A Response to Tyler Huckabee's "Why I Support Gay Marriage"

By Jonathan Lutz-Orozco

Looking online today, it is so easy to become consumed and overwhelmed with so much information on theology, God, religion, and our human experience. We have so much to share, think through, and debate, and nothing stokes the minds of so many like the topic of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Some have made their points and moved on, while others, such as myself, are working through its implications for our North American world today. One person who has argued his viewpoint is Tyler Huckabee, a blogger and editor for Relevant Magazine. Tyler wrote an article in July outlining why he supports gay marriage, and why it should not be considered a problem within Christian theology and the Christian worldview.

In his article, he points out a few arguments and points that are usually against gay marriage, and tries to either explain them away or reduce their importance to the discussion. In the following paragraphs, I wish to look at the points Tyler has brought up, and examine if the view he espouses regarding same-sex marriage is possible to hold from a biblical and theological point of view. Tyler brings up the five main themes or topics that have been used to support gay marriage.

The first point Tyler brings up is that women were made for relational capabilities over reproductive capabilities. He states:

I do not believe we must necessarily accept a literal reading of the creation narrative for this point to stand. Even as a myth, it is notable that the creation of woman was not primarily utilitarian, but relational. The core truth of Eve's identity was not that she was a woman, but that she was a human. Strictly speaking, God didn't create women to be anatomically useful, but simply to be. He didn't create love as a pleasant incubator to keep humanity coming, but because love is in His nature. The whole idea of childbearing doesn't even show up until God curses humanity's sin.^[1]

This issue is not so much the literal or poetic reading of Genesis; the issue is that Tyler sees that the utilitarian and relational reasons for women's creation are at odds. We cannot argue fact here, as only God Himself has His reasons for creating male and female, but from the text we can infer that God created woman for both relational and utilitarian reasons such as companionship for Adam and procreation of humanity. Tyler develops a false dichotomy in the text, and in Genesis 2 we also see that directly after the creation of woman, the ancient explanation of a heterosexual marital union is actually described (Genesis 2:23-24). Man was meant to cleave to a woman, and in the ancient Hebrew culture this was a very important union that was not to be reduced to something else.^[2] We see from the text that humanity was meant to flourish and be in right relationship with God, but this relationship was broken and the consequence was painful childbearing, not childbearing itself. It follows then that men and women, if they can propagate, can rejoice in their progeny, but if a woman and man cannot propagate they still have companionship. Each example has both uses and is not simply reduced to either/or.^[3]

The second point that is brought up is that Paul did not know about homosexual relationships in terms of a marital commitment. I must quote Tyler at length:

There are attempts to explain this away. Some Old Testament scholars will split the law into different categories about which ones were intended for just Israel and which continue to apply to anyone who follows Jesus. So, laws about slaves, rape and women were meant for that time, and laws about wearing linen and eating shellfish were meant for that culture. But laws about murder and theft continue to be relevant for our lives today. As do laws about gay marriage, the thinking generally goes. If you do that, then it becomes very easy to sort through the Scripture and systematically choose which of God's laws seems most reasonable for you to follow. Perhaps that is how God intended the law to be understood. Perhaps He never meant for it to be a whole cloth. It seems a bit odd to me (it seems contrary to a plain reading of James 2:10), but it could be true. Or perhaps when Jesus came, he truly did free us from the law. Perhaps he didn't free us from it in a complicated way, but a simple one. Perhaps the burden of our law is love. Perhaps the many, many scholars who believe Paul's writings about same-sex relationships referred to a cultural practice no longer applicable to our modern conversation around homosexuality are right.^[4]

A fair response to this would be that Paul spoke about fidelity between a male and female specifically. We have various passages that pin this over and over. Today Paul would absolutely have things to say about marriage, because as a Jew it is regarded as sacred and to be untouched by sin. To assume Paul would accept that he would allow same-sex marriage, or even approve of it, is to assume he would go against his own letters and own Jewish tradition and view of sexuality and marriage. In fact, various liberal pro-gay and gay scholars all agree that the Bible disagrees with homosexual marriage and homosexuality as a lifestyle.^[5] In fact, one prominent scholar, Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon, Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, posits that Paul's responses to homosexuality in his letter to the Romans confirm that the ancient culture had some idea of homosexual practice, and behaviour was as common in his day.^[6]

Another point or theme that is seen through the entirety of the blog post is the idea that loving someone means holding to their identity. He writes:

