IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS ON HOMOSEXUALITY, THE BIBLE, AND THE CHURCH

I've come across a number of recent discussions on the current pressing topic of homosexality, the Bible and the church.  

-- On July 1, 2015 Kevin DeYoung published 40 Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags

 DeYoung - If you consider yourself a Bible-believing Christian, a follower of Jesus whose chief aim is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, there are important questions I hope you will consider before picking up your flag and cheering on the sexual revolution. These questions aren’t meant to be snarky or merely rhetorical. They are sincere . . 

--  Two days later Matthew Vines, the author of God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships, and a current leading spokesman for "Gay Christians," posted a response titled, "40 questions for Christians who oppose marriage equality."

 Vines - ... But there are many pressing questions that non-affirming Christians frequently do not address. - 

--  Dr. Michael Brown published an impressive comprehensive response (July 10, 2015)  to Vines' "40 Questions" titled  "Dr. Michael Brown has 40 Answers and 2 Questions for "Gay" Christian Matthew Vines." 

--  Dr. Brown peers into the future in this July 3, 2015 podcast interview 

--  Brown debated Matthew Vines a year ago  (6/28/14) via webcam on a program moderated by Julie Roys titled, "Can You Be Gay and Christian?  Dr. Michael Brown Debates Matthew Vines."

   

-- After the debate Brown published  a follow-up article answering Vines' charge that the ancient world (and the Apostle Paul) knew nothing of loving, committed gay relationships as we know today.  As Brown noted, the Greco-Roman world was indeed fully aware of such relationships.   (See here and here).   Brown is the author of Can You Be Gay and Christian:  Responding with Love and Truth to Questions about Homosexuality (which ironically was published the same day as Vines' God and the Gay Christian).

 --  A British writer offered a personal response to Vine's 40 questions. 

 --  Of additional interest might be the NRB Forum Discussion on Homosexuality and the Church

July 1, 2015 -Janet Parshall hosted the discussion with Dr. Brown, ex-gay Anne Paulk, and pro-gay Christian leaders Justin Lee and Brandan Robertson. 

  

-- The popular and influential New York pastor-theologian and author, Tim Keller, recently offered a major review of Matthew Vines' book God and the Gay Christian and also Ken Wilson's A Letter to My Congregation.   Keller's review of these two books constitutes must reading.  

 

 - -  Rosaria Butterfield has published a new book, Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ.  This is a sequel to her extremely popular The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert.  Her hour-long interview (Jan. 2013) with World Magazine's Marvin Olasky generated over 100,000 views.

 

  

 

World Magazine summarized Secret Thoughts, her first book, this way:  "Butterfield described how God took her from lesbianism and a tenured professorship in English and Women's Studies at Syracuse University to friendship with a Christian couple, then church, then marriage to a Reformed Presbyterian pastor, and life as a homeschooling mother, pastor's wife, author, and speaker."  

 

From the publisher's blurb on her new book, Openness Unhindered:

This book answers many of the questions people pose when she speaks at universities and churches, questions not only about her unlikely conversion to Christ but about personal struggles that the ques­tioners only dare to ask someone else who has traveled a long and painful journey. Dr. Butterfield not only goes to great lengths to clarify some of today's key controversies, she also traces their history and defines the terms that have become second nature today-even going back to God's original design for marriage and sexuality as found in the Bible. She cuts to the heart of the problems and points the way to the solution, which includes a challenge to the church to be all that God intended it to be, and for each person to find the true freedom that is found in Christ. Chapters include: Conversion: the Spark of a New Identity Identity: the Flame of Our Union in Christ Repentance: the Threshold to God and the Answer to Shame, Temptation, and Sin Sexual Orientation: Freud’s 19th Century Category Mistake Self-Representation: What Does It Mean to Be “gay”? Conflict: When Sisters Disagree Community: Representing Christ to the World   World Magazine offers a book excerpt, chapter 4, (behind a pay barrier) here.    - - A resource for church ministry to those struggling with same-sex attraction is W.P. Campbell's Turning Controversy into Church Ministry: A Christian Response to Homosexuality.     --  Some previous posts on homosexuality:

* = not to be missed

 

            GROWING UP WITH LESBIAN TENDENCIES IN 1985 vs. 2015

            MARCH FOR MARRIAGE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

            DR. MICHAEL BROWN: "CAN YOU BE GAY AND CHRISTIAN?"

            A Leftist Lesbian Professor becomes a Follower of Christ

            SOCIETY SLOWLY BECOMING AWARE OF EX-GAYS

            EXODUS INTERNATIONAL IS CLOSING

            PEW RESEARCH: GLOBAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS HOMOSEXUALITY

            ROBERT A. J. GAGNON - THE BIBLE AND THE "GAY MARRIAGE" QUESTION

            DID PRO - GAY SITCOMS DETERMINE OUTCOME OF STATE VOTES ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE?

            MAGGIE GALLAGHER - HOW COMMON ARE STABLE SAME-SEX COUPLES?

            THE PROFESSOR WHO DARED ROCK THE BOAT

            * TIM KELLER ON BIBLE INTERPRETATION: "OLD TESTAMENT LAW AND THE CHARGE OF INCONSISTENCY"

            FORMER PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) SAYS ORGANIZATION CONTROLLED BY 'GAY RIGHTS' MOVEMENT

            * ALBERT MOHLER ANSWERS THE QUESTION: "THE BIBLE CONDEMNS A LOT, WHY FOCUS ON HOMOSEXUALITY?"

            AMERICANS HAVE NO IDEA HOW FEW GAY PEOPLE THERE ARE

            SEMINARS ON HOMOSEXUALITY, CHANGE, AND THE GOSPEL

            MORE RESOURCES RELATED TO THE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE DEBATE

            RESOURCES FOR ENTERING THE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE DEBATE

            STANTON L. JONES - "SAME-SEX SCIENCE"

            CHUCK COLSON - "GAY RIGHTS AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION"

            CAN GAYS GO STRAIGHT?

            FORM AND FUNCTION IN HUMAN SEXUALITY

            Bill Muehlenberg reviews "A Queer Thing Happened in America" by Dr. Michael L. Brown

            MICHAEL BROWN AND ERIC SMAW DEBATE "SHOULD SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?"

           * WHAT EXPLAINS THE EXTRAORDINARY RISE OF LESBIANISM AMONG YOUNG WOMEN?