Alister begg gay wedding

I have never attended, or even been invited to a same-sex wedding. If I were, I would feel very conflicted, especially if it were of a close family member. Would I go? This is a reality facing an increasing number of Christians who are committed to biblical orthodoxy and firmly believe that marriage can only be between one biological man and woman.

He said it was matter of wisdom. Many have criticised him, and he has been cancelled from some ministry opportunities. After Begg refused to retract his opinion or apologise for the advice given, broadcaster American Family Radio said they would no longer air his program.

Those I know personally who have faced this situation have all chosen to attend the same-sex wedding they were invited to.

Whether to attend weddings, how we should view Alistair Begg’s comments and matters of wisdom

Those who criticise this approach do so on different grounds. Some say it is never morally acceptable to attend a same-sex wedding because it celebrates sin, and marriage is a creation ordinance. Others accept it is a wisdom issue but regard his specific advice as unwise.

We fail to appreciate the events Joseph, Daniel, Nehemiah and Esther would have attended with their pagan masters. While the Bible teaches clearly that marriage is for one man and one woman, what it says about our complicity in the sin of others is much more nuanced.

Jesus ate with sinners even though his culture regarded this as approving of their sin. Eating with tax collectors was not the cultural equivalent of us going for a meal with colleagues, but more akin to a leader of the French Resistance attending a party hosted by local collaborators.

In 1 Corinthians Paul makes clear that believers can associate with sexually immoral people in social situations, but cannot participate in demonic idol worship in the temple see 1 Corinthians and On which side of the line does attending a gay marriage fall? When a close family member enters a same-sex marriage, there has often been a whole chain of events that relatives have had to navigate.

They will have come out as gay, likely cohabitated, perhaps had children. If we have welcomed them into our family, accepted their invitations to dinner, possibly allowed them to stay over in the same room at Christmas, celebrated their birthdays and the arrival of their children with joy, then it is understandable if the couple feel that refusing to attend their wedding is hypocritical hair-splitting.

The same goes for all the ways in which we might functionally accept the reality of the relationship after their same-sex wedding. Are we to live in permanent hostility or denial? While I have sympathy with those who argue that attending a gay marriage would constitute condoning or celebrating sin, this is true of many of our social interactions.

How many Christians have celebrated the wedding of a cohabiting couple who were not repentant, where the wedding was inevitably the affirmation of their whole relationship, perhaps in a church at which a false gospel was preached? Would they refuse to attend the wedding of a close relative to a divorcee when there were no biblical grounds for that divorce, and the marriage could be considered a celebration of adultery?

Is it wrong for Christians to attend a Roman Catholic wedding at which mass is celebrated, or a Hindu wedding at which blessings in the name of false gods are pronounced? Those who argue that it would be wrong to attend a gay marriage in any circumstances ought to equally argue against any such associations.

While marriage is a creation ordinance, Romans 1 teaches that all sin and idolatry alister begg gay wedding against creation, and all sex outside of marriage alister begg gay wedding a violation of the creation order. The crucial question is whether attendance at a same-sex wedding inevitably connotes participation in sin.

Some have likened it to facilitating an abortion or buying a drink for an alcoholic. She would not be misunderstood as approving the sin, but rather as loving the person. In some instances the nature or context of the ceremony would mean attendance amounted to participation.

However, it may be possible to attend without, for example, clapping or joining in with words of affirmation, in much the same way that an evangelical Christian might attend a Catholic funeral or Hindu wedding without joining in with the service.