For gay people justice, not faith, is the issue

Allow me to introduce you to another significant voice in the gay marriage debate. Marvin Ellison is professor of Christian ethics at Bangor Theological Seminary. He is a partnered gay man. His book “Same Sex Marriage? A Christian Ethical Analysis” considers gay marriage from his perspective as a gay Christian ethicist.

Ellison’s starting point is the ethic of justice. His argument is that justice as developed in the Biblical writings and advocated in the teachings of Jesus is quite different from justice as practiced by the American legal system. In the American legal system, justice is achieved when a penalty is assessed that fits a crime that has been committed. The American legal system is an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” system. Amazingly, most professing Christians buy into that system even though Jesus of Nazareth totally rejected such thinking.

For Ellison, true Christian justice is egalitarian. Justice includes the wellbeing of everyone. Justice leaves no one out. Justice makes everyone whole. Justice sets wrongs right. Justice challenges every privileged person and group. Justice takes up the cause of the oppressed. In his book, Ellison never allows the reader to forget that the real issue is justice for all.

Many think of justice in relationship to goods, resources and power. Ellison insists that is not enough. Justice must be applied to human wellbeing. It must be applied to mutual respect. It must be applied to the needs of our neighbor. It must be applied to the human need for intimacy. Central to Ellison’s argument about marriage is his plea that no one should be cut off from the opportunities, pleasures, comforts and joys of intimacy.

This kind of justice for Ellison is timeless and relentless. It is applicable to every age, to every generation and every circumstance. Even the institution of marriage must be exposed to the searing analysis of Biblical justice. Here is a summary of his analysis.

Marriage in America is a flawed and failing institution. The male/female marriage paradigm that’s the most widely accepted has failed to deliver a family product that meets the standards of justice. The majority of people who enter into heterosexual marriage do not find security, freedom, intimacy and contentment. Physical and mental abuse is pervasive. Divorce, single-parent households, disadvantaged children, poverty and social ostracism abound. Flawed marriage is the seedbed of all of these.

Ellison continues to argue that, rather than being egalitarian, marriage as practiced in American life is woefully discriminating against women and is unkind to children. Marriage as practiced in America remains strongly patriarchal. The idea of marriage as a union between two equals, one male the other female, is widely discussed but has not been put into practice. All the power groups that call for the maintenance of traditional marriage are clearly patriarchal. The Roman Catholic Church, The Southern Baptist Convention, The Church of Latter-day Saints, Evangelical churches and others are heavily weighted to favor male-dominated heterosexual marriage. Nonconforming women and uncooperative children are outside the system.

Traditional marriage is flawed because by definition only men and women in heterosexual marriages have an opportunity for normal intimacy. When government jumps in on the side of “traditional marriage,” the injustices become even more cruel.

Why would gay people want access to such a system?

For Ellison, Christian justice by its very nature demands a family structure that does a better job of making everyone whole.

Ellison is by nature an optimist. He believes change can take place and for the better. He understands the dynamics and processes of change and has specific proposals for the future; however, creative change that moves us to a more stable and satisfying family structure will not take place until we risk abandoning the flawed and failing system that many religious groups embrace as divine fiat.

Before reading Ellison I was in the camp of marriage rights for gay people. I now believe marriage is the wrong issue. Justice, equality and fairness are the issues. I now believe government should get out of the marriage business and thoughtfully provide needed legal protections and services for everyone.

Churches should be pursuing Christian justice for everyone in the context of meaningful family structures. What would more constructive family structures look like? The new structures must include gay people. Beyond that, I really do not know. That is the reason we need to be involved in vigorous discussion. I am sure that justice needs to be the centerpiece of the discussion.

The Rev. Howard Bess is the pastor of Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.