GAY TRUTH

NBC News is doing a full-court press against pro-family organizations, with three smear pieces in the last three weeks of 2020. These stories aim to eliminate pro-family groups from polite society and routine business transactions. Even worse, these NBC News stories are scapegoating and marginalizing Christians. We are to blame, you see, for all the troubles in our troubled world. The SPLC “Hate List” First up: on December 9, NBC News published a story cataloging 14 organizations on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Hate List” that received Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans. (Full disclosure: the Ruth Institute, which I head, is one of the 14.) The Paycheck Protection Program was designed to provide relief to small businesses affected by the government-imposed coronavirus lockdowns. The NBC article quoted experts who mused aloud about whether the government should forgive Paycheck Protection Program loans to these “hate groups.” These experts were “troubled” by “extremist g...

Christian Wallabies players have blasted Rugby Australia, saying they 'felt muzzled' and were not allowed to publicly support their teammate Israel Folau before he was sacked for posting homophobic messages to Instagram. Senior Wallabies Sekope Kepu and Samu Kerevi both supported Folau after his social media posts about homosexuals being condemned to hell when they died. Folau's lucrative contract was torn up by Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle before he launched legal action and reached a multi-million dollar settlement in December.   Kerevi and Kepu wrote affidavits submitted to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in support of Folau in November, which were later obtained by The Australian.  In the documents both men state they were 'muzzled' by Rugby Australia when they felt they were prevented from speaking with the media over the Folau saga.  'My perception was that the media was briefed to approach people who would toe the 'anti-Isra...

Joe Carter has a really important article about LGBT Pride Month as a religious observance. You need to read the whole thing, but here is the heart of it: Because the LGBT agenda of normalizing homosexuality and transgenderism conflicts with Christianity (at least in its non-apostate forms), to “eliminate prejudice” requires anathematizing the beliefs of Bible-believing Christians. In the future the celebration of LGBT views will likely be compelled. But for now, every American is simply required to choose a side. This is why LGBT Pride Month is also, as my colleague Betsy Howard says, a form of Passover. In the original Passover, the Israelites put the blood of a lamb on the doorposts so that God would “pass over” their house and not bring judgment upon the people within (Ex, 12:7-13). Today, the American people fly a rainbow flag, wear an “ally” pin, or change their social media avatars to show they observe LGBT Pride Month. In doing so, they show they’ve bent the knee to th...

Panel discussion on LGBT homosexual issues and Christians with Denny Burk

Is transgender okay for Christians?

Earlier this week, I posted “ Four stages of ‘evangelical’ affirmation of gay marriage ,” which traces out a basic trajectory I have observed among those who jettison their biblical beliefs about marriage. Almost immediately, readers pointed out stages that I missed, and I thought of at least one on my own. Rosaria Butterfield wrote to me with an additional stage that I thought worth sharing with you. She writes, I also appreciated your blog post on the 4 stages. I wonder, though, if you missed a stage–somewhere between point 1 and point 2. I believe that the refusal to take a stand happens when someone buys into the sexual orientation identity system that says gay is not how you are through the imprint of original sin, but rather is who you are, through your supposedly morally neutral sexual orientation. I think it will become more and more important to foreground this step, as the next attack on orthodoxy will be (and already is) a resurgence of pelagianism in its denial of the b...

How is it that the Bible can be so clear on a particular subject — in this case, the subject of homosexual practice — and yet some Christians are not clear on what the Bible says? And why does it seem that millennials, in particular, are confused about the Bible and homosexuality? Here are the main reasons, some positive (meaning, the intent might be good, even if the conclusion is wrong) and some negative (meaning, there are no good reasons for the wrong conclusions). Because They’re Kind Humans Too First, many millennial Christians have friends or family members who identify as gay or lesbian. These friends and loved ones are nice people, friendly people, decent people, hardworking people, loyal people. They are not sexual predators and they seem perfectly normal in other respects. Their relationships seem somewhat like heterosexual relationships, and from what these friends and loved ones say, they were born this way. How can it be a sin to be gay? Second, some of t...

