Even before the United States Supreme Court has delivered its landmark verdict on same-sex marriage, Christians from across the nation have been raising hell over what they anticipate would be the judiciary’s decision.

Most recently, the leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, which happens to be America’s second biggest Christian denomination, vowed never to conduct same-sex nuptials, while urging other pastors to adopt the same stand. Addressing a large audience at the Southern Baptist Convention’s yearly meeting in Columbus on June 16, Pastor Ronnie Floyd voiced his sympathy for homosexuals but remained firm about his stance, saying that it is important for Christians to speak out about the issue.

“America, we stand believing that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a covenant commitment for a lifetime,” Floyd said. “While some evangelicals may be bowing down to the deception of the inclusiveness of same-sex marriage, we will not bow down nor will we be silent. … We do not need to redefine what God Himself has defined already.”

Floyd said that the impending Supreme Court decision that could make lawful same-sex marriage across the United States might turn into a watershed moment in the nation’s history.

“The Supreme Court of the United States is not the final authority nor is the culture itself. … The Bible is God’s final authority about marriage and on this book we stand,” the pastor said.

Floyd’s comments were met with rousing applause as well as standing ovations, thus making evident how his ideas resonated that of the audience’s. The audience’s jubilations came alongside delegates passing a resolution that would forward a request to the Supreme Court about the rights of Americans being upheld while defining marriage as an exclusive union between one man and one woman.

Earlier, Reverend Franklin Graham had said that the Supreme Court’s pending decision on whether to make lawful same-sex marriage across the United States or allow individual states to continue making their own decisions would emerge as the most historic and far-reaching judgment of this century. He also went on to imply if the decision favored gays and lesbians, it would simultaneously mark the persecution of believers and thus anger God, which is why he would continue to pray for the nine Supreme Court justices who are expected to announce the verdict by the end of this summer.

“This is a pivotal moment in the history of America. As nine U.S. Supreme Court justices consider arguments brought before the court on April 28 about whether to make same-sex marriage a constitutional right, we need to pray fervently for the wisdom and counsel of God to work its way into the hearts and minds of those making this momentous decision,” Graham said in a message on Facebook last month. “The impending decision will rank as the most historic and far-reaching judgment of the 21st century. If our nation's highest court decrees same-sex marriage as the law of the land, the consequences will be great. It sets the stage for persecution of believers committed to living by the truth of God's Holy Word.”

While 36 states across America, including the District of Columbia, have already made lawful same-sex marriage, the country’s highest court is yet to decide whether the Constitution requires all 50 states to do the same or at least mandates every state (where same-sex marriage is not legal) to recognize a marriage between two individuals of the same gender, when their marriage has been legally performed and licensed in a different state (where same-sex marriage is legal).

As religious conservatives continue to insist that marriage should be preserved as a union between one man and one woman in order to protect children and offer them both paternal and maternal care, LGBT advocates argue that the issue is much larger, since it revolves around all Americans being guaranteed equal rights by the Constitution.

Additionally, last week, a group of Christian pastors started an online campaign to oppose carrying out same-sex nuptials, irrespective of the forthcoming Supreme Court decision that may declare gay and lesbian marriage a constitutional right in America.

Approximately, 40,000 church leaders and pastors signed the petition that aimed to oppose all government efforts targeted towards compelling the clergy to accept same-sex marriage.

Baptist pastor Rick Scarborough said that the petitioners were ready to accept any amount of fine or length of jail term to protect their right to religious freedom and that of others. The petition, which asserts that marriage is acceptable solely between one man and one woman, has received support from Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum as well.

“Marriage and family have been inscribed by the Divine Architect into the order of Creation” and that “marriage is ontologically between one man and one woman, ordered toward the union of the spouses, open to children and formative of family,” reads the pledge in part.

Photo Credits: Slate