February 24, 1997 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - One of the plainest evidences that the Bible has been rejected in western society is the rapidly increasing push for legalization of homosexual "marriages." Following are some of the highlights of the history of this perverted thinking, both on the secular and religious fronts --

In 1970 the Unitarian Universalist Association passed a resolution which forbade discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation.

In 1974 the Lutheran Church in America's Fortress Press published HOMOSEXUALITY AND COUNSELING by Clinton Jones. The author stated, "I accept homosexuality as within the sexual norm and within the natural order" (p. 7), and "I believe that a homosexual genital act is not of itself immoral" (p. 10). The publisher says on the book's jacket: "Clinton Jones brings to his task the heart of a compassionate pastor and the skill of a practiced therapist."

In 1974 IBM became the first major U.S. corporation to include sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination hiring policy.

In 1978 the American Lutheran Church's Augsburg Publishing House published EMBODIMENT: AN APPROACH TO SEXUALITY AND CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. The book urged churches to ordain homosexuals and to bless homosexual "marriages." The author stated: "I came to believe that nothing less than full Christian acceptance of homosexuality and of its responsible genital expression adequately represented the direction of both gospel and contemporary research" (p. 199).

In 1980 the Unitarian Universalist Church passed a resolution to hire openly homosexual and bi-sexual persons to leadership positions within the more than 1,000 member churches and the denominational hierarchy.

In 1982 a report published by the United Methodist Church titled A Christian Understanding of Human Sexuality stated that homosexual men and women should not be barred from church ministry and leadership. The report claimed that "many people are homosexual by nature and they are as capable as other people of full Christian discipleship and of deeply loving and committee relationships with each other."

In 1984 the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship became the first major denomination to acknowledge marriages between homosexual couples. The 1,300 delegates to the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to sanction homosexual marriages. Unitarian president O. Eugene Pickett said the vote affirms the Unitarian belief in the dignity of every person.

In 1985 the popular "Dear Abby" newspaper column contained a letter from a woman who complained that her 29-year-old son had been "married" to his male friend in San Francisco. "Dear Abby" replied, "Congratulations, you haven't lost a son, you've gained another son."

In 1987 the Episcopal diocese of Newark, New Jersey, called for the recognition of homosexual marriages. Bishop John Spong endorsed the diocesan report and asked the Episcopal Church to bless non-marital sexual relationships.

In 1987 the founder and president of the Metropolitan Community Churches, Troy Perry, claimed that they performed some 1500 "holy unions" between homosexual partners each year.

In October 1987 several hundred thousand homosexuals gathered in Washington D.C. for a week of rallies, marches, and protests. On Saturday, October 10, 2,000 homosexual couples exchanged "wedding vows" in a mass ceremony.

In November 1987 "clergy" delegates to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts approved a resolution to develop a blessing for homosexual couples similar to a wedding. The vote was 114-79. The resolution stated, "Christian love challenges us to support gay and lesbian couples in relationships upholding the Christian model of commitment and love." The resolution was defeated by "lay" delegates, 140-82.

In 1988 Episcopal Bishop John Spong published LIVING IN SIN: A BISHOP RETHINKS HUMAN SEXUALITY (Harper & Row). Spong wrote: "I regard the blessing of gay or lesbian couples by the church to be inevitable, right, and a positive good" (p. 198).

In May 1989 the Board of Supervisors for the city of San Francisco unanimously approved the nation's first law allowing live-in lovers to register their partnerships publicly. The ruling allowed non-married couples to register their relationships like traditional married couples. The law was suspended when a petition drive produced more than 27,000 signatures which required that the law be submitted to the voters in an election ballot.

On May 26, 1989, the Parliament of Denmark made world history by passing a measure to legalize homosexual marriages, "crowing a 40-year campaign by the country's gay community." The vote was 71-47. On October 1, in Copenhagen, the first six homosexual couples were legally joined in "registered partnerships" that gave them all but a few of the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

In July 1989 New York's highest court ruled in a 4-2 decision that homosexual couples meet the legal definition for "family." The decision allows a homosexual man to stay in his dead partner's (he died of AIDS) rent-controlled apartment in New York City, a right previously accorded only to spouses or family members.

In 1990 software giant Lotus Development Corporation became one of the first major U.S. corporations to extend the same benefits to same-sex couples as to married couples.

