GAY TRUTH

Active gays who deny biblical teaching on sexuality have long since spoken loudly and proudly about their lifestyle. But with few exceptions , celibate Christians who struggle with same-sex attraction had largely remained silent about their plight, in part because of fear and misunderstanding within the church. Yes, high-profile examples such as Rosaria Butterfield's train wreck conversion inspire us. Her story has a happy ending now that she is a mother and wife of a pastor. But what about Christians whose feelings never change? Their plight led in part to Exodus International shutting down and Alan Chambers apologizing for ex-gay ministry .  Testimonies such as those featured on the new Living Out site speak to the struggle to walk with God in faith when no relief is in sight. Any hope of changing minds on homosexuality needs to privilege such voices as the rest of us learn to speak with empathy and understanding. The last 10 years of cultural shifts might have looked q

" Pray the Gay Away? " was the title of the latest episode of "Our America " with Ling. The longtime television journalist , whose new series is on OWN ( Oprah Winfrey Network ), sought to find answers to a question that continues to be asked today: Is it possible to be gay and Christian at the same time? For 17 students at The Naming Project's summer camp, it is. "Everyone in this camp has heard many times over being gay is a sin, almost as though it was a broken record," the Rev. Jay Wiesner, pastoral director at The Naming Project, told Ling. "Our hope is to be able to offer a place for kids to become at peace with you they are." Chelsea Shamy, 19, remembered being rejected at her church and at school after coming out as a lesbian. But she is convinced that God accepts her the way she is. "I just felt so rejected because I know that's not what God is. God is love and that's not what they were sharing at all," she said on

The gay community has expressed dissatisfaction with Nixon for suggesting that being gay is a choice. Nixon has made the comment twice, once in a speech and once in a New York Times interview, causing a backlash from the gay activists, who do not want homosexuality to be depicted as a choice. "I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line 'I've been straight and I've been gay, and gay is better," the actress told the New York Times. "And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice." Joy Behar , a co-host of the View, expressed confusion about the decision to be gay last year. "I don't know how to respond to that, I mean I don't think that anybody in this world wants to be gay, considering all of the vilification that is brought upon someone who is gay. Why would you choose that?" But Nixon questions why being gay shouldn't be a cho

Exodus International president Alan Chambers has, explained the Orlando-based ministry's recent U-turn on reparative therapy. And while the organization's stance remains acceptable to most evangelicals, some scholars fear that Chambers's theological convictions—sprinkled throughout those interviews—have not. "It's not that he is simply not saying the warnings [against homosexual activity] in Scripture. I could live with that," Pittsburgh Theological Seminary professor Robert Gagnon said of Chambers's recent comments. "It's that he is saying the exact opposite of what Scripture clearly teaches … . He's preaching an anti-gospel." The theological heresy in question is antinomianism. The term was coined by Martin Luther to refer to those who believe that since faith is sufficient for salvation, Christians are not obligated to keep God's moral law. Gagnon, author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice and a plenary speaker at Exodus'

I've been asked to comment on the controversy provoked by a recent interview in the Atlantic with Alan Chambers , the president of Exodus International —an evangelical ministry founded to help Christians and non-Christians find freedom from the guilt and power of a same-sex lifestyle. Christians may debate public policy, but in this interview, Chambers raises issues that are very clearly addressed in Scripture. Especially when we are dealing with human lives, daring to draw our counsel from God , we need to affirm the simplicity of biblical teaching on the subject while rejecting an over-simplifying of the issues involved. The problem (sin and death) as well as the solution (redemption in Christ through the gospel) are simple, but hardly simplistic. In terms of sin, Scripture is quite clear about the condition ( original sin —guilt, bondage, corruption leading to death) and the acts that arise from it. There are versions of the pro-gay and anti-gay agenda that assume a simp

Christianity Today: Ex-gay coalition shifts from reparative therapy to discipleship after losing prominent partners. When California became the first state to ban reparative therapy for minors this fall, the public scrutiny of the treatment drew attention to Exodus International , the nation's largest ex-gay ministry . But Exodus had already stopped promoting the practice, saying it was largely ineffective. Exodus's shift on reparative therapy has been only one of several therapeutic and theological controversies that divided the ministry this year. Top leaders and dozens of affiliate ministries have defected from the 37-year-old umbrella ministry as it has attempted to reshape its mission and public image. Board member John Warren, a 53-year-old Florida banker who publicly defended Exodus president Alan Chambers in the face of this summer's criticism, reversed course and parted ways with the Orlando, Florida, ministry in September. Warren said he became uncomfortable w

Exodus International (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In recent weeks the leadership at Exodus International , an international Christian ministry that reaches out to those struggling with same-sex attraction , has distanced itself from so-called reparative or "conversion" therapy. Now, a Christian theologian is calling for the removal of Alan Chambers , the president of Exodus. Professor Robert Gagnon, an associate professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary , recently said Chambers is offering false hope to gays and lesbians by stating that their salvation is assured. Gagnon cites a 2011 interview with journalist Lisa Ling where Chambers said "people living an active gay Christian life will be in heaven with me if they have a relationship with Jesus Christ ." Gagnon added that Chambers made similar remarks when he spoke with the Gay Christian Network Conference in January 2012. In a 35-page article on Chambers, Gagnon said, "Alan's approach of provid

Exodus International president Alan Chambers has, in the past week, explained the Orlando-based ministry's recent U-turn on reparative therapy to everyone from  The New York Times  to  NPR  to MSNBC 's  Hardball . And while the organization's stance remains acceptable to most evangelicals, some scholars fear that Chambers's theological convictions—sprinkled throughout those interviews—have not. "It's not that he is simply not saying the warnings [against homosexual activity] in Scripture. I could live with that," Pittsburgh Theological Seminary professor Robert Gagnon said of Chambers's recent comments. "It's that he is saying the exact opposite of what Scripture clearly teaches … . He's preaching an anti-gospel." The theological heresy in question is antinomianism. The term was coined by Martin Luther to refer to those who believe that since faith is sufficient for salvation, Christians are not obligated to keep God's

Exodus International (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Can Christians embrace a same-sex lifestyle and still be members in good standing in a Christian church ? I've been asked to comment on the  controversy  provoked by a recent interview in the  Atlantic  with Alan Chambers , the president of Exodus International —an evangelical ministry founded to help Christians and non-Christians find freedom from the guilt and power of a same-sex lifestyle. Christians may debate public policy, but in this interview, Chambers raises issues that are very clearly addressed in Scripture . Especially when we are dealing with human lives, daring to draw our counsel from God , we need to affirm the simplicity of biblical teaching on the subject while rejecting an over-simplifying of the issues involved. The problem (sin and death) as well as the solution (redemption in Christ through the gospel) are simple, but hardly simplistic. In terms of sin, Scripture is quite clear about the condit