GAY TRUTH

When Matthew Vines’ book God and the Gay Christian came out in 2014, I could hardly have imagined how much of an impact it would have among evangelicals. Nevertheless, it has had an impact. Some of the high-profile evangelicals (e.g. Jen Hatmaker) who have come out affirming gay marriage have done so on the basis of arguments found in Vines’ book. Among the ideas from Vines’ book that I still see gaining purchase among evangelicals is a particular hermeneutical oddity that Vines draws from Jesus’ teaching about “trees” and “fruit” in Matthew 7:15-20, where Jesus says, Every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Whereas Jesus applies this to false teachers, Vines applies the principle in a way that goes against the way Jesus intended it. Vines writes,

Last week,  Pete Enns interviewed Jen Hatmaker  about her recent exit from evangelical Christianity. You can download the interview  here  or listen below: 00:00 00:00 Audio Player Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. – The interview focuses on Hatmaker’s decision to embrace homosexual immorality as consistent with following Jesus. Among other things, Hatmaker describes all the consequences that have resulted from that decision—lost book contracts, cancelled speaking engagements, estranged friends and church members. She describes a harrowing emotional cost for her decision to walk away from the 2,000-year old teaching of the Christian church. I have previously heard her talk about a lot of this, but one item in particular stuck out to me this time. One of the interviewers asked her if she had an “Aha!” moment in her reading of scripture that led her to her new views. Hatmaker explains that since key biblical texts about sexuali

What does the Bible say about homosexuality . An interview with Sean McDowell and Matthew Vines . How did Jesus view sex and marriage? In this video, Sean and Matthew discuss important biblical passages related to the biblical view of homosexuality. Last night I had the opportunity to discuss the Bible and Homosexuality with Matthew Vines. It was hosted by Living Oaks Church as part of their “Get a Grip” series. Here is my opening statement. I normally don't post an article this long, and I rarely write out a speech word-for-word. But here it is nonetheless! My thanks to pastor Jon and the church for hosting this conversation, and my respect to Matthew for being willing to enter into this dialogue at a church that holds the historic Christian view on sex and marriage. I appreciate Jon’s opening statement. This issue is too important to be decided by personality, experience, or likability. Don’t be tempted to believe something because you like me or because you don’t like

Mohler, colleagues publish e-book refuting new book, ‘ God   and   the  Gay Christian’ Cover of God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines, edited by R. Albert Mohler Jr. , published by SBTS Press as part of its new “CONVERSANT” series. A new book’s “exceedingly dangerous” assertions that homosexual orientation and gay marriage are consistent with a high view of the Bible is refuted by President R. Albert Mohler Jr. and four of his colleagues at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in an e-book, published today. God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines  released this morning, the same day as the official release of Vines’ volume,  God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships , which has garnered significant attention in the days leading up to its release. Vines, a 24-year-old former Harvard student, weaves his personal biography of growing up as an evangelical Christian and “coming out” as a homosex

Unlike Matthew Vines, I was not raised in a Christian home and believed homosexual, romantic relationships were not sinful. I became aware of my attractions toward other men when I was nine but hid them until I came out in my early twenties while in graduate school pursuing a doctorate in dentistry. My mother was devastated but through this incident, she became a Christian. Although her initial response was rejection, after coming to Christ she could do nothing other than love her gay son. After many years of running from God and rebelling against my parents, I was incarcerated for drug dealing and received the news that I was HIV+ . I found a Bible in the trash can and began reading it. I confided with a prison chaplain who told me that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality, and he gave me a book by gay historian, John Boswell . Like Vines, I too wanted to reconcile faith with sexuality. With that book in one hand and the Bible in the other, I had every reason to accept Boswell&#