As California appears poised to pass a draconian bill that directly attacks your religious freedoms, it’s time for you to draw a line in the sand. If the bill passes, you must choose to obey God rather than man. It’s time for civil disobedience. I’m speaking about AB 2943, which the Senate just approved with by a vote of 25-11. Next is the Assembly, then the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown, then the length and breadth of your great state. In an August 16 email, Greg Burt, Director of Capitol Engagement, California Family Council, explained the significance of AB 2943, which I previously dubbed the “ Must Stay Gay ” bill. He wrote, “With Thursday's [Senate] vote, elected leaders told churches and those with biblical beliefs about gender and sexual orientation that advocating for their views could get them sued.” He continued, “This bill attacks the freedom of Christians . . . to find the services and resources from counselors, schools, and faith-based organizations that help them live out...

While I am glad for the fact that persons at the upcoming Revoice Conference (July 26-28, St. Louis, in a PCA venue) and those who align with the “Spiritual Friendship” program want to refrain from engaging in same-sex intercourse and thereby uphold this part of the Orthodox witness, I have seven consequential concerns about their views. 1. Inadequate engagement with the need for “renewal of the mind” as regards homosexual desires . Is there any asking of: “What is the false narrative that gives these impulses particular strength? Why am I viewing a person of the same sex as a sexual complement or counterpart to my own sex? Why am I aroused by the distinctive sexual features of my own sex, by what I already have?  Am I thinking of myself as only half of my own sex? What kind of strategies for renewing my mind can I use to counter this false narrative beyond ‘washed and waiting’?” Instead, the benefits of a generalized “gay” perspective (minus the sex) are celebrated or lifte...

Members of the Church of Freedom in Christ Ministries stood at the main entrance of the parade holding signs that offered apologies for how the LGBT community has been treated by Christians. Their banners read, "We're here to apologize for the ways that we as Christians have harmed the LGBT community." Some church members made their own signs. The demonstration was part of the church's "I'm Sorry" campaign, through which members seek to apologize on behalf of their fellow Christians for the way biblical writings have been used against the LGBT community. ARE THESE CHRISTIANS CONFUSED AND ILLITERATE? The Bible says nothing specifically about the homosexual condition (despite the rather misleading RSV translation of 1 Cor. 6:9), but its condemnations of homosexual conduct are explicit.  The force of the other OT references to homosexuality is similarly limited by the context in which they are set. Historically, homosexual behaviour was linked with ...

There’s been a battle online over whether or not to call Monday’s  Supreme Court decision  on a Christian baker “narrow.” The vote was 7-2, which isn’t narrow. But the scope of the ruling was. It seemed to say that in this particular case, the Colorado human rights commissars showed explicit, anti-religious bias. That tainted their case that a vital public interest was served by punishing this Christian wedding cake baker. (He would sell cakes to everyone, but wouldn’t design a specific, gay-wedding cake.) But bureaucrats with a little more tact would likely get away with closing down Christian businesses. At least under the Court as it stands today. SCOTUSblog explains  the decision as follows: [T]he justices today handed Phillips a victory, even if not necessarily the ruling that he and his supporters had hoped for. Kennedy, the author of some of the court’s most important gay-rights rulings, began by explaining that the case involved a conflict between t...

There was an interview with a gay rights activist, who highlighted the claims of those who oppose gay "marriage" that religious liberty would be restricted, that parental rights would be under threat, and that LGBT material would be added to school curriculums.  Gay Activist: These people are lying, and they know they're lying. This is utterly false , the activist assured the interviewer with righteous indignation. Every single thing opponents of same-sex "marriage" warned about has taken place . Of course, LGBT activists have moved on and forgotten their convenient deceits. For most of them, this was the plan all along. California has been on the cutting edge of legislating the sexual revolution for some time, but nothing has been quite as terrifying as the passage of Bill 2943 through the California State Assembly last week. I don't want to appear as if I'm simply fear-mongering, so after wading through quite a bit of analysis on this l...

I am a husband, a father, and a pastor. And for as long as I can remember, I have experienced same-sex attractions (SSA). Although I have always been physically and romantically attracted to women, I also have never been without deep emotional and sexual attractions to men. Many in our culture would like to label people like me “bisexual,” but I believe Jesus has spoken a better word. “I Feel, Therefore . . . ” The overarching sexual ethic of our day is “I feel, therefore I am.” We see this clearly in the ongoing conversations around “gender identity.” Proponents of nonbinary “gender categories” suggest that if someone feels contrary to their biological sex, they belong in the category that correlates best with their feelings. In the same way, many in our culture would have people like me think that if you feel homosexual desires, then you are homosexual. We commonly hear statements like, “You can’t choose whom you love; just be true to yourself.” Or, “Stop hiding you...