In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v Hodges that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage. With the recent overturning of Roe v Wade, some are concerned Obergefell may be overturned next. Recently, David French wrote an article supporting a bipartisan bill to protect the legal right to same-sex marriage, and he’s faced an avalanche of criticism for it. In this episode, he talks with Skye Jethani about the Respect for Marriage Act and responds to the critics who say the bill is a threat to religious liberty. French also explains why he’s changed his mind about civil same-sex marriage while remaining opposed to it theologically.
0:00 - Intro
00:28 - Respect for Marriage Act and David’s articles
28:37 - Criticism 1: Religious liberty protections
38:03 - Criticism 2: Cultural concerns
1:02:26 - Credits
Links:
“Pluralism Has Life Left in It Yet” by David French (The Atlantic) - https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/the-third-rail/6377fb0dce44df0038de4c62/respect-for-marriage-same-sex-religious-freedom/
“Why I Changed My Mind About Law And Marriage, Again” by David French (The Dispatch) - https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/frenchpress/why-i-changed-my-mind-about-law-and-marriage-again/
“The parable of David French” by R. Albert Mohler Jr. (World) - https://wng.org/opinions/the-parable-of-david-french-1669034447
“An Open Letter to Those Who Think I’ve Lost My Christian Faith” by David French (The Dispatch) - https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/frenchpress/an-open-letter-to-those-who-think-ive-lost-my-christian-faith/
David French: https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/
Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost
Mohler forgot to mention how he mostly cares about conservatism in this last video he made!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDVyEwCDzy4&ab_channel=SouthernSeminary
What a helpful episode. I think I'll start identifying as a David French conservative!
Could you give the theological arguments for the following ideas?
1) Marriage is a covenant relationship
2) Marriage is intended to be between a man and a woman?
Thanks so much!
I enjoyed this episode and thought the best part was toward the end when Skye and David discussed pluralism. I'd love to hear an entire episode devoted to this question: How should laws concerning morals and culture be set: Should we have a theocracy, which is what many of David's critics argue even if they don't use that word. If not, who decides? Is it simply majority rules? If not, who sets the guard rails and on what basis?
*picking up a megaphone* "COVENANT MARRIAGE" IN PRACTICE HARMS WOMEN.
I want to point out that holding human marriages to the same standard as a covenant between a perfect god and an imperfect body of people who continually "cheat," hurt Jesus, steal, lie, etc. is ridiculous. In theory, okay, Christian marriages are supposed to reflect the heart of Jesus toward his church. But this is NOT the way marriage has played out... ever.
When Jesus spoke of the updated "rules" for divorce (only in the case of infidelity), this was a protection for women. Before that, men could set aside a wife for any reason (or none, really) and she had NO options in their society. Her family of origin…