NOM co-founder warns Christians of the supposed gay-initiated perils that lie ahead

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04/11/2014

by Jeremy Hooper

I'd think the victim costume would get hot and uncomfortable. Maybe a little scratchy. Particularly when it's as ill-fitting as the one that the backers of discrimination are trying to force themselves into.

Yet the anti-LGBT conservatives insist on putting on that costume and doing an overwrought routine for an American public that they weren't able to win over on merit alone. Here now, one of the anti-equality movement's key thought leaders stars in his next scene.

[Andrew T. Walker, Director of Policy Studies for Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention]: It seems increasingly likely that the Supreme Court is being primed to decide whether same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. On the assumption that the Supreme Court errs in its ruling and fiats same-sex marriage across the nation, what becomes of the pro-family movement, or what are our next steps? Should religious conservatives accept living as outsiders within our own country?
[National Organization For Marriage co-founder Robert George (pic, at left, with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia)]: Well, one already sees religious freedom and the rights of conscience being attacked in the name of “anti-discrimination” principles. So this is not going to be easy. The days of comfortable Christianity in the United States are over. It is going to be uncomfortable to be a Christian—increasingly so. We’re going to get a little taste of what Jesus meant when he said that to be his disciple one must take up one’s cross and follow him. We’ll see how many self-described Christians are going to be willing to pay the price—usually a non-financial one—Jesus had in mind when he told the rich young man to “go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and come and follow me.” I suspect that a lot of Christians will be like that young man who, as you recall, “went away sad, for he had many possessions.” They will not be willing to place at risk reputation, social standing, professional opportunities, and the like in order to bear witness and remain faithful to Christ. We Christians and our fellow believers are already being labeled as “bigots” and “homophobes”; the next step will involve outright discrimination and the imposition of disabilities in domains such as employment, licensing, accreditation of institutions, and government contracting. This is going to be rough sailing.

But let me quote two men who were great friends and, as it happens, both dear friends of mine.

Chuck Colson: “Stay at your post and do your duty.”

Richard John Neuhaus: “Never weary, never rest. Stay ever faithful and trust God for the victory.”

My message is the same: Stay strong. Stay faithful. Bear witness. Do not yield. Remain on the field of battle. Organize. Cooperate. Encourage one another. Fight in the domain of ideas. Fight in the arena of politics. Fight in every nook and cranny of the culture.

And, as Fr. Neuhaus said, “trust God for the victory”—which will come on His terms and in His time.
FULL: A Week With Robert P. George, Part 3 [Canon & Culture]