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homosexuality

Christianity, Evangelicals

Evangelicals must learn from Vatican gathering

evangelicals

The media is abuzz with a published report from the Vatican regarding the inclusion of divorced Catholics, homosexuals, and those who use birth control. Traditionally, those groups of people inside and outside the Catholic Church are persona non grata of church law. Now, the Vatican is attempting to change the tone of the conversation and Evangelicals need to take some notes.

In very pastoral ways, the new language has open the door to start a conversation. Though no actual church law has changed, the ability of the Vatican to begin a dialogue should be seen as an attempt to bridge religious and cultural divides. The report sought to soften the tone on the issues of annulment, divorce, cohabitation, and communion. On the issue of homosexuality, the report states:   
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Duck Dynasty, free speech, and persecution

phil-robertson

By now you have heard about controversy involving ‘Duck Dynasty’ A&E  star Phil Robertson. Robertson, recently spoke to GQ about his personal beliefs:

Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there… Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men… It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical…

In addition, Robertson made controversial comments on race. Phil Robertson was recently suspended by A&E because of his statements. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal responded to the controversy by saying,

I remember when TV networks believed in the First Amendment. It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended.

Sarah Palin responded on her Facebook page with the message:

Free Speech is an endangered species….Those ‘intolerants’ hatin’ and taking on the Duck Dynasty patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us.

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Who decides if you are a Christian?

huffpostlive

Yesterday I was a guest on HuffPost Live with Rev. Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Senior Religion Editor and two other authors. (You can watch the segment here. I come in around 12:00 and 19:00) We discussed the coming out of NBA player Jason Collins and the conversation turned to Christianity. Collins briefly mentioned his faith and his relationship with Jesus Christ.

As the segment on HuffPost Live progressed, the topic of “Who decides if someone is a Christian” was dancing around as an unspoken question. Perhaps what sparked this was the recent story of ESPN’s Chris Broussard comments concerning the topic of Jason Collins. Broussard raised eyebrows when he said:

“I’m a Christian. I don’t agree with homosexuality. I think it’s a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is… If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ.”

As I was asked about pro-athlete’s faith on HuffPost Live and how they live their faith. I commented that athletes who have moral failures often have their faith questioned. Then, the segment turned to how a Christian is to read the Bible and interpret it. An online commenter  posted this scripture and the host read it on camera:

‘You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.” Leviticus 18:22

We discussed the scripture and another guest dismissed the above law with other holiness codes in the Old Testament (shell-fish, etc…). The host asked, “How can we respond to that?” I made the point that so many other laws are not followed such as, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The host remarked that wasn’t a law. I said, “Yes it is!” I made the argument that many Christians do not follow this law when confronted with difficult topics, such as homosexuality. And, we must first begin there.

In the end, what was really discussed was who decides who is and is not Christian. Jason Collins said he is a Christian, but some Christians do not think he is a Christian. Rather than judge him first, I believe we need to first heed the call of Christian of how to treat others who we disagree with.

Who decides if you are a Christian? You? Your church? Other Christians? I want to hear from you!

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