Can gays be 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 thoughtful of questions? Adv, 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 foremost to share our biblically-informed opinion, but know that we may have other convictions on the non-essentials (vs. the essentials).
Now, let’s dive into the interrogate 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 want it on anyone. It’s very tough being alone and longing for someone to hold hands with. I desire the chance to love and include someone love me back. I wish 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 Same-sex attracted Christian: The Biblical Case in Help 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 collapse 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 first creative intention for humanity ... and therefore that gay 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 contrary 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 look behind and beyond the “clobber passage”
There’s a name for what’s happening here: proof texting.
Theopodia defines proof texting as “the method by which a person appeals to a biblical text to prove or justify a theological position without regard for the context of the corridor they are citing.”
If you catch someone say “the Bible says…” run in the other guide. The Bible says lots of things!
Here a few things the Bible says:
That the Earth was covered in water when created until God formed land (Genesis 1:9) but also that the Soil 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 retain lifetime (4:15-17).
So what does the Bible say?
The Bib
Can Christians Be Gay?
This interrogate is a powder keg—an extremely sensitive issue. If you have homosexual or bisexual tendencies, this is not just a theological debate, but speaks to the core of how you see yourself and how God views you.
The homosexual conversation impacts not just those who recognize themselves as LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender), but all of us. Regardless of whether you can relate with this fight, you will have to sort through your possess views on the topic. If you do not already, you will own a good friend or family member who is gay. You will hold to make decisions about whether to go to a same-sex wedding, whether to have your daughter and her partner over for dinner, and whether to attend a church with a gay pastor.
Within the last decade, the Christian opinion on homosexuality has gone through a drastic turnaround. There has been no new scientific or theological discovery; many people have changed their minds about what they believe.
In today’s changing nature, stating that homosexuality is anything but an acceptable lifestyle, approved by God, is seen as unloving, judgmental, hateful, and in some places, criminal. One of the most awesome