The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage: 6 Things You Need to Know About What's Really at Stake
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About this ebook
HEADLINE: Is it really that big of a deal?
A May 2009 Gallup poll revealed that fifty-seven percent of Americans oppose same-sex marriage, while only forty percent are in favor of it (down from forty-six percent in 2007). This short, easy-to-read book helps shed light on what so many people believe, and why they ought not be at a loss about what to do now.
The headlines only tell part of the story. In this revised and updated version of his bestselling book, Dr. Erwin Lutzer clearly and accurately depicts the truth about what is at stake here. By asking the right questions and by pinpointing the very real ramifications of same-sex marriage this handbook will help guide reality back to Truth.
Dr. Lutzer expertly answers the questions that so many individuals, parents, friends, and families are asking:
-How did we get to this point?
-Why is marriage, as God intended it, better—and healthier?
-How can I talk to my kids about this?
-How do I responsibly read, watch, and filter the news?
-Is there still hope?
Let no one say that we have to choose between loving homosexuals and opposing same-sex marriages. Biblically, love is defined not as license to legitimatize sinful behavior of any kind, but love helps us see that there is a better way. Obviously, we must be as concerned about our own sins as we are about the sins of the homosexual community. We must be concerned enough to speak out about any action, heterosexual or homosexual, that violates God’s intended plan for marriage and the family.
This simple, straightforward look at the issue of same-sex marriage will equip you to know what is really happening and, most importantly, why it matters for you.
Erwin W Lutzer
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church, where he served as the senior pastor for 36 years. He is an award-winning author and the featured speaker on three radio programs that are heard on more than 750 national and international outlets. He and his wife, Rebecca, have three grown children and eight grandchildren and live in the Chicago area.
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Reviews for The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage
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Book preview
The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage - Erwin W Lutzer
With pastoral compassion and biblical clarity, my friend Erwin Lutzer has issued a compelling challenge to God’s people, calling us to respond in love and truth to one of the most pressing issues of our time.
—JOSEPH M. STOWELL
President, Cornerstone University
With the mind of a scholar and the heart of a pastor, Erwin Lutzer has in succinct fashion called evangelicals to stringent but loving action before it is too late for our country. This is the book that should be in the hands of every church member.
—PAIGE PATTERSON
President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
A strategic book at a pivotal time for the family!
—DENNIS RAINEY
President, FamilyLife
The attack on marriage we are witnessing on every front in our society strikes at the heart of the character, the authority, and the redemptive plan of God. With courage, conviction, and compassion, Dr. Erwin Lutzer explains why this is such a critical battle and calls the church to fulfill its responsibility in this defining moment in history.
—NANCY LEIGH DEMOSS
Author and host of Revive Our Hearts radio
Dr. Lutzer strikes the right balance between grace and truth in this insightful and practical book.
—WILLIAM J. HAMEL
President, Evangelical Free Church of America
The normalization of homosexuality through marriage or similar unions is a greater threat to our futures than most are willing to admit or even discuss. Someone must speak out and Dr. Lutzer has done so. Brilliantly.
—SANDY RIOS
Radio Talk Show Host
Past president, Concerned Women for America
This book delivers what it promises: It orients biblical Christians to what they must know about the growing acceptance of and push for the legal establishment of same-sex marriage. Lutzer frames the issues correctly and then rightly calls on the church to rise and be heard on this foundational issue.
—STANTON L. JONES, Ph.D.
Provost, Wheaton College
Co-author of Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research
in the Church’s Moral Debate
Dr. Lutzer’s first-rate book makes a compelling addition in the debate. As he notes, this is not about hate—it’s about debate. The Judeo-Christian argument for traditional marriage rings true because it aligns us with our manufacturer’s
design.
—JOSEPH NICOLOSI, Ph.D.
Author of Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality
and A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality
This is a must read for every individual who is concerned about providing a secure future for our children and grandchildren. Lutzer is direct but compassionate, intensely biblical but culturally perceptive. He is also theologically balanced and avoids emotional, reactionary solutions to a problem that—if not corrected—will cause our nation to implode.
—GENE A. GETZ
Pastor Emeritus, Fellowship Bible Church North
Erwin Lutzer has issued a wake-up call to the church about one of the most pressing moral issues of our day. Marked by pastoral wisdom and biblical faith, this book points us past politics to the spiritual center of our lives. Let the church read and let the church act.
—TIMOTHY GEORGE
Dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
Executive Editor, Christianity Today
I wholeheartedly recommend this book. This insightful and compelling resource will prepare and equip you so that you can properly address this very controversial subject.
—SHEILA BAILEY
International speaker and wife of the late E. K. Bailey
The issue of same-sex marriage is one of the most critical of our times. Dr. Erwin Lutzer has responded in a biblical way to this vital subject. For Christians looking for answers from God’s Word, this book, written by one of our most effective pastors, teachers, and communicators, is required reading.
—JACK GRAHAM
Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church
Erwin Lutzer is among the heroes taking a stand for biblical morality by using his influential voice to educate our culture on the dangers of same-sex marriage while promoting God’s very best invention for human relationship: marriage between one man and one woman for one lifetime.
—ALAN CHAMBERS
President, Exodus International
I commend Dr. Lutzer for addressing a difficult topic with truthful love. The battle for same-sex marriage
does affect you, as well as our society’s very future. We must not turn a blind eye to this issue; it is the single greatest threat to religious freedom today.
—ALAN E. SEARS
President, CEO & General Counsel
Alliance Defense Fund
Erwin Lutzer writes with the passion of a prophet and the heart of a pastor as he calls upon every Christian to help recover the biblical portrait of marriage and sexuality. Lutzer writes with compassion and not condemnation as he reveals the dangers of same-sex marriages for the family and the culture as a whole.
—MARK L. BAILEY
President, Dallas Theological Seminary
The body of Christ cannot ignore the issue of same-sex marriage. It is time for the Church to stand up! Who better to give us precise biblical insight on this subject than Erwin Lutzer!
—JAMES MEEKS
Illinois State Senator and
Pastor, Salem Baptist Church, Chicago
6 THINGS YOU MUST
KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S
REALLY AT STAKE
MOODY PUBLISHERS
CHICAGO
© 2004, 2010 by
ERWIN W. LUTZER
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.
Editors of 2004 edition: Mark Tobey and Elizabeth Cody Newenhuyse
Editor of 2010 edition: Dana Wilkerson
Interior Design: Smartt Guys design
Cover Design: Brand Navigation LLC
Cover Images: istock 6333392, istock 6655757
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lutzer, Erwin W.
The truth about same-sex marriage : 6 things you must know about what’s really at stake / Erwin W. Lutzer.
p. cm.
Originally published: Chicago : Moody Publishers, ©2004.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8024-9177-0
1. Homosexuality—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Marriage—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Same-sex marriage—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.
BR115.H6L88 2010
241′.63—dc22
2009033819
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
From My Heart to Yours
While We Were Sleeping…
1. The Church Must Speak
2. We Must Consult the Designer’s Manual
3. We Must Remember the Children
4. We Must Resist the Pressure
5. We Must Act Now
6. We Must Seek God
Notes
Resources
About the Author
Acknowledgments
FROM MY HEART
TO YOURS
YOU HOLD in your hands a book that is a reflection of both my love for the homosexual community as well as my deep concern for our nation if same-sex marriages are legalized. When I saw the jubilation of the same-sex couples who were married,
I knew that we as a church had to respond. But, quite frankly, I did not know what to say and do. Two thoughts came immediately to mind: First, I knew that we as a church must have some response both to our political leaders and to the gay community. But on the other hand, I thought it might be too late and reasoned, Whatever will be, will be.
I quickly learned that many believers simply did not know where they stood on this issue. Some thought that we might as well let homosexuals marry, because what they wanted to do was up to them and it would not bother us; they could live in their world and we could just live in ours. Others thought that since the divorce rate among heterosexuals was so high, we simply did not have the right to sit in judgment upon the gay community.
As I began to study the implications of what same-sex marriages would mean for the wider society, I realized that we were on the verge of the destruction of marriage as we know it. This redefinition of marriage would impact the kind of future we leave for our children and grandchildren. Enormous implications are at stake for us as a nation.
There are also great implications for the church. For, as we shall see in a future chapter of this book, same-sex marriages will jeopardize freedom of religion. A lesbian attorney in Canada correctly said that the real battle is between gay rights and religious freedom; freedom of religion, she said, will have to give way to the homosexual agenda. What is true for Canada applies to the United States.
Most of all, I thought of the young people in our churches who are growing up sexually confused as they are daily exposed to the pro-homosexual pressure of our culture. I wondered what messages same-sex marriages would communicate to them—what would same-sex marriage tell them about marriage, parenting, and role models? At that point I knew we had to speak to this issue.
Finally, I had to ask: What does God think? Of course we know that the Bible condemns homosexuality, but I was wondering what God was saying to us as a church through the possibility of this frightening reordering of society. In other words, I was asking God not just for wisdom on how to respond to the culture, but what all of this should mean for His people. How have we as