Let No Man Put Asunder: A Resolution in Defense of Marriage

The institution of marriage is now in crisis—and this crisis has been generations in coming. For decades, marriage has been under assault in Western societies. Citizens of the advanced industrial nations have treated marriage as a legal and social convenience, to be made and remade in every generation. Marriage has been undermined by permissive sexuality, the availability of divorce, the assumption of personal autonomy, and now, by the prospect of legalized same-sex unions.

Marriage is not a human contrivance. Indeed, it is part of God’s perfect design for his human creatures. We affirm that marriage was designed for humanity by our Creator, who gave us marriage for the rightful ordering of human sexuality and relationships. The Holy Scripture is clear and unambiguous about the nature of marriage as a permanent bond of a man and a woman before God. Furthermore, it is a covenant that unites a man and a woman in a holy union. Marriage deserves our greatest respect and stalwart defense, even as it offers priceless joys and satisfactions to those who maintain its integrity.

Marriage is not just one institution among others. It is the central institution for the ordering of humanity at the most intimate level. Without a commitment to marriage, human society is deprived of its most fundamental structure—and social disaster will inevitably follow.

Any legal recognition of same-sex relationships—whether known as “marriages,” “civil unions,” or any other nomenclature—is a direct act of defiance before God, and a rejection of God’s perfect design for human sexuality, human relatedness, and the raising of children.

Therefore, the presidents and faculties of the six seminaries serving the Southern Baptist Convention hereby jointly and publicly declare our support for the institution of marriage, our opposition to the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, and our determination to uphold the integrity of marriage in all we teach, profess, and declare.

Furthermore, we call on the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention—and all Christians of good will and biblical conviction—to join us in this sacred effort, and to present the watching world with a bold witness to God’s glory in marriage.

Adopted by the seminary faculties in official action, and represented in this resolution by each seminary president: