Southern Baptists voted on a resolution to overturn same-sex marriage. A Louisvillian wrote it
The professor of Biblical Studies at Boyce College, a Christian college off Louisville's Lexington Road affiliated with the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, used the verses to write a resolution on "restoring moral clarity through God's design for gender, marriage and family."
"Whereas, legal rulings like Obergefell v. Hodges and policies that deny the biological reality of male and female are legal fictions, undermine the truth of God's design, and lead to social confusion and injustice," a line of the resolution stated.
The resolution was part of a focus by the Southern Baptist Convention, which has long had a fixation on opposing LGBTQ+ rights, and also abortion before the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Burk, a strong traditionalist voice within the Southern Baptist Convention, proposed the language in the resolution. Burk is also the president of the Louisville-based Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, an advocacy group that opposes LGBTQ+ rights.
On Tuesday, during its annual meeting in Dallas, the Southern Baptist Convention voted on a resolution to reverse Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.
Southern Baptist delegates, known as "messengers," overwhelmingly approved the measure following little debate on the resolution's language.
Andrew Walker, an ethicist at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary off Lexington Road in Crescent Hill, chaired that resolution committee.
"What we're trying to do is keep the conversation alive," Walker told The New York Times.
Burk told USA TODAY he was grateful the SBC had taken up his call to overturn Obergefell.
"We know that we are in the minority on this issue, but we want to be a prophetic minority," Burk said. "We don't mind being countercultural when it comes to marriage. We want to bear faithful witness to God's good design — that marriage is the conjugal union of one man and one woman."
The Courier Journal requested an interview with Walker but received a message that Walker was on sabbatical, writing a book. The follow-up contact did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Courier Journal also requested an interview with Burk, who is also on sabbatical until July 31.
The Courier Journal also requested an interview with Albert Mohler, the president of the seminary and a prominent evangelical leader. Mohler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative reporter. Reach her at skuzydym@courier-journal.com or on social media @stephkuzy. Liam Adams, who covers religion as part of the USA TODAY Network, contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Southern Baptist repeal same-sex marriage based in Louisville
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