http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/BPnews.asp?ID=27532
[Baptist Press] 29 Jul 2008--Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama defended his belief in same-sex civil unions March 2 by referencing Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and then implicitly criticizing those who view Romans as a binding teaching on homosexuality.
Obama made the comments during a question-and-answer session with voters in Nelsonville, Ohio. A local pastor asked Obama how he plans to win the votes of evangelical voters when they disagree with him on moral issues.
"I believe in civil unions that allow a same-sex couple to visit each other in a hospital or transfer property to each other," he said, referring to unions that grant all the legal benefits of marriage, minus the name. "I don't think it should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state. If people find that controversial, then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans. That's my view. But we can have a respectful disagreement on that."
The Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 5-7, the passage in Romans is found in chapter 1, verses 26-32.
But Obama's quote may open him up to further criticism from evangelicals, because it's a common evangelical belief that all of Scripture is inspired by God and equally authoritative -- that is, the words of Jesus in Matthew are just as inspired as the words of Paul in Romans. Although it is often argued by homosexual activists that Jesus said nothing about same-sex relationships, He in fact defined marriage as between one man and one woman in such passages as Mark 10:6-9.
Originally posted on Baptist Press on 3 Mar 2008.
1 comment:
Jesus could express truth in positive ways. When He said that He is the only way to the Father, one can correctly infer that all other ways are false. Likewise He didn't have to mention any examples of false marriage because He positively stated that marriage is between a man and a woman. Whereas false teachers can invent other ways to the Father, false marriages can also be invented by them. Irv (For a different twist on the topic, Google "God to Same-Sexers: Hurry Up.")
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