Framework Scheme – Gen CREATION FALL FLOOD COVENANT Same-Sex Marriage Environmentalism Civil Government -- Babel

Frmwrk Scheme – Gen 12 to Ex 20 2 CALL of ABRAHAM EXODUS MT. SINAI Elect Family Saved Tribes National Contract Clash of God’s counter-culture with the paganized Noahic culture

Shall I Bow To My Creator? YES! – ancient monotheism – ancient Israel – Bible – fundamentalism CREATOR/creature – God || man | nature – everlasting distinctions PERSONAL SOVEREIGN – ultimate responsibility NO! – ancient myths – eastern religions – western philosophy – modern theology Continuity of Being – nature > gods > man – transmutation / evolution IMPERSONAL FATE & CHANCE – ultimate victimization 3

The Biblical Idea of Man "Imagine God wholly employed and absorbed in it—in his hand, his eye, his labor, his purpose, his wisdom, his providence, and above all, in his love which was dictating the lineaments of this creature....Whatever was the form and expression which was then given to the clay by the Creator, Christ was in his thoughts as one day to become Man, because the Word, too, was to be both clay and flesh....” Tertullian. (1885). “On the Resurrection of the Flesh,” P. Holmes, Trans.. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume III: Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian (A. Roberts, J. Donaldson & A. C. Coxe, Ed.) (549). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. 4

QuestionTheocratic Answer Pagan Answer Metaphysical (reality) Creator/creature distinction Continuity of Being Epistemological (truth) God's revelation necessary Man's speculation necessary but vulnerable to demonic deceptions Ethical (just conduct) God's holinessSubjective like/dislike Fundamentally Different Answers 5

Frmwrk Scheme – Gen 12 to Ex 20 6 CALL of ABRAHAM EXODUS MT. SINAI Elect Family Saved Tribes National Contract Clash of God’s counter-culture with the paganized Noahic culture

Framework Scheme – Gen CREATION FALL FLOOD COVENANT Same-Sex Marriage Environmentalism Civil Government -- Babel

Same-Sex Marriage  20 Years Later 8 “Growing up, and even into my 20s, I supported and advocated for gay marriage. It’s only with some time and distance from my childhood that I’m able to reflect on my experiences and recognize the long-term effect that same-sex parenting had on me. And it’s only now, as I watch my children loving and being loved by their father each day, that I can see the beauty and wisdom in traditional marriage and parenting.” Heather Berwick, Dear Gay Community Your Kids Are Hurting

The “Equality” Slogan 9 “marriage equality” “X” equality What if... X = athletic achievement X = test scores X = skill level X = hair X = contractual relationships

The “Discrimination” Slogan 10 Legal immigrant Illegal immigrant

What Kind of “Marriage”?? 11 Civil marriage (a social construct defined by civil gov’t for tax, property, and self-gratification—assumes gender is fluid) Ecclesiastical/Real marriage (a divine institution based upon created, fixed gender distinctions and God’s purposes other than personal self-gratification)

1. Tolerance implies a difference exists! 2. The difference can be people (all made in God’s image) 3. The difference can be beliefs (all are not always true) 4. The difference can be behaviors (all are not always acceptable) 12 4 Points on the subject of “Tolerance”