In the end, marriage confusion will be the order of the day, all because our society didn’t clarify or value natural marriage in the first place.  If the litigious ramifications were to lead state and federal governments to “wash their hands” of the whole issue, then separation of marriage and state will be the ultimate result and another human right will be sacrificed on the altar of “fairness.”

A casual observer of today’s Western culture would be hard-pressed to miss the prevailing trends toward marriage devaluation.  As increasing numbers of heterosexual couples are opting to do ‘married people things’ absent the marriage commitment (e.g., cohabitate, have and raise children, etc.), marriage itself is viewed with considerably less favor than a generation ago.

In the midst of all this comes the push for “marriage equality” in same-sex unions.  Why is this community swimming against the prevailing marriage devaluation stream?  They seem to appreciate what we no longer value – a legal, long term commitment to one person.  Do they know something that our society has forgotten?  Are they wiser than those who see marriage and the nuclear family as “obsolete institutions?”  If so, this is a just indictment against our civilization.  While I cannot biblically justify same-sex unions, “marriage equality” advocates are to be commended for valuing a form of this gift toward which our society has become cavalier.

At the same time, same-sex advocates seem unaware of their contribution to the devaluation of marriage in general as they promote their own.  Our media is complicit as it both persuades and reflects our culture by presenting an increasingly distasteful view of “natural marriage.” Caricatures of “natural marriage” abound, yet when “same-sex marriage” is discussed many politicians, media pundits, network executives and creative types gush in glowing terms.  This is sociological schizophrenia.  Fortunately, some gay thinkers [http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/03/9432/] see the shortsightedness of this line of thinking.

Those who approve of “marriage equality” continue to ignore the camel’s nose already in the tent.  After all, like advocates of natural marriage, they too advocate for marriage to one partner.  If the God-given institution of marriage is redefined by mere men to begin with, then polygamists, polyandrists, polyamorists [http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/unitarian-universalists-would-prefer-their-polyamory-activists-keep-quiet/2013/03/22/f3d14eaa-9333-11e2-8ea1-956c94b6b5b9_story.html], etc.[ http://www.uupa.org], will have every right to demand their own form of “marriage equality.”  Would this cheapen the same-sex community’s sense of the “sanctity” of their own marriages?  Moreover, will these new forms of “marriage” be matters for the states to decide, and will states that don’t approve of these “marriages” be obligated to recognize them?  Will the federal government see this as an opportunity to irreversibly seize more power in the name of “regulating” such a morass?

In the end, marriage confusion [http://drcarlellisjr.blogspot.com/2012/05/checkmate-same-sex-marriage-advocates.html] will be the order of the day, all because our society didn’t clarify or value natural marriage in the first place.  If the litigious ramifications were to lead state and federal governments to “wash their hands” of the whole issue, then separation of marriage and state will be the ultimate result and another human right will be sacrificed on the altar of “fairness.”

I am no conspiracy theorist, but if there were a conspiracy afoot that required the elimination of marriage and the nuclear family, then our society could now be the proverbial frog in an increasingly hot pot of water.

We face the dawn of a ‘cowardly new world.’  If we don’t think through the underlying issues critically, all of us who appreciate “marriage” on any level will eventually be reduced to mere mindless wards of the state.

Carl Ellis Jr., a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, is the President of Project Joseph, a ministry devoted to equipping Christians to minister to Muslims. He is also the Dean of Intercultural Studies at Westminster Theological Seminary. Dr. Ellis is a pioneer thinker in the area of urban ministry and the development of African-American Men. He has taught extensively on the need for the church to engage Islam. Dr. Ellis holds a B.A. from Hampton University, a M.A. from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a D.Phil. from Oxford Graduate School. Carl is a sought-after speaker on the subjects of Islam and Racial Reconciliation. He has pastored in Tennesee, taught seminars for prison ministries and theological studies and authored several books.

This article first appeared on the Reformed African American Network web site and is used with permission. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]