Writing today in WorldNetDaily, conservative pastor Rick Scarborough once again compared support for gay rights to past public approval of segregation, insisting that he nonetheless believes “that the majority of Americans know in their hearts that homosexuality and same-sex marriage are morally wrong.”
Gay marriage, Scarboroguh wrote, will lead to the end of “religious freedom and freedom of speech,” if not the end of America itself.
Scarborough added that he and “millions” of other opponents of gay rights are prepared to “respectfully refuse to acknowledge” a Supreme Court ruling on marriage rights that they disagree with: “In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, we will view any attempt to enforce such a ruling as unjust, and our duty to the Constitution, more importantly, our duty to our God, will force us to disrespect it.”
I’m not surprised that some recent polls have shown that a majority of Americans now say they approve of same-sex marriage. We have heard a steady drumbeat for the past decade of a one-sided national discussion on the subject. But there was also a time when the majority of Americans approved of separate restrooms and classrooms for our fellow black American citizens. The majority is not always right.
When considering the outcomes of polls on this issue, one must ask, “Who wants to be labeled a bigot for declaring what their heart truly believes about sodomy and ‘alternative lifestyles’?” I believe that the majority of Americans know in their hearts that homosexuality and same-sex marriage are morally wrong.
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Attempts to redefine marriage are a rejection of God and the Bible. The genius of America and religious freedom is – you don’t have to accept or believe any of what I have just written. You can choose to reject it all and make your own alternative truth.
But you cannot change what God has spoken and verified in nature. Many have tried, and history documents their folly.
In the past, stating such a position was known as practicing religious freedom and freedom of speech, both constitutionally protected rights – rights which of necessity will be sacrificed if the high court approves same-sex marriage.
To the members of the Supreme Court I say: There are tens of thousands of people of faith, in fact, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, whose faith and conscience will not allow them to respect any decision that fundamentally rejects their God, His Word and the natural order. If a majority of the court redefines marriage, thousands of Christians will respectfully refuse to acknowledge such a ruling has jurisdiction over their lives.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, we will view any attempt to enforce such a ruling as unjust, and our duty to the Constitution, more importantly, our duty to our God, will force us to disrespect it.
