Being gay being christian
This may not be a huge surprise, but we obtain A LOT of questions via email, social media, and in person on Tuesdays. What gentle of questions? Adequately, anything from, Should I get advocate together with my boyfriend or girlfriend? to What should I do next with my life? to How should I lovingly participate those in the LGBTQ community?
In this blog series “Ask The Porch,” we’re answering real-life questions that we’ve received from you. Disclaimer: our highest priority is always to first respond with biblical counsel from God’s Word. The hardest questions to answer are those in the “grey” areas. So we’ll do our optimal to share our biblically-informed opinion, but know that we may have unlike convictions on the non-essentials (vs. the essentials).
Now, let’s dive into the ask for this week emailed in from an online listener:
Can a Christian be gay?
“Hey David,
I am a Christian and have struggled with same sex attraction since childhood. I would not long for it on anyone. It’s very unyielding being alone and longing for someone to hold hands with. I wish the chance to love and acquire someone love me back. I crave to live a life for God but I also don’t want to live on this earth alone.
The Bible and equal sex relationships: A review article
Tim Keller, 2015
Vines, Matthew, God and the Homosexual Christian: The Biblical Case in Back of Same Sex Relationships, Convergent Books, 2014
Wilson, Ken,A Letter to My Congregation, David Crum Media, 2014.
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is one of the main topics of discussion in our culture today. In the plummet of last year I wrote a review of books by Wesley Hill and Sam Allberry that take the historic Christian view, in Hill’s words: “that homosexuality was not God’s unique creative intention for humanity ... and therefore that lgbtq+ practice goes against God’s express will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ.”
There are a number of other books that take the other side view, namely that the Bible either allows for or supports same sex relationships. Over the last year or so I (and other pastors at Redeemer) have been regularly asked for responses to their arguments. The two most read volumes taking this position seem to be those by Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson. The review of these two books will be longer than usual because the topic is so contested today and, wh
Is it REALLY ok to be LGBTQ? A view behind and beyond the “clobber passage”
There’s a designate for what’s happening here: proof texting.
Theopodia defines proof texting as “the technique by which a person appeals to a biblical text to prove or justify a theological position without regard for the context of the passage they are citing.”
If you hear someone say “the Bible says…” run in the other direction. The Bible says lots of things!
Here a not many things the Bible says:
That the Earth was covered in water when created until God formed country (Genesis 1:9) but also that the Earth was completely dry until God brought streams up and watered the planet (Genesis 2:5-6).
That God created animals first and then humans (Genesis 1) but also that God created Adam first, then animals, then Eve (Genesis 2).
That’s right, the Bible contradicts itself in the first two chapters!
“The Bible says” in Exodus and Deuteronomy that if a woman is raped her rapist must either marry her or pay her father (because he’s “damaged” the father’s “property”).
Paul says in 1 Thessalonians that Jesus will return in his control lifetime (4:15-17).
So what does the Bible say?
The Bib
What Does the Bible Utter About Homosexuality?
What Does The Bible Say About Homosexuality?
Introduction
For the last two decades, Pew Research Center has reported that one of the most enduring ethical issues across Christian traditions is sexual diversity. For many Christians, one of the most frequently first-asked questions on this topic is, “What does the Bible say about attraction to someone of the same sex?”
Although its unlikely that the biblical authors had any notion of sexual orientation (for example, the term homosexual wasn't even coined until the late 19th century) for many people of faith, the Bible is looked to for timeless guidance on what it means to honor God with our lives; and this most certainly includes our sexuality.
Before we can jump into how it is that Christians can maintain the authority of the Bible and also affirm sexual diversity, it might be helpful if we started with a brief but clear overview of some of the assumptions informing many Christian approaches to understanding the Bible.
What is the Bible?
For Christians to whom the Bible is God’s very written word, it is widely understood that God produced its content