A social issues wish list

Now that the Supreme Court of Canada has handed down a decision on gay marriage, I have a wish list for how the church in Canada deals with this and other issues. 1. Do the homework – I am fairly conservative on the issue. Nevertheless, I am frustrated by some who are conservative on the issue who refuse to do their homework. What does the Bible say about this issue? Unless you can look at the cold, hard evidence, you have nothing to say. Actually, I don’t think you have anything to fear if you look at Scripture, but you have nothing to say until you do. 2. Show compassion – This all changes when you get to know gays and lesbians. I believe that there is nothing wrong with experiencing homosexual temptations (experiencing temptation is not sinful). Imagine facing same-sex attraction and experiencing nothing but condemnation. Many say that these temptations never stop, no matter how much a person would like them to. The more conservative you are on this issue, the more compassion you ought to feel. 3. Develop a theology of social action. I find that many are still stuck in Constantine’s model of Christendom (“The empire must become Christian!”). We do not live in a Christian society. We are supposed to be counter-cultural. We should not be surprised when those who don’t follow Christ have different convictions than we do. We need to develop an understanding of what salt and light means. I don’t think it means legislating our convictions. 4. Live differently – The church could have more credibility in this area if we lived differently. The reality is that we are no better at the marriage than society at large. The best defense of marriage is not legislation; it’s having strong marriages ourselves. I see a note of hope in this decision. Many of us have thought of Canada as if it used to be a Christian nation. As this becomes less of a reality, we have a much better understanding of how Christendom never worked, and we have a better understanding of what it means to be salt and light in a world that doesn’t follow Jesus.