Lgbt and christianity
Homosexuality
Discourse around homosexuality, which is sometimes referred to as “same-sex attraction” and more frequently understood today as lesbian, gay, or multi-attracted identities, remains divisive and difficult for churches to discuss. Whilst Christians over the centuries have often come to uneasy compromises on other notable theological differences, it is sexual identities that are not heterosexual which continue to cause disagreement all over the world today.
In the last forty years, there has been a seismic shift in legal reforms around the world. Whilst these have not been universally adopted, many countries have decriminalised homosexuality; acted to prevent discrimination of employment, healthcare, and housing to lesbian and male lover people; and some include introduced legislation for queer marriage.
Such developments have often received a mixed reaction from Christian denominations, and there continue to be lived-out tensions as clergy and lay people strife to “love God and love your neighbour” when their disagreements often experience insurmountable.
Much of a contemporary Christian understanding of sexuality, homo and hetero, is rooted in the teachings of Paul, as found in
The Bible and same sex relationships: A review article
Tim Keller,
Vines, Matthew, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same Sex Relationships, Convergent Books,
Wilson, Ken,A Letter to My Congregation, David Crum Media,
The relationship of homosexuality to Christianity is one of the main topics of discussion in our culture today. In the fall of last year I wrote a review of books by Wesley Hill and Sam Allberry that take the historic Christian view, in Hill’s words: “that homosexuality was not God’s original resourceful intention for humanity and therefore that homosexual apply goes against God’s show will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ.”
There are a number of other books that get the opposite view, namely that the Bible either allows for or supports same sex relationships. Over the last year or so I (and other pastors at Redeemer) possess been regularly asked for responses to their arguments. The two most scan volumes taking this position seem to be those by Matthew Vines and Ken Wilson. The review of these two books will be longer than usual because the topic is so contested today and, while I oppose wi
How Should Christians Respond to Gay Friends or Family Members?
Caleb Kaltenbach (M.A. ’07) is an alumnus of Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, lead pastor of a large church in Simi Valley, Calif., and a married father of two. He’s also an emerging voice in the discussion of how Christians should engage the LGBT community. That’s because Kaltenbach has an insider perspective, having been raised by a dad and mom who divorced and independently came out of the closet as a same-sex attracted man and a queer woman . Raised in the midst of LGBT parties and pride parades, Kaltenbach became a Christian and a pastor as a juvenile adult. Today, he manages the tension of holding to the traditional biblical teaching on sexuality while loving his gay parents.
Kaltenbach’s unique story is detailed in his new novel Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction and landed him on the front page of the New York Times in June. Biola Magazine reached out to him to talk about his guide and his perspective on how Christians can finer navigate the complexities of this issue with reality and grace.
In your publication you say that it’s time for Christians to own the iss A new learn by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and Utah Articulate University finds that among LGBTQ people who were raised Christian, those who are older, Black, cisgender men, and/or live in the South are more likely to continue to identify as Christian as adults. LGBTQ people who were never Christian reported coming out to family and friends at younger ages than those who were raised Christian. More people who stayed Christian had a history of conversion therapy than those who left Christianity or who were never Christian. Using statistics from the nationally characteristic Generations and TransPop studies, researchers examined Christian religious identification and de-identification among LGBTQ adults and how it correlates with psychological distress in adulthood. Almost two-thirds of LGBTQ people who were raised Christian no longer identify as Christian. Results show that LGBTQ people who left Christianity were bullied in childhood more frequently than people who stayed Christian. People who identified as Christian as adults reported more internalized homophobia/transpho .LGBTQ people raised Christian record more minority stressors, similar health to those who were not