And a love that must hold people's identity at bay is an imperfect love—a love that refuses their own loves. If someone were to say they loved me but saw my own marriage as an affront to God, I would say that that person does not then really love me. I could not abide that sort of love in my life. I just could not.^[7]

Jesus spoke about what we identify with many times in the Bible. The rich, the poor, the prostitute, and the priest were all asked to live on an equal moral ground, which is to follow the Ten Commandments and to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. He also told His followers some of the hardest things anyone has ever had to hear: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me" (Matthew 16: 24).^[8] In this single verse, God has asked us to lay down our very lives, and, yes, even our own desires, to follow His mission to seek a lost world that is in need of true identity. Paul highlights this perfectly in Galatians 3:25: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Our identity is not in marriage, singleness, homosexual or heterosexual; our identity is in Christ if we believe He is God. If He is God, we then follow His ways and His truths, which are founded in the Bible, which is supported by outside sources.

Another key point that is important in Tyler's view is that condemning people to loneliness is wrong: the common thread that unites Tyler's post is that of loneliness.^[9] Tyler argues that loneliness is the biggest problem for many homosexual couples, and a God that cannot allow same-sex marriage to fill that void is not a God of love. But, as was stated earlier, God has demanded all of us to count the cost: for some that means scorn, for others death, and still others loneliness or no sexual expression. There is a choice of being single, and to many it is the only option, as many other homosexuals have indicated.^[10]

The last theme or point that Tyler ends his post on is the idea that this topic does not have eternal consequences.^[11] In this case we should be careful. I agree we should not pass judgment on others who do not fit our code of conduct if they do not believe in Christ, for Christ Himself will judge. But if they agree to Christian ethics and have a lifesaving revelation of His power and love, they must be held accountable. God has called us to live a holy life and we must understand what that means, and if Christ uttered the chilling words in Matthew 7:23 where He states, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers," should we not all ask ourselves if we are in danger of deception? If we are possibly missing the freedom He came to give us by His Spirit? We must not be so light on sin as the Western church is so prone to be; we must all be held accountable if we claim fellowship with the one who gave so much to be in union with us.

In closing, Tyler Huckabee brings up common points that many believe or hold to that seem to support a pro-gay marriage stance, but we must all take into consideration the wider ramifications of accepting anything that the culture tells us to accept. The biblical worldview informed by Christian theology has always been at odds with the way a secular or pluralistic world works, and it is only God who has defined man and woman, marriage and sexual intimacy. To re-read what the Bible plainly states, and what many scholars have defended as the biblical viewpoint, is a dangerous road to walk down that will inevitably lead to isolation and loneliness from the God who created us.

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[1] Tyler Huckabee, "Why I Support Same-Sex Marriage," The Unbearable Lightness of Huckabeing (blog), July 7, 2015, accessed August 15, 2015, http://tylerhuckabee.com/2015/07/07/i_support_gay_marriage/.

[2] Smith, William, "Marriage," Smith's Bible Dictionary, Bible History Online, accessed August 20, 2015, http://www.bible-history.com/smiths/M/Marriage/.

[3] Kevin Allen, "Sexuality, Virginity, and Marriage," podcast, Ancient Faith Today, January 12, 2014, accessed August 20, 2015, http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/aftoday/sexuality_virginity_and_marriage.

[4] Huckabee, "Why I support Same Sex-Marriage."

[5] Jeff Allen, "Liberal Scholars Agree: The Bible Forbids Homosexuality," BarbWire (blog), April 29, 2014, accessed August 14, 2015, http://barbwire.com/2014/04/29/liberal-scholars-homosexuality/.

[6] Robert. A. J. Gagnon, "Why 'Gay Marriage' is Wrong," Robert A. J. Gagnon Home, July 2004, accessed August 13, 2015, http://www.robgagnon.net/homopresbytodayarticle.htm.

[7] Huckabee, "Why I support Same Sex-Marriage."

[8] Scripture citations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).

[9] Huckabee, "Why I support Same Sex-Marriage."

[10] Michelle Boorstein, "Gay Christians Choosing Celibacy Emerge from the Shadows," Washington Post, December 13, 2014, accessed August 14, 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/gay-christians-choosing-celibacy-emerge-from-the-shadows/2014/12/13/51c73aea-6ab2-11e4-9fb4-a622dae742a2_story.html.

[11] Huckabee, "Why I support Same Sex-Marriage."