Evangelicals Declare New Commitment To Reject the sin of homosexuality
When we decline to agree that same-sex marriage (or any sexual conduct at odds with God’s standard) is okay, we are doing this for the good of those who may engage in that conduct which is harmful to them. When we pray for the well-being of the LGBT victims of violence in Orlando, we are doing it for their good. There should be no tension between the two for a Christian.
Telling LGBT people that their lives are sinful can have severe mental health consequences. The have no concept of sin and so they see it as offense only. They don't see God as holy and homosexual sin as unholy ...just offended.
But when you share the gospel and call people to repent of their sin, only one group calls it emotional abuse - LGBTQ.
Christian ethicist David Gushee (who has gone completly liberal) spurred this debate when he wrote last week, “Middle ground is disappearing on the question of whether LGBT persons should be treated as full equals, without any discrimination in society — and on the related question of whether religious institutions should be allowed to continue discriminating due to their doctrinal beliefs.”
Incorrectly, siding with the advance of sinful LGBT equality and against God and scripture, Gushee warned that there is no room left for “polite half-acceptance,” nor for “neutralist, avoidist, or de facto discriminatory” responses — let alone outright rejection.
“Sometimes society changes and it marks decadence. Other times society changes and it marks progress. Those who believe LGBT equality marks decadence are being left behind.”The Bible would say - yes being left behind as the rest go over the cliff into full sinfulness.
Other evangelical leaders have criticized him ever since, so it was no surprise that his “middle ground” piece elicited incredible negative feedback. It was enough that he responded to the criticism in a follow-up piece just a few days later.
Unsurprisingly, this follow-up didn’t do much to placate his critics. Indeed, they responded by not only doubling down on what their beliefs teach them about the sin of LGBT people, but by acknowledging that they weren’t even interested in finding middle ground or compromising beliefs to the new age.
Burk is undaunted by Gushee’s warning. “We are not looking for ways to escape suffering by placating the spirit of the age. We are preparing ourselves to embrace suffering so that we can follow Christ,” he promised. No matter how many people leave the church, “we are praying for the strength and resolve to stand when the heat is on. It is not even on our radar screen to consider turning back, as Gushee would have us to do. We are on the narrow way with Jesus, and by the grace of God there will be no going back.”
But Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wasn’t interested in playing nice. He doubled down and then came out swinging. “I have to wonder if the sexual revolutionaries and their erstwhile supporters and theologians understand just what they have set loose,” he offered. Then, referring to a metaphor Gushee employed about approaching lava, Mohler outright threatened: “Ask not for whom the volcano erupts; it erupts for thee.”
Unsurprisingly, this follow-up didn’t do much to placate his critics. Indeed, they responded by not only doubling down on what their beliefs teach them about the sin of LGBT people, but by acknowledging that they weren’t even interested in finding middle ground or compromising beliefs to the new age.
John Stonestreet, President of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview, was inspired to tweet about the validity of LGBT identities specifically because he read Gushee’s column. Like Dreher, he basically agrees with Gushee’s premise that the middle ground is disappearing, but opts to remain on the winning side of it. “So, where does that leave us?” he wrote. “God willing, it leaves us right where we are, at our posts, obeying Christ, loving God and our neighbors.”
Various leaders within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant body in the United States, also chimed in to rebuke Gushee and assure followers that the denomination will remain holy and separate and loving people but rejecting the sin of homosexuality.
Various leaders within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Protestant body in the United States, also chimed in to rebuke Gushee and assure followers that the denomination will remain holy and separate and loving people but rejecting the sin of homosexuality.
Among the first to respond was Denny Burk, a pastor and professor of Biblical studies at Boyce College who has spearheaded the SBC’s condemnation of transgender people. “More than anything, Gushee’s column fills me with grief,” he bemoaned. “There couldn’t be a bigger gap between what he would like to happen and what is actually happening among Christians right now.”
Burk is undaunted by Gushee’s warning. “We are not looking for ways to escape suffering by placating the spirit of the age. We are preparing ourselves to embrace suffering so that we can follow Christ,” he promised. No matter how many people leave the church, “we are praying for the strength and resolve to stand when the heat is on. It is not even on our radar screen to consider turning back, as Gushee would have us to do. We are on the narrow way with Jesus, and by the grace of God there will be no going back.”
But Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wasn’t interested in playing nice. He doubled down and then came out swinging. “I have to wonder if the sexual revolutionaries and their erstwhile supporters and theologians understand just what they have set loose,” he offered. Then, referring to a metaphor Gushee employed about approaching lava, Mohler outright threatened: “Ask not for whom the volcano erupts; it erupts for thee.”