In May 1992 the British Columbia conference of the United Church of Canada made history by ordaining Tim Stevenson, an openly homosexual man to the ministry and by passing a resolution which "affirmed the validity of same-gender covenants as authentic expressions of interpersonal Christian commitment." This was the first major denomination in Canada to take such a step. The Religious News Service reported that some United Church of Canada ministers were performing "covenanting" ceremonies for homosexual couples.

In May 1992 the Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario conference of the United Church of Canada voted to allow homosexual couples to be married in the churches. The next week the Saskatchewan conference of the United Church of Canada voted to open at least 10 pulpits to homosexuals and lesbians in the next three years.

In May 1993 Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled that the state's ban on homosexual marriages may be unconstitutional and required that the state must prove the ban's constitutionality. The ruling was on behalf of lesbian and homosexual couples who are seeking marriage licenses.

In 1993 Norway passed the "partners law" which legalized homosexual marriages.

In 1994 Sweden followed Denmark and Norway in legalizing homosexual marriages. The vote was 171-141, with five abstentions. The law gives homosexual couples the same inheritance, tax and other benefits and obligations as married heterosexuals, but it does not allow homosexuals to adopt or have children through artificial insemination. It allows homosexuals to marry in civil ceremonies but not in church weddings.

In March 1996 the Central Conference of American Rabbis became the first major group of Jewish leaders to endorse the legalization of homosexual marriages.

In May 1996 Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice (Republican) signed an executive order banning same-sex marriages in his state. The order also forbids recognition of homosexual marriages performed in other states. Fordice stated: "It can't be a marriage with people of the same sex. It violates the very definition of marriage. So-called same-sex marriages make a mockery out of the institution of marriage." Amen, Governor!

In June 1996, MTV hosted the first nationally televised dating game for homosexuals. The program is called Singled Out.

A Newsweek poll published in June 1996 indicated that nearly six in ten Americans are opposed to legally sanctioned homosexual marriages.

Also in June 1996 the Unitarian Universalist Church adopted a resolution urging legal recognition of same-sex marriages. John Buehrens, president, said: "We recognize and affirm that love is love, and family is family, that every couple needs encouragement from the community to make their marriage last."

In September 1996 the IBM corporation joined ranks with some 470 other large corporations, governments and universities in the U.S.A. that provide the same benefits to same-sex couples as to married couples. Other companies include Walt Disney Company, American Express, Microsoft Corporation, Time Warner, Levi Strauss, and Apple Computer.

In early October 1996, the Ontario Human Rights Board of Inquiry ordered the Ontario government in Canada to amend the Municipal Act to change the definition of "spouse" to include both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

On December 3, 1996, Circuit Judge Kevin Chang ruled that Hawaii could not deny marriage licenses to homosexual couples. The judge said the state failed to show any compelling state interest to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry and ordered the state to begin issuing licenses. The next day the judge put his decision on hold until it can be decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1997.

Chang's decision promoted passage of a federal law signed by President Clinton in December 1996 that says the U.S. government will not recognize homosexual marriages and which allows states to refuse to recognize such unions licensed in other states.

By the end of 1996 legislative bans against homosexual marriages had been adopted in 16 states, including Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah.

On January 23, 1997, the Hawaiian state House, on a vote of 44-7, passed a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. The measure moved to the state Senate, where it is expected to be passed. If approved, the proposed amendment will go before voters in November 1998.

On February 12, 1997, Governor Kirk Fordice signed a law making Mississippi the 17th state in a year to ban homosexual marriages. In signing the law, the bold governor said: "For too long in this freedom-loving land, cultural subversives have engaged in trench warfare on traditional family values."

In February 1997 supporters of a ban on same-sex marriages in Maine collected enough signatures to force a referendum vote on the issue during the November 4, 1997, election.

On February 22, 1997, Washington state Governor (Democrat) Gary Locke vetoed a bill banning same-sex marriages. He called it "divisive and unnecessary," stating, ''I will oppose measures that divide, disrespect or diminish our humanity." The measure defined marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman. The Republican-controlled state Legislature said they would attempt to override the governor's veto. Failing in that, they vowed to place a referendum on homosexual marriages on the November statewide ballot.

______________________________

THE FIRST MARRIAGE --

"And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 3:21-24).