You'd think the world had ended. This week, a group of evangelical leaders published a statement in which they confirmed the traditional view of marriage - a union between a man and a woman. The report, written by The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, is a response to today's "post-Christian" world, they write.
In their Nashville Statement, the coalition outlines their 14 core beliefs about marriage, gender identity, and culture. They begin with the following statement, which leaves no room for misinterpretation.
"We affirm that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church.
We deny that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God."
Some hot takes on Twitter were that the leaders were "perpetuating division and hate," they were "small-minded, hateful, or bigoted," and "evangelicals are some of the cruelest people in the universe."
Then there was this gem, which topped them all.
"If Jesus was a real dude..."
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) August 30, 2017
-Super Serious Jesus Scholar https://t.co/qhxxHgWUo9
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and they can express their outrage if they want. But can they really be surprised that a group of evangelical Christians still cling to a view of traditional marriage?
Yes.
When I see the #NashvilleStatement, the GOP's regressive policies, rampant sexism and racism, I feel the 19th century is invading the 21st.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) August 30, 2017