I’m so glad, Nathan, to hear that you are part of the growing family of God’s children! As you note, the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage is going to put some Christians into very awkward and agonizing positions.
Before I address your questions, let me issue a corrective. The Supreme Court did not legalize, nor is anyone advocating for, gay marriage. What it legalized was same-sex marriage, regardless of sexual orientation. Any decision or law that restricted same-sex marriage to gay or lesbian couples would be patently discriminatory against heterosexual persons. The marriage laws in this country must be and have always been blind with respect to the sexual orientation of the persons involved. Whether marriage is essentially between a man and a woman thus really has nothing to do with their sexual orientation. What the Supreme Court has done is re-define marriage in such a way that it no longer belongs to the essence of marriage to be a union between a man and a woman—now two men or two women can legally marry each other, regardless of their sexual orientation.
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