, that while Jesus regularly ate with sinners, “his constant call was to repentance” and in no case did he “endorse sin.”

In an interview, Mohler said he has never attended a same-sex wedding, nor would he, even if one of his children or grandchildren were marrying. He said he addressed the question in the book because students and grandparents alike have asked him about it, even before the June 26 Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage in every state.

“I don’t want to underestimate the difficulty of these questions, but I don’t think a faithful Christian can recognize or celebrate … what we don’t think is a marriage,” he said.

Mohler, a prolific blogger, speaker and podcaster, is no stranger to controversy. In the past he has said delaying marriage and limiting family size are both sins, that the Roman Catholic Church teaches a “false gospel” and that the Pope holds an “unbiblical office,” and that Christians who practice yoga “either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace” of it.

He said in the interview that he wrote the book, which is subtitled, “Speaking truth to a culture redefining sex, marriage & the very meaning of right and wrong,” for “intelligent evangelical readers,” pastors and church leaders and the general public.

Most of it was written before the Supreme Court ruling, though in an afterword Mohler, who has led Southern Baptist seminary for 22 years, says it vilifies those with a traditional view of marriage and places every religious institution in jeopardy.

In one chapter, Mohler asks and answers what he calls “the hard questions” about gay sexuality, such as whether it is OK for Christian parents to let their kids play at the home of children with gay parents. He says it is, as long as the parents instruct their child first on “scriptural authority and sexuality.”

“We should make every effort to develop real and authentic friendships with our LGBT neighbors,” he writes.

Here are some of the other questions Mohler asks in his book:

Are people born gay? Doesn’t this mean God made them gay?

Even if science eventually proves that homosexuality is caused by biology, the “discovery of a ‘gay gene’ would not force the church to abandon its position on the sinfulness of homosexuality, nor would it nullifying the clerk teaching of Scripture or validate same-sex attraction, Mohler says, because even the natural world is “tainted by human sin.”

Should Christians use the word "gay"?

“Christians should use language that is the most clear and least intentionally offensive. At the same time, we lost something when we use the word gay … Unlike other words, homosexuality has the advantage of speaking with sharp particularity to the issue at stake.”

Can a person with same-sex attraction change?

“Christians must proclaim that rebellious sinners, whether heterosexual or homosexual, can be redeemed by Christ and conformed to his image … Ultimately, someone with a homosexual orientation can change. Behavior will be the first area to change. When we come to Christ, our first responsibility is to align our behavior, including our sexual acts, with the revelation of God in Scripture.”

Should a pastor promote reparative therapy?

“The best evidence seems to show that reparative therapy works for some but not all … Forcing someone into reparative therapy is likely to do more harm than good.”

Timothy Love on Allbert Mohler

Timothy Love, one of the petitioners who won the Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states, said the Rev. R. Albert Mohler’s advice to Christians to boycott same-sex weddings is ironic.

He said he had Larry Ysunza, who celebrated their vows Oct. 10, had a Christian wedding and have both been Christians all their lives.

“We are closer to God now more than ever because he has shown us a miracle in modern times, right before our very eyes, and allowed us to have a role in it,” he said. “We look back at the long timeline of our relationship (35 years) and truly know that there has been a hand over us protecting us through this difficult journey. There are none so blind as those who will not see.”