The assault on traditional marriage that began in the late 1990s seemingly ended with the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision legalizing same-sex marriages in all 50 states. Christians continue to mourn the "loss" of this sacred and covenantal institution to secularists, but in doing so have forgotten their unique place as citizens not of this world but of the Kingdom of God. Christian attempts to "correct" the standing constitutional order and reclaim marriage exclusively for heterosexuals will fail. The way forward is to advocate the replacement of civil marriage laws with civil unions for heterosexuals and homosexuals alike. Both Christians and secularists will find this alternative satisfying, for it allows everyone to receive from the state equal protection of their rights, and it allows the Church and other intermediary communal institutions to define and defend marriage as they have always understood it.
Acknowledgments
A Marriage Proposal
Defining Marriage
The State Now Joins in Marriage
What the Church Joins Together
A Conflict of Goals
The Church, Civil Rights, and Civil Rites
The Christian Family: What's Really at Stake?
The Road Ahead
Notes
Taking Biblical Marriage Seriously
Reason and Marital Choice
What's Love Got to Do With It?
The Covenant and Marriage
The Choice of Death or Life in Non-Sexual Relationships
The Choice of Death or Life in Sexual Relationships
Notes
Christian Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage
The Family in Pluralistic America
No-Fault Divorce and the Decline of Civil Marriage
Christians and the Law of Civil Marriage
Marriage is for Heterosexuals
From Bowers v. Hardwick to Lawrence v. Texas
The Inevitably Slippery Slope
Argument from the Procreation and Child-Rearing Perspective
Notes
Liberalism, Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage
Constitutional and Legal Semantics
The Equal Opportunity of Love'the Need for Intimacy and Commitment
The Modern Biblical Approach
Legal Benefits of Marriage
Notes
The Right to Rites for Left and Right
Christianity, Enlightenment Liberalism, and Marriage
Has the Church Sold Out?
After Disestablishment, Then What?
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments A Marriage Proposal Defining Marriage The State Now Joins in Marriage What the Church Joins Together A Conflict of Goals The Church, Civil Rights, and Civil Rites The Christian Family: What's Really at Stake? The Road Ahead Notes Taking Biblical Marriage Seriously Reason and Marital Choice What's Love Got to Do With It? The Covenant and Marriage The Choice of Death or Life in Non-Sexual Relationships The Choice of Death or Life in Sexual Relationships Notes Christian Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage The Family in Pluralistic America No-Fault Divorce and the Decline of Civil Marriage Christians and the Law of Civil Marriage Marriage is for Heterosexuals From Bowers v. Hardwick to Lawrence v. Texas The Inevitably Slippery Slope Argument from the Procreation and Child-Rearing Perspective Notes Liberalism, Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage Constitutional and Legal Semantics The Equal Opportunity of Love-the Need for Intimacy and Commitment The Modern Biblical Approach Legal Benefits of Marriage Notes The Right to Rites for Left and Right Christianity, Enlightenment Liberalism, and Marriage Has the Church Sold Out? After Disestablishment, Then What? Conclusion Notes Bibliography
