Gay Justice, Cultural Conflicts, and Secular Dhimmitude

Last updated on: April 15, 2014 at 1:46 am by Michael F. Bird

Gay Justice, Cultural Conflicts, and Secular Dhimmitude 2014-04-06T18:11:02-04:00 Michael F. Bird

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m sure many of you have heard how Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich was forced to resign after it was discovered that he made a donation in support of a gay marriage ban in California. See the report at The Guardian.

Whether one agrees with Brendan Eich is beside the point. Is opposing SSM really grounds for the termination of employment? This sets a very dangerous precedent does it not? If one opposes SSM, even if in private, or belongs to a religious group that does not recognize SSM, is that grounds for dismissal? Are we going to get to the stage where it will be impossible for a Christian with traditionalist views on marriage to hold a position in business, the public service, medical industry, or in education if they are know to oppose SSM?

Another question I have to ask is what is the error here? Was it because Eich opposed SSM or because he failed to support it? Now, if one is a Christian traditionalist, you could just try to keep your mouth shut, go underground, keep your views to yourself, hope nobody finds out and turns you over to the thought police. But the thought police will probably figure this out and will come up with a way of weeding out closet Christians. What if one’s employment contract includes a clause where one has to state unconditional support for SSM? What do you do then? It is not as far fetched as you might imagine.

We have to remember that this is part of a cultural conflict in the secular west as governments try to strike a balance between civil rights for gay and lesbian people with other rights like freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of religion. At the moment the pendulum is certainly on the gay rights side, but it might not stay there, and the Mozilla incident might well be the catalyst to come to a more sensible mediating position. Let me add that Christians should be conflicted over civil issues like this, they should feel sympathy for both sides, and should feel conflicted. First, as Christians who remain faithful to the authority of scripture and to their tradition, they are committed to marriage as one man and one woman. Its a matter of faith and principle, why should we have to change, we’ve been around for 2000 years, Stephen Fry can whinge all he likes, but we ain’t going any where, so deal with it. Second, as Christians who believe in Jesus and in biblical ethics, we are committed to loving our neighbours, including our gay neighbours, and promoting justice and fairness for all, even for those who do not agree with us on our way of life. What I’m saying is that the tension in western culture should be reflected in a tension among Christians themselves about how to be faithful to our beliefs and yet want to treat all people fairly. The big question is how do you do both, be faithful to a Christian view of marriage and create an environment that is genuinely just for all people regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, or sexual orientation? Christendom is over, but I don’t think everybody is banking on an atheist version of Big Brother as the alternative!

While I like to think that we can find a compromise between the God-fearing and Gay-rights, I’m also a little concerned. Even though SSM is not law in most American states, and not in Australia either, it is being treated as if it is fait accompli. Are we going to end up in a position where Christians – as well as orthodox Jews, Muslims, and Mormons – will end up as second class citizens because of a failure to support SSM? Will we end up with a kind of secular dhimmitude? The word, “dhimmitude” refers the imposition of second class status on non-Muslim citizens in Islamic law. Will we end up with religious folks experiencing some kind of dhimmitude imposed by secular/liberal elites who punish them for failing to embrace the reigning zeitgeist. The origin of the word dhimmitude is quite interesting. I looked it up on wikipedia (students, do not imitate me on this), and I found its first reference:

The term was coined in 1982 by the Lebanese President and Maronite militia leader Bachir Gemayel, in reference to perceived attempts by the country’s Muslim leadership to subordinate the largeLebanese Christian minority. In a speech of September 14, 1982 given at Dayr al-Salib in Lebanon, he said: “Lebanon is our homeland and will remain a homeland for Christians… We want to continue to christen, to celebrate our rites and traditions, our faith and our creed whenever we wish… Henceforth, we refuse to live in any dhimmitude!”

I think the civil rights balance on SSM and religious freedom is still working itself out and I think we can reach a compromise in western societies and live at peace with one another. However, as part of that conversation about the legislation that follows, we have to be clear that we will continue to celebrate our rites and traditions, our faith and our creed whenever we wish, and we will not accept dhimmitude!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 14, 2014

BibleGateway Interview on How God Became Jesus

Next Post

April 15, 2014 Bird and Ehrman on FaithStreet

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Lands Blogosphere Book Review Calvinism Colleges & Universities Ecclesiology Emerging Adulthood Evangelicalism Foreign Affairs Gospel of John Greco-Roman World Humor Just War N. T. Wright Old Testament Resurrection Terrorism Theological Education Travel Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who killed his own brother out of jealousy and became the first murderer in the Bible?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jacob Esau Ishmael Cain

Books by This Author Books by Mike Bird

See All Titles »