Supporters of same-sex marriage claim the traditional view of traditional marriage is “on the wrong side of history.” That phrase is, as Kevin DeYoung says, an “attempt to win an argument by not having one” (p. 103).
Being on the wrong side of history is supposed to put us in mind of narrow-minded, wrong-headed views from the past which now, in more enlightened times, no one really believes any more.
DeYoung reminds, though, that “the wrong side of history” once
included popular positions held by elite and progressive intellectuals of the
time, with eugenics (a pseudo-science that claimed to reveal superior and
inferior elements of the human population, and which advocated selective
breeding and sterilization) a prime case in point.
He also debunks supposed examples of how the church and the
Bible were on the “wrong side of history,” showing how half-truths and
misinformation about Christian history perpetuate this argument. He offers historical
illustrations about Columbus (Christians supposedly thought the earth was flat),
Galileo (supposedly condemned because he opposed the church’s geocentric
universe), and slavery (which he shows was condemned by many Christians
throughout history).
QUOTES
Unlike slavery, the church has always been convinced (until very recently) that homosexual behavior is sinful. (p. 107)
As Christians we ought to fear being on the wrong side of the holy, apostolic, and universal church more than we fear being on the wrong side of discredited assumptions about progress and enlightenment. (p. 108)
