Advocates of Biblical Marriage Rally in Memphis, Gather on Capitol Hill

by Allie Martin, Bill Fancher, and Jody Brown
July 12, 2004

(AgapePress) - Leaders in the evangelical pro-family movement are encouraging Christians to fast, pray, and call their senators as the vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment draws near.

More than 10,000 people gathered at a Tennessee church on Sunday night to take a stand for traditional marriage. They came to Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis for a time of worship, prayer, and preaching. It was all part of a program called "The Battle for Marriage: Imminent Vote." The rally featured speakers such as Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

Dobson said this week will be pivotal in the nation's history as the U.S. Senate votes on the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would recognize marriage as only between one man and one woman. The well-known radio personality and author said if the battle for marriage is lost, the U.S. will follow the path of Scandinavian countries.

"Since the mid-nineties, they have sanctioned something similar to same-sex union -- they didn't call it 'marriage' -- and it has destroyed the family there," Dobson stated. "In Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, the family is destroyed."

The Senate could vote on the FMA as early as Wednesday. According to the NoGayMarriage.com website, less than 40 senators currently support the amendment -- far below the two-thirds vote necessary to make it out of the Senate. Dobson said that come November, Christian voters will remember those senators who supported traditional marriage and those who supported homosexual marriage.

Also speaking at the rally in Memphis was former Seattle Seahawk football player Ken Hutcherson, who is now a pastor. Hutcherson spoke about the God who created the universe and who created man and woman to play a vital role in His creation.

"God took time out from all of that creation -- stopped, made man, said 'It is not good for man to be alone,' made woman -- and he created man and woman for the privilege of marriage," the former NFL player said. "Do not touch God's creation."

Other speakers on Sunday night included Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, and Dr. Adrian Rogers, pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church.

Groups Weigh In
With the amendment vote approaching in the Senate, representatives of some religious groups will be on Capitol Hill to show their support for the FMA. Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage, which helped draft the amendment three years ago, says his organization, many black, Latino, and Asian church leaders, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will be standing alongside Majority Leader Bill Frist "championing the amendment ... to protect the legal status of marriage in the United States."

According to Daniels, the Alliance for Marriage reflects a majority view of Americans. "Essentially what we represent is the public consensus in favor of the common-sense idea that marriage is the union of a man and a woman," he tells Associated Press. "The polls have been clear for over a decade: most Americans believe gays and lesbians have a right to live as they choose, but they don't have a right to redefine marriage for our entire society."

And despite the anticipated lack of a two-thirds majority, Daniels proponents of traditional marriage are not going to just lay down. In fact, he says, the debate over same-sex marriage is just beginning. "The law is going to send a message to our children about marriage. We believe it should send a positive message to kids about marriage, family, and their future," he says. "Now we're reaching a high point. This is the beginning of the national debate over the future of the legal status of marriage."

Meanwhile, President Bush used his weekly radio address on Saturday to highlight the need for a Federal Marriage Amendment. Bush says legalizing same-sex marriage would mean redefining the most fundamental institution of civilization.

The president blames a few activist judges and local officials for taking it upon themselves to change the meaning of marriage. "If courts create their own arbitrary definition of marriage as a mere legal contract and cut marriage off from its cultural, religious, and natural roots, then the meaning of marriage is lost and the institution is weakened," the president said.

An Episcopal Impetus?
There is a growing belief that the Episcopal Church USA provided the catalyst for the recent push for legalization of same-sex marriage. Dianne Knippers of the Institute on Religion and Democracy believes her church's confirmation of an openly homosexual bishop, V. Gene Robinson, and its support of civil unions helped provide the impetus for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage.

"Last summer, the prestigious Episcopal Church signaled to the culture that same-sex unions were morally okay," Knippers says. "It's no coincidence that we've seen an enormous political push for same-sex marriage in the intervening months following that church decision."

Knippers says if the Episcopal Church continues to support homosexuality and disregard biblical teaching about it, then Episcopalians who still believe the Bible will be forced to find another church home.

Bishop Robinson was in Vermont over the weekend for a homosexual pride celebration. According to an AP report, he urged homosexuals and trans-gendered people to return to the church. Robinson gave a sermon to about 300 worshipers after the homosexual pride parade in Burlington. Robinson, the first openly homosexual bishop in his church, says the Episcopal Church is changing and now is more accepting of homosexuals.

AP also reported over the weekend that hundreds of homosexual couples are registering under a new domestic partnership law. The law gives same-sex partners some of the same rights as married couples.

According to the report, more than 200 people attended a ceremony on Saturday morning in Maplewood. Many arrived hours early to fill out the paperwork to get notarized as domestic partners. They will be allowed some joint rights in filing state taxes, and other benefits like the ability to make medical decisions for each other.