Are We Imposing Our Morality?
“Even in the Bible, we can read na ang babae, dapat magsuot na pambabae; at ng lalaki magsuot ng panlalaki [that a woman must wear women’s clothing and a man must wear men’s clothing].” [1] That’s what Senator Manny Pacquiao “argued against a legislative proposal prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity, including a person’s manner of clothing.” [2] As expected, the Internet exploded with reactions for and against what Pacquiao said. Among other things, he was accused of violating the separation of Church and State and of imposing his morals on others. He was also labeled as hateful and a bigot. Bataan representative Geraldine Roman, “the first openly transgender politician in the Philippines,” [3] countered,
I respect his religious beliefs, but the basis of our laws is not the Bible. It is the Constitution where the tenet of equality is enshrined. [4]
Was the Honorable representative saying that the Bible has no place in our government? I hope not.
Now I will not yet be talking about the anti-discrimination bill. I also have disagreements with the way Senator Pacquiao states his case, giving the impression that that’s the common stance of the Evangelicals in the country. But that’s not my topic either. I want to talk about the allegation that we Christians are imposing our morals on others. Dr. Frank Turek, founder of www.Crossexamined.org and author of “Correct, Not Politically Correct: How Same-Sex Marriage Hurts Everyone” book, wrote,
News flash: all laws legislate morality. … morality is about right and wrong, and all laws declare one behavior right and the opposite behavior wrong. So the question is not whether or not we can legislate morality, but whose morality will we legislate? [5]
I think the confusion lies also with equating “legislating morality” with “legislating religion.” The former is the responsibility of the State and the latter is prohibited by the fact that there is a separation of Church and State. Turek clarified,
Broadly defined, religion involves our duty to God while morality involves our duty to one another. Our lawmakers are not telling people that they need to be a member of a church—that would be legislating religion. But lawmakers cannot avoid telling people how they should treat one another —that is legislating morality, and that is what all laws do. [6]
Regarding Representative Roman’s claim that “the basis of our laws is not the Bible,” I believe that’s not entirely true. I don’t think our lawmakers did not have the commands “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13, ESV) and “You shall not steal” (v. 15) when they crafted the laws against murder and theft.
In fact, if the government could not pass laws consistent with biblical teachings, then all criminal laws would have to be overturned because they are all in some way consistent with at least one of the Ten Commandments. The truth is, Christians do not legislate the Bible as such, but we do legislate the moral law consistent with the Bible. We do not need to legislate religion, but we cannot avoid legislating morality. [7]
The role of the government is to promote what is good and punish what is bad.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:3-4)
We may not all agree with what is good and what is bad. But we all agree that there is such a thing as good and bad. We also believe that there are norms in society that are consistent with what the Bible teaches. Thus, we affirm those norms with laws that make sure they are implemented.
Brothers and sisters, we are not imposing morality. We are affirming it.
[1] Kathrina Charmaine Alvaraez (13 February 2017), “Pacquiao argues vs. anti-discrimination bill: Bible does not allow cross-dressing,” GMA News Online, retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Hemant Mehta (15 February 2017), “Transgender Politician Responds Perfectly to Philippines Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s Bible-Based Bigotry,” Patheos, retrieved from http://www.patheos.com/.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Frank Turek and Eric Schansberg (2017), “Why Christians Must Legislate Morality”, Christian Research institute, retrieved from http://www.equip.org/. Emphasis added.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid, italics his. Emphasis added.
