Last week David Murray linked to an article that might show us where gay marriage advocates want to go next. Many Christians have noted that gay marriage is a slippery slope that will utterly decimate the meaning of marriage. Such a notion has been mocked for years now. In the aforementioned article, Jay Michaelson seems to agree, but from a much different perspective.
In the article Michaelson points out this:
Radicals point out that gay liberation in the 1970s was, as the name implies, a liberation movement. It was about being free, questioning authority, rebellion. “2-4-6-8, smash the church and smash the state,” people shouted.
This alone should tell us that gay marriage advocates will not stop at gay marriage. This is at its core a bohemian movement, a movement of rebellion. And as a movement of rebellion it will either continue rebelling or die altogether.
Consider this from Mark Sayers:
Reflecting upon the bohemian tradition, Albert Camus would note that the bohemian is ‘by occupation, always in opposition. He can only exist by defiance.’ The bohemian’s entire identity is wrapped in defining themselves against what they deride as the mainstream. Life for the bohemian is parasitical. Their identity depends on setting themselves against something that if destroyed will ultimately destroy the bohemian. (Facing Leviathan, 152)
What then will happen when the bohemian viewpoint becomes the mainstream? One of two things. Either the bohemian will die or he’ll need to push the boundaries even further. Either way gay marriage will not—it cannot—be the pinnacle.
The Church and the Bohemian
There is good—though heart-wrenching—news here. Amidst the wreckage of Bohemianism the church will find itself in a position to thrive. For Bohemianism can never last because it can never create. It can only critique and deconstruct. Such a worldview will eventually breed disillusionment. And in such a climate a powerful God that can create in chaos and speak in the whirlwind will be heard.
But let us not think that the church must pout and sit on the sideline waiting for the collapse. God is big enough to captivate the heart of the most settled Bohemian. Now. Today. When you speak. Therefore, no matter how unpopular it becomes the church must continue to lovingly proclaim the good news of God’s Word. Because here life is given.
In a time like this we do not need the voice of a distant prophet giving mere social commentary. Surely Mark Sayers is correct:
We can sit and watch the Twitter feed, critiquing methods, models, and ministries of others, from the comfort of our couches we can speculate on how it could be done better. We can devise all kinds of theories, read all the right books, engage in online debate, blog our opinions, yet the whole time be disconnected from actually having skin in the game. Even when our heart is for God’s kingdom, if we are not careful we can find ourselves critiquing from the sidelines of God’s activity within history. There is a world of difference between pundits and prophets. (Facing Leviathan, 157)
The Lord has seen fit to allow Bohemianism to gain a foothold. Let us minister in this day and age—the one that the Lord has given us, and not in the world that we wish we lived in. When the Lord sees fit, He’ll bring us there.
In the meantime let us faithfully guard the Word that has been entrusted to us. Just as we don’t need distant prophets we also don’t need crafty prophets that go about with their own message to reach Bohemians. We don’t need a new message. We need men and women that will lay their life down to stay faithful to the eternal truth of God.
Take heart, Christians. We might be riding on turbulent waters but we serve a God that walks on the waves, calms the sea, and creates life out of chaos.
