Why I’m Opposed to Traditional Marriage

The title of this post probably catches you by surprise and you may be shutting me out before you even read this post. I don’t know, but I would ask that you read these thoughts and comment.

Before I’m “stoned”, I need to say that I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. So why am I opposed to traditional marriage? When we speak to people who do not know Christ, we need to speak in a way they can understand and relate. Several churches offer two types of worship services: traditional and contemporary.

Who is the traditional service targeted? Who is the contemporary service targeted? Correct me if I’m wrong, but churches advertise “traditional” services as ones that sing old hymns and are directed to older members who are more comfortable with that type of service, while the contemporary service is advertised as more relative to today.

In one breathe Christians try to reach the younger generation by being contemporary while defending the traditional. The message we send is that “traditional marriage” is not relevant today like we say “traditional worship” is not relevant to today.

Why are we ashamed to say it is a moral issue? Why are we afraid to say that marriage between a man and a woman can be contemporary and exciting? Call it semantics, but we need to speak the language of the people we are trying to reach.

How do you share Jesus with others? Is it in ways they can relate to and understand, or is it “traditional” church language that they don’t understand? Are the terms we use consistent and clear, or inconsistent and confusing?

If you want to know what non-believers are thinking and what they are saying, then watch the atheist shows on public access TV. That will open your eyes to how they see Christians and how the way we try to reach them is so ineffective.

Let us reach them where they are with terminology that is consistent and that they understand.