The other day, I posted a tweet critiquing Frank Turek. I thought the gist of the critique was rather obvious. Tom Gilson did not think so, apparently, and so he posted a perplexed response asking what I was trying to do and whether I was just being “sarcastic.” What are you arguing for here, Randal? Obviously […]
gay marriage
I’m Writing a Book on Christianity and Gay Marriage. Could I be Damned for It?
I hope to have my next book out in the fall in which I seek to provide an overview of the debate over gay marriage and the church. The goal is to explain how Christians can end up with very different affirming and non-affirming views. Some Christians believe that writing a book like that, that […]
Should You Sign a Card for a Gay Marriage? The Conservative Christian’s Dilemma
A conservative Christian told me he was invited to sign the card for a newly married gay couple in his office. He avoided doing so because he doesn’t believe in gay marriage. I suggested just signing “Best wishes!” because Christians are called to wish the best to everyone. He was worried that this would be […]
Would Jesus have endorsed gay marriage?
Jesus never talks about same-sex relationships, but he does talk about marriage (e.g. Matthew 19:1-10, Mark 10:1-12). And when he describes marriage, he always does so within the context of an indissoluble male/female covenantal bond. His understanding of the indissolubility aspect is an important topic in the conversation, But here I want to focus on […]
Is Franklin Graham a bigot or a victim?
Franklin Graham is scrambling to reschedule venues for his upcoming evangelistic tour of Britain. All the venues he had booked have since canceled because of his stance LGBT people and his view that gay marriage is an abomination. From the perspective of LGBT advocates, Graham’s stance is no different than a person who calls interracial […]
Conservative Christian Bakers, Gay Cakes, and Beyond…
Yesterday I posted a survey on the whole Christian baker/gay cake debate. Here are the results: Should bakeries have the right to refuse to bake cakes for gay weddings? — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) December 5, 2017 This prompted me to pose a follow-up question: should Mormon bakers have the right to refuse to serve black […]
What does gay marriage have to do with packing Christmas boxes?
A growing number of Christian parachurch ministries are demanding that their paid employees and volunteers denounce homosexuality and gay marriage. For example, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) recently attracted international attention with its request that all its employees who do not affirm its traditional prohibition on same-sex relationships voluntarily resign from the ministry (Source). It seems […]
Christians standing against gay marriage need to be consistent on divorce
You’ve probably heard by now about the county clerk in Kentucky who has been refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, insisting that her action is placed “under God’s authority”. (If, perchance, you haven’t heard about it, this New York Times article will get you up to speed.) At first blush, a person might […]
The Perplexities of Privileging Particular Parents
I am not a reader of Kevin DeYoung’s blog. But I had to read it after this Preston Sprinkle tweet came through my feed: So yeah, I had to click the link. The article is titled “40 Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags.” Personally, I’d be more interested in reading an article titled “40 […]
A simple way to allay fears of religious discrimination: stop marrying for the state
The recognition of the constitutional right for homosexuals to marry has created the worry that pastors may be asked to marry a homosexual couple … or refer them to another pastor who will. There is a simple remedy for this fear: pastors should stop performing civic marriages. The continued practice of pastors performing civic duties […]
Ten things that are more disturbing than gay marriage
Over the last couple days evangelical Christians (at least the ones I’ve been hearing) have expressed a lot of outrage over the US Supreme Court’s decision on gay marriage. With that in mind, I thought I’d offer a short list of ten things that seem to me to be more disturbing than gay marriage. Here […]
Outraged at homosexuality, but unaware of genocide, and not angered by poverty?
You have to wonder how World Vision could be so out of touch with their constituency that they would think any policy change regarding homosexuality would be anything less than catastrophic? As soon as they lifted the ban on hiring practicing homosexuals, the response was swift as conservative evangelicals across North America vocally expressed their outrage […]
Stop supporting World Vision? On the ethical vision of some conservative evangelicals
Yesterday I received an email from a friend that stated “Yet another reason that I am increasingly distancing myself from conservative evangelicalism.” He then included a link to an article by “Matthew Lee Anderson” titled “On whether Christians should keep supporting World Vision“. So I read the article. My first thought was: “Is this article […]
