Dear Senators and Representatives,
As pastors, charged by God to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, speak the truth, and defend the faith, we were greatly offended by the letter dated February 16, 2010, presented to you by a very small group of religious leaders who support the redefinition of marriage in the state of Iowa. Their letter is inconsistent with Scripture and does not represent the convictions held by the vast majority of church-attending Iowans.
In response to that letter we, the undersigned Christian ministers, affirm the following:
I. Marriage is a basic human and social institution that did not originate from either the church or the state, but from God. The nature and purpose of marriage was established by God as a relationship between one man and one woman who commit themselves to each other for life. (Genesis 2:18-24, Mark 10:6-8) Therefore the term “marriage” is limited to that definition. With this in mind, there can be no such thing as “homosexual marriage.” Replacing the phrase “one man and one woman” with the word“couple,” or any other term, for the purpose of altering the definition of marriage results in a perversion of God’s intent.
II. Homosexual behavior is defined by the Bible as immoral and sinful. (Lev. 18:22) It is harmful both to the individuals who choose to participate in it and the society that chooses to accept it. (Romans 1:18-26) Given that understanding, the only truly loving response to the current debate over marriage is to reaffirm the only definition of marriage in Iowa Code – one man and one woman. Keeping in mind that the concept of fairness is subjective, it should never be used as a mechanism to overturn the plain truth of the Scriptures. The laws of Iowa can never be “fair” to everyone, but instead ought to be designed to promote justice.
III. Because God is God of all, there is no structural difference between religious and civil marriage. The essence of marriage remains the same in both the religious and civil realms. (Col. 1:15-19) The acknowledgement of, and reference to, marriage in the laws of our state and nation does not create a second realm of marriage that is somehow divorced from the only definition determined by God.
IV. Freedom of conscience is not the issue. We acknowledge that everyone has a right to their own beliefs. The issue is whether or not certain citizens have the right to use their beliefs to redefine that which God has already defined, and then force the rest of society to accept that redefinition. We submit that they do not.
As pastors we stand together in support of marriage as defined and intended by God. The union of husband and wife becomes, over a lifetime, a great good for themselves, their family, communities, and society. As such we believe that marriage, as a critical building block of our society, must be cherished and protected. In addition to hindering God’s hand of blessing, any attempt to alter its meaning would adversely affect children and families throughout Iowa.
Therefore, we the undersigned ask our Iowa legislators to do everything within their power to support and preserve marriage. To that end, within the context of our current situation, we ask the legislature to allow the citizens of Iowa the opportunity to vote on a Marriage Amendment to the Iowa Constitution, defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
