Should a Christian attend a gay wedding ?

[Chuckrob]

What happened to John 15:2 and John 15:6? Those were Jesus’ words, not mine. I kindly addressed your scriptures now would you please address mine? Let’s not forget “man does not live by bread alone but from EVERY word that comes from God”. So let’s not skip any of them please.

John 15:2 implies that a Christian that does not bare good fruit is taken out of this world, because they are of no use. God calls them home early because of their uselessness. John 15:6 concerns any man who does not abide in Him (Jesus); this pertains to nonbelievers.

 

[Strong in Him]

The key sentence there is, "He knew that he'd done wrong and received discipline and counselling." That's far different than, say a person who calls himself a Christian, and still wears a gay "pride" shirt, gets "married" to another guy, and tries to convince people at church that "love is love". There's a difference between repentant and unrepentant.

Yes.
But the OP was about attending a gay wedding. My comment was that if it was someone I knew and loved then I probably would go - out of love for them and to keep communication open between us . Otherwise, no.
I'm not talking about turning up to the weddings of random strangers, going to the reception, making a speech etc etc. Nor about my beliefs about the situation.
I'm talking about if I had a family member/close friend who was gay and getting married. And it is an academic discussion because I don't, and therefore I may never know if I would change my mind.

I'm also talking about the principle of not denying/shunning someone because we believe they have sinned and they are therefore imperfect.
Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. There is no evidence he accepted hospitality just so that he could convert them.
He came down into our sinful world and rubbed shoulders with sinners, pagans, gentiles and the sexually immoral - he also gave his life for them. He did not expect people to be perfect before he loved them, and his acceptance of them did not mean he was condoning their behaviour.

 

[Chuckrob]

Yes.
But the OP was about attending a gay wedding. My comment was that if it was someone I knew and loved then I probably would go - out of love for them and to keep communication open between us . Otherwise, no.
I'm not talking about turning up to the weddings of random strangers, going to the reception, making a speech etc etc. Nor about my beliefs about the situation.
I'm talking about if I had a family member/close friend who was gay and getting married. And it is an academic discussion because I don't, and therefore I may never know if I would change my mind.

I'm also talking about the principle of not denying/shunning someone because we believe they have sinned and they are therefore imperfect.
Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. There is no evidence he accepted hospitality just so that he could convert them.
He came down into our sinful world and rubbed shoulders with sinners, pagans, gentiles and the sexually immoral - he also gave his life for them. He did not expect people to be perfect before he loved them, and his acceptance of them did not mean he was condoning their behaviour.

You should not take this lightly. If there is a family member getting married in a gay relationship, you should pray about it deeply. By going to this wedding, you are celebrating an abomination unto GOD, and would be a bad witness of Christianity itself. Jesus made a point to let us know that He would bring brother against brother, sister against sister, ect (Matt. 10:21-23) He also said that we must love GOD more than our own mothers and fathers (Matt. 10:37) The stance in controversial, and causes much heartache, but who is right? If my children were to become gay and get married in a gay relationship, I will not be going to celebrate their abomination. I LOVE GOD more exceedingly than to let HIm down.

 

[Disciple777]

No of course not

 

[Strong in Him]

You should not take this lightly. If there is a family member getting married in a gay relationship, you should pray about it deeply. By going to this wedding, you are celebrating an abomination unto GOD, and would be a bad witness of Christianity itself.

If the people involved have rejected God's free gift of eternal life, that is far more of an abomination to him.
I don't feel I would necessarily be celebrating it - just as I don't believe that my non Christian family members celebrated the vows that they made before God when they married/their children were baptised.

It might be more of a bad witness to say, "no, I'm staying away and will not celebrate your sin", than it would be to go along and pray for them.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Would he have said that to Jesus?

I think the context is needing to be understood.

What applies to matters within the Body of Christ does not always apply to interaction with the World.

 

[Paidiske]

Yes - we should consider all options.

Which brings us back around to; not every situation is the same.

 

[Carl Emerson]

I think Jesus would have reminded Paul, and others, to love as he loved.

So was Peter out of line to proclaim the sudden death of two church members?

 

[Carl Emerson]

Which brings us back around to; not every situation is the same.

But none may justify a condoning presence.

 

[Aldebaran]

I guess what you are saying then is all Christians should attend a gay wedding and object when asked. Have you made any gay marriage plans?

What I was saying is that Jesus demonstrated that just being nice to everyone and letting everybody do their thing wasn't always the way he handled it.

