A tweet came across my feed yesterday that sparked my interest. Dr. Alvin Reid from SEBTS retweeted Ed Stetzer, writing:

Immediately I wondered what all the hublub was about. Apparently John Piper invited Rick Warren to speak at the Desiring God 2010 conference and some people are pretty upset about the whole ordeal. Last night’s live episode was an attempt by Piper to explain why he invited Warren.

It does not matter to me why Piper invited Warren or even that Warren is speaking at the conference. I have no primary qualms with Piper or Warren. But as I was listening to Piper’s apologetic, I keyed in on a quote that he gave from Warren.

Zero Faith in Politics . . . if politics were the way to change the world I would be a politician. The only thing that is going to change the world is changing people’s heart’s through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I could not agree with this statement more. This is truly how I feel about the United States government and all governments – I have zero faith. I do not believe that the American republic will save us, I do not believe that a socialized America will save us. I have no concern for how egalitarian or how communist a government is.

There are people who survive and thrive around the world – people who do not live in capitalism. I find it hard to believe that our government is the best answer to government. All forms of government are run by men. With men you will find corruption, failure, dishonesty, and greediness. That is not to say that all things done by men is evil; you will also find love, compassion, and a desire to do good.

My point is this, with Jesus there is hope – true faith can thrive and survive in him. When we place our faith on politics and government, we will eventually find that our houses have been built on shaky ground.

As many of you have probably heard on the news, Maine recently held a vote, the first question was an effort by opponents of same-sex marriage in Maine to use Maine’s People’s Veto process to overturn “An Act to Promote Marriage Equality and Affirm Religious Freedom”. [balletpedia] The veto passed 53% to 47% making same-sex marriage illegal in Maine. I really only kept up with this because of my friends and family from Maine, especially those on Facebook. I would say a large majority of my Facebook friends from Maine were against this Veto — supporting the “No” vote — keeping same-sex marriage legal.

There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this vote and a lot of disappointment from my friends and family after the votes were counted. But I truly feel like Question #1 was the wrong question to ask. The real question that should be asked is, “Should the government have any authority in deciding who can and who cannot be married?”

In my opinion, the government has no say in who can be married. When I think of marriage, I think of it in Christian terms. I am married to my wife before God – not before the government. If the government one day decided that my marriage to Kati was invalid (or illegal) it would not make me any less married to her. I think this entire movement is completely flawed because it is based on a false idea. Because for 200 years married people have given the government the right to determine who is and who isn’t married. But the government does not care about what “marriage” is… to the government, “marriage” is a tax status, a certificate, a formal partnership. Basically to the government, a marriage is just like a Limited Liability Company.

In this post, I do not plan on taking a position on whether or not same-sex marriage is acceptable. But I do believe, in a country that claims that all people should be afforded the same rights, than same-sex couples should be given the same rights as all other couples. In my opinion, the best way to do this is to fight to stop the government from recognizing “marriage” at all. If the government wants to keep track of the tax status of formally united couples, then there should be a “certificate of unity” (or whatever they want to call it) given to any couple who chooses to do so and the government can determine who is and who is not qualified to get such a certificate.

This way, anyone who wishes to “marry” can do so before God, on His terms. This might not work at all, but I think it is the best solution. You can campaign to Republicans who want smaller government and you can campaign to homosexuals who want equal rights. What do you guys think about this as a possible solution?