Rethinking the Roles of Church and State in the Same-Sex Marriage Debate

The ABC Religion and Ethics site has posted some of my thoughts around Australia’s same-sex marriage debate [sic] here.

6 comments

  2. Superb, just superb: in its suggestions on the work culturally captive and indolent churches need to do on a theology of marriage; in its side-splitting salvos on the things the state does well, especially killing; in its accurate diagnosis of the pandemic of utilitarianism (the “purpose-driven life” indeed!); and — most wonderfully — in its take on the “pointlessness” — i.e., the uselessness — of God’s grace in creation, in marriage and children, and in the exemplary activities you mention (the only glaring omissions being education and cats). You made my day!

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  4. Thanks for the reading tip, which is soo roaringly yet tenderly right-on. It should be mandatory reading for all ordinands — indeed, for all potential ordinands. Cheers.

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  5. Well, reading that was a pointless exercise – ie, enjoyable, stimulating and worth doing for its own sake. Been looking at the Gospel for this week from Matthew and nearby is the story of the fig-tree Jesus cursed for being unfruitful (metaphor of the Temple or Israel’s religion). I like very much your removal of marriage from a need to be reproductive or anything utilitarian. But I do feel that the people of God have a kind of mission – bearing witness, bringing redemption to brokenness, building community. I’m afraid I do tell my small congregation of battlers that their mission is important and Jesus would like their religion to produce fruit. You weren’t denying that were you?

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  6. @Geoff: not at all, although I would probably phrase it quite differently. For one thing, I don’t believe that the people of God have a mission to do anything. They are, however, given a particular vocation. This includes the kinds of things you mention – to bear witness, etc. But this is not ‘their mission’.

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