Prop 8 Ruling Could Criminalize Christianity, Leaders Warn

'For this judge to say that Christian beliefs or religious beliefs contrary to homosexuality are actually harmful -- what that essentially says is, that if that's the case, then you've got to change your religious beliefs, and if you don't, you're going to be penalized as result. That is a very dangerous aspect of this court decision'.

WASHINGTON, DC (CNS News.com) - Religious leaders warn that if an Aug. 6 ruling by a federal judge on same-sex marriage is upheld, it could wind up putting a gag on Christians speaking out about homosexuality - a gag that a top Southern Baptist leader says his denomination will not accept. In a 136-page decision barring California's Proposition 8, which limited marriage to one man and one woman, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker found that "Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians." Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University Law School and chairman of the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel, said Walker's finding is shocking, and, if upheld, would have ominous implications for Christians wanting to present the Bible's position on homosexuality. "It's an astounding statement by a judge, and if that finding were to be upheld, it would criminalize Christian beliefs, because the Bible and Christian beliefs historically have clearly indicated that homosexuality is sex outside of marriage - and is contrary to God's design," Staver told CNSNews.com. He added: "For this judge to say that Christian beliefs or religious beliefs contrary to homosexuality are actually harmful -- what that essentially says is, that if that's the case, then you've got to change your religious beliefs, and if you don't, you're going to be penalized as result. That is a very dangerous aspect of this court decision." The judge based his finding on testimony of witnesses produced by the plaintiffs and on quotations from documents from the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. One Catholic document that the judge said "hurts" homosexuals, published by the Congregation for the Doctine of the Faith, titled "Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons," states: "Sacred Scripture condemns homosexual acts as 'a serious depravity.'" Another document he cited -- a resolution the Southern Baptist Convention passed in June of 2003 -- says: "Legalizing 'same-sex marriage' would convey a societal approval of a homosexual lifestyle, which the Bible calls sinful and dangerous both to the individuals involved and to society at large." Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, said the judge's finding was disturbing, but predictable -- his denomination had filed a "friend of the Court" to challenge the finding even before the decision was issued. "We filed an amicus brief case in this case because we had already heard that this was out there, and that the people who were making the appeal to overturn Proposition 8 were going to say that the religious beliefs of Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics and other groups 'create an animus' and were 'the products of centuries of hate,'"  Land said. The biblical position on homosexuality isn't "hate speech," he said. "The confession of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention, which states what the Bible says about the family and about marriage - those are not the products of centuries of hate or animus toward homosexuals. They are adherence to the revealed teachings of the Creator of the universe -- God Almighty. These are religious affirmations of revealed truth," Land said. "It is quite clear that God condemns same-sex relations as particularly abhorrent. And if that is indeed the case, and we believe it is, it is an act of love towards those who are engaged in such relationships to tell them that they are violating the most sacred laws of God," he said. "It would be indifference - or worse - to not tell them." Christian counselor Joe Dallas, who operates a center that uses Scripture to counsel people on homosexuality, is concerned about the implications of the judge's finding. "For a judge to say that it is literally damaging to homosexual people when churches simply express and maintain a clearly defined biblical approach to homosexuality, is to introduce the concept that the 'damage' that's being done to homosexuals needs to be stopped. That damage will have to be stopped by silencing the Church," Dallas said. "There's really no other way to read that particular finding." A former gay activist, Dallas said he came out of the homosexual lifestyle in 1984 precisely because of the Bible's injunction against homosexuality. "By 1984, I had been an active member of the gay community for about six years. I also was a Christian and I realized I was going to have to make a choice between obedience to the teachings of the Scripture - or expression of my sexual feelings," he told CNSNews.com. "A clear look at the Scripture and a re-evaluation of my faith reminded me that my relationship with God was far more important than sexual satisfaction. And so, I pursued a life of repentance from homosexuality and abstinence from any sort of sexual behavior outside of marriage," he said. The author of 11 books on Christianity and sexuality, Dallas said he would not want to see a law passed requiring all people to make the same decision he did. "But believe me there are many other men and women who have made a similar decision and I have had the honor of working with them over the years," Dallas said. "Clear biblical teaching on human sexuality did not damage us," he said. "And let me say this plainly: clear biblical teaching on human sexuality does not damage anyone. Can that teaching be misapplied? Can people use it as an excuse to harm people? Well, of course - but the same could be said about clear biblical teaching on parenting children. "Most people, whether Christian or non-Christian, would agree that parents should have authority over their children and that there should be consequences for misbehavior when children misbehave. Now some people have misused that authority as an excuse to physically abuse their children, but we wouldn't be silly enough to say that because a small minority has misused that teaching and caused harm, that therefore the majority should abandon that teaching - and the same is true here." The ERLC's Land, meanwhile, said Southern Baptists will not change their position on homosexuality, and will not bow to political correctness -- even if U.S. courts ever rule that they must.
 
"Let me spell it out for you, If they say that telling what the Bible says about homosexuality is hate speech, and cannot be allowed -- we will be arrested in our pulpits. We will obey God rather than man," he told CNSNews.com.

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