 

[Paidiske]

But none may justify a condoning presence.

Here is part of where we disagree; I don't accept that presence necessarily implies "condoning."

For example, there are times when I am present at other events (ANZAC day observances and debutante balls come to mind) with which I absolutely do take issue, and which I do not condone, but where my opinion is simply not the most important thing, so I attend and don't make my issue, everyone else's issue.

 

[Aldebaran]

If the people involved have rejected God's free gift of eternal life, that is far more of an abomination to him.
I don't feel I would necessarily be celebrating it - just as I don't believe that my non Christian family members celebrated the vows that they made before God when they married/their children were baptised.

It might be more of a bad witness to say, "no, I'm staying away and will not celebrate your sin", than it would be to go along and pray for them.

If? They are 2 homosexuals who not only haven't repented of homosexuality, they openly celebrate it in front of their friends and family and use it to make a mockery of marriage.
You can (and should) pray for them, but going along with celebrating their display of pride in their homosexuality is certainly not something I'd want to set aside my time for.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

I would say no. We should not authenticate something God considers an abomination.
We need to reject it as a sign of God's rejection. Make the message clear.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Here is part of where we disagree; I don't accept that presence necessarily implies "condoning."

For example, there are times when I am present at other events (ANZAC day observances and debutante balls come to mind) with which I absolutely do take issue, and which I do not condone, but where my opinion is simply not the most important thing, so I attend and don't make my issue, everyone else's issue.

The issue is God's issue in the case of Gay Marriage.

 

[Paidiske]

The issue is God's issue in the case of Gay Marriage.

Which is neither here nor there with regard to the point I was making; attendance does not necessarily mean "condoning."

(And FWIW, in both of the other examples I cited, I think the issue is God's issue too; or is, at least, a gospel issue).

 

[Carl Emerson]

I guess some believers take issues much more seriously than others.

The voice of believers is largely muted and meantime society slides further into the mire.

Fire is fire but is presented as warmth.

Yet we will be called to account for saying nothing.

Oh that the promised Spirit of Elijah would manifest among us.

But alas there will be just two witnesses while the majority stay silent.

The Gay deception is fuelled by a ruthless spirit taking the unwary captive and we sit back and attend their victory ceremonies.

God help us all.

 

[Paidiske]

I guess some believers take issues much more seriously than others.

Disagreeing with someone's position, doesn't mean not taking the issue as seriously.

The voice of believers is largely muted...

Oh please. You know what? There isn't a gay person alive in our societies who doesn't know what the Bible says or what Christians think about sexuality. They know - all too well - because it's shouted at them from every conceivable direction.

And this is, in fact, a large part of the problem. Because they are harrassed, face disadvantage in their studies, working lives, social lives, and so on, often face hostility and outright violence from family members and wider society, it becomes that much harder to share the good news in a meaningful way. When I meet a gay person, I have to work very hard over a significant period of time, just to establish that this is a safe relationship; that I'm not going to compound and reinforce the wounds they've already received; before there's any possibility of trust or meaningful relationship.

Believers' voices aren't muted. They're more than loud enough to cause massive pastoral and evangelistic problems.

Yet we will be called to account for saying nothing.

Why do you assume that approaching an issue with an awareness of complexity and nuance is the same as "saying nothing"?

There's no need to attack or denigrate one another for disagreeing.

 

[Carl Emerson]

Oh please. You know what? There isn't a gay person alive in our societies who doesn't know what the Bible says or what Christians think about sexuality. They know - all too well - because it's shouted at them from every conceivable direction.

We haven't heard a clear Christian voice in politics for decades.

 

[Carl Emerson]

There's no need to attack or denigrate one another for disagreeing.

This is not a personal affront but a reflection on the absence of clear Christian and biblical voice in public life.

 

[Strong in Him]

If? They are 2 homosexuals who not only haven't repented of homosexuality,

Yet I wouldn't want to presume, or judge, that they have not received Christ as their Saviour and therefore do not have eternal life.

No one chooses to be gay, just as no one chooses to be straight. I have spoken to gay people, some of whom are under threat of being disowned, persecuted or worse because of it. I have spoken to, and heard about, gay people who marry and have kids in an attempt to hide, or cover up, the fact that they are gay. Some people don't even want to be gay.

Supposing we lived in a society where being gay was the norm and you were confronted with people telling you that you had to repent of your heterosexuality? Supposing you faced judgement, criticism, discrimination and/or persecution because of the person you fell in love with?