Free to Believe: Dear Mr President
Johann Christoph Arnold, a senior pastor of the Bruderhof Communites, wrote the following letter to US President Obama asking him to reconsider his directive to the United States Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
Mr. Arnold is the author of Sex, God & Marriage, a free ebook which is being posted a Chapter At A Time each week on the Bruderhof’s www.plough.com site.
Click here to read Mr Arnold’s letter as sent to President Obama (284 kb .pdf).
October 3, 2011
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
I am writing on behalf of our church of over 3,000 members located in America, England, Germany, Australia, and South America.
I recently read the letter Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York wrote to you on September 20, 2011. Like him, I want to express my concern over your directive to the justice department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court.
I am thankful for every positive measure your administration has taken to strengthen marriage and the family. However, I cannot remain silent when the government attacks matters of religious belief. It is wrong to label as bigots those who cannot, as a matter of conscience, redefine marriage. This issue has nothing to do with civil rights.
Our country was founded on the principle of religious freedom. This is why the first settlers left Europe to come here and find a place where they and their families could worship God. It was for this reason that the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving - a celebration of the family that we still enjoy today.
On September 26, 2011, Archbishop Dolan and I together with Reverend Jesse Bottoms, participated in a forum on marriage and the family as God ordained it. The theme of the evening was that marriage between one man and one woman, for life, is the bedrock of the family and of civilization. All of this will come to an abrupt end if the family is redefined. This will happen at the expense of our children who are the real victims. Children need to know who their father and mother are. They want to love and be loved by the two people who brought them into the world. Only the marriage of one man to one woman can provide this security. The majority of people who attended this event felt like we did, but then the evening was hijacked by the gay community, pushing their agenda of same-sex marriages.
God had tremendous wisdom when he created man and then woman. He knew that they could not exist without each other. God had great joy in marriage and, as we read in Genesis, “He saw that it was good.” That is why it says in Ephesians 5: 31: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Your recent support of same-sex “marriage” threatens all of us who still enjoy the religious freedoms of the Constitution. The fruits of this direction will be bad. As Paul writes in Galatians, we should seek to sow in the spirit instead of in the flesh. Let us do this out of love for our children and for future generations.
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. (Galatians 6:7-10)
Dear Mr. President, when you were elected, millions of people had great hope in you, wishing and praying for the change that you promised in your campaign. I loved the picture of you and your wife Michelle, and your two daughters. For me, that represented the true American family.
All of a sudden this is changing. This is very sad and that is why I will not be silent on this theme. Many other American citizens are fearful for our nation and for our civilization. There is so much at stake. Let us join hands to reverse this trend that threatens to destroy everything we have tried to teach our children.
Respectfully,
Johann Christoph Arnold, Senior Pastor
Bruderhof Communities
2032 Route 213
Rifton, NY 12471
1. For more about the ‘Ring Makes the Difference’ forum, read Claudia McDonnell’s account in the Catholic New York.