Gay marriage, speaking the truth in love, and the United States Supreme Court, on the very first edition of Truth in Love.

I'm Heath Lambert, and you're listening to Truth in Love, a podcast of the Association of Certified

Biblical Counselors. On this podcast, we're making it our goal to provide biblical solutions

to the problems that people face. One of the most significant problems that the Christian

church is addressing in the contemporary culture is the one of homosexuality, same-sex attraction, and the issue of gay marriage.

Even now, the Supreme Court of the United States is poised to rule on whether marriage can be

understood as the union between members of the same sex. Most Christians know that this significant

decision is being made, but I think many are unfamiliar with the crucial details of the case.

The case that the Supreme Court is deciding is Abbergefell v. Hodges.

At the heart of this case are two homosexual men named James Obergefell and John Arthur.

The couple began a dating relationship in 1993 and have been together but never decided to

marry since then. They remained together until 2011 when Arthur was diagnosed with a myotrophic

lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease. It's a terminal illness that destroys motor functioning

and ultimately took John Arthur's life in 2013.

Before his death, when faced with the sobering reality of this terminal diagnosis,

the couple decided to marry after the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act

in the 2013 Griswold v. Connecticut decision. The couple lived in Ohio, and because

gay marriage remained illegal in that state, the couple needed to marry in another state where it

was permitted, but this was challenging because Lugarig's disease had confined John Arthur to a

hospital bed. The couple began to raise support and were able to charter a medical jet and fly to a state where same-sex unions were permitted.

And so, on July 11, 2013, Aburgafel and Arthur boarded a plane to Maryland with Arthur's aunt,

Paulette Roberts, who'd been ordained to officiate weddings over the internet.

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