July 20, 2012

Dr. Chris Beyrer’s new study on HIV points mainly to unprotected anal sex as the reason for the high transmission of HIV among men having sex with men. Though this is new evidence, it is not new knowledge. As early as 1987 gay historian Randy Shilts (And The Band Played On) told the world why gay men were getting HIV at an alarming rate. Shilts attributed it to promiscuity, unprotected anal sex, and rimming (mouth-anal sex) popularized in the gay community by the book The Joy of Gay Sex. In his 1996 book, Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth, Dr. Jeffrey Satinover wrote than any type of anal sex was an unhealthy practice even with a condom. The Beyrer study does confirm existing knowledge, but only offers the same type of solutions that haven’t worked well in the past. An article on the study can be found at: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/19072831/biology-leaves-gay-men-highly-vulnerable-to-hiv-study.

July 19, 2012

Dr. Robert Gagnon responded to an article by Craig Gross that argued homosexuality was not any worse a biblical sin than gluttony. The following excerpts are from Gagnon’s article “It’s Silly to Compare Homosexual Practice to Gluttony.”

“When Gross erroneously concludes from 1 Cor 6:13 that gluttony and homosexual practice are comparable sