Source: Bill Clark / Getty
Same-sex marriage bans are no longer legal in America, the US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today. Not everyone agrees. Faith leaders have responded in kind.
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, relayed a strong message regarding the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage: We will not obey.
Dr Floyd said:
“The Supreme Court of the United States is not the final authority nor is the culture itself,” . “The Bible is God’s final authority about marriage and on this book we stand.”America—we stand believing that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime,” he said in a thundering speech. “We have believed this and do believe this and will continue to believe this as a convention of churches. We stand for biblical and traditional marriage.“
The Catholic Bishops Council issued a statement calling it a tragedy.
“The Supreme Court decision On marriage is a tragic error. Religious liberty is “the right to live in the truth of one’s faith and in conformity with one’s transcendent dignity as a person. Nobody may be forced to act against his convictions, nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience in religious matters in private or in public, alone or in association with others, within due limit. Religious liberty is so important that John Paul II called it the “source and synthesis” of rights considered basic to every human person.Changing the legal term “marriage” is not one change in the law, but rather amounts to thousands of changes at once. The term “marriage” can be found in family law, employment law, trusts and estates, healthcare law, tax law, property law, and many others. These laws affect and pervasively regulate religious institutions, such as churches, religiously-affiliated schools, hospitals, and families. When Church and State agree on what the legal term “marriage” means (the union of one man and one woman), there is harmony between the law and religious institutions. When Church and State disagree on what the term “marriage” means (e.g., if the State redefines marriage in order to recognize so-called same-sex “marriage”), conflict results on a massive scale between the law and religious institutions and families, as the State will apply various sanctions against the Church for its refusal to comply with the State’s definition. Religious liberty is then threatened.
Even the supreme court justices had strong opinions. In his dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts argues that today’s decision “creates serious questions about religious liberty.”
Justice Roberts says:
Faith Leaders And Legal Faith Squad Respond To Supreme Court Same Sex Marriage Ruling was originally published on elev8.hellobeautiful.com
