yesterday morning, the supreme court issued a ruling that declared the 17-year old defense of marriage act—DOMA—unconsitutional. long story short, they ruled that same-sex couples must be afforded equal rights and protection under the law as opposite-sex couples.

then twitter exploded.

as per usual on twitter, that included everything from tweets of elation to insightful commentary to theological pontificating to outlandish hyperbole.

enter mike huckabee

naturally, arkansas’ most lovable expat, mike huckabee, chimed in and he gets bonus points for posting a tweet that fits into 2 of those categories—the latter two, of course.

here’s his gem:

My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: "Jesus wept."

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 26, 2013

my post here isn’t so much about the nuts and bolts of the scriptures regarding homosexuality. (that’s a whole other blog post.) but when i first read huckabee’s tweet, it was frustrating because it’s such a divisive statement from someone claiming to represent and, ultimately, speak for jesus.

to say the very least, i don’t believe jesus wept at the court’s decision. but i do think jesus might weep when christians tell a whole group of people that their victory in the struggle to get equal civil rights is the source of the messiah’s emotional distress. the only thing huckabee’s tweet does is further drive a wedge between the homosexuality community and the church. trust me, the church doesn’t need any extra help in that area.

does he believe that statements like these bring anyone closer to following in the way of jesus? you know, that guy who’s apparently weeping over peoples’ pursuit of a life of fidelity and commitment.

collective identity?

what’s just as frustrating about this kind of public declaration from christians is the way they’re cast as the collective and singular voice of people of faith. here’s a tweet from lifeway research president ed stetzer:

Despite Christian belief that homosexual activity is personally sinful, society has decided it's legally permissible. http://t.co/x2eYLBJFRk

— Ed Stetzer (@edstetzer) June 27, 2013

how is he casting the view that homosexuality is sinful? as “christian belief”. not “many christians’ belief” or “my belief”, but as the totality of “christian belief”. in the post he links to (in which he, ironically, tells christians they shouldn’t blog about this issue…), he expands that phrase to “evangelical christian belief”, but even that doesn’t reflect what his own polling would show is a diverse range of opinion about homosexuality even amongst self-described evangelicals.

i believe the supreme court made the correct ruling. not for theological or even moral reasons (though i could make those arguments as well), but because in our country, all people should have equal rights and protection under the law.

christians should feel as strongly about this as anyone. why? because we follow jesus, who was a voice of uncouth equality and who championed those on the fringes of society. ultimately, his greatest commandment wasn’t just to love god but to love others just the same. treating others with grace, dignity, love and equality is a good start at doing just that.

so, i’ll close with another tweet by my friend holly that offers a take of jesus’ weeping that mr. huckabee might consider:

https://twitter.com/lilhollylayne/status/349970648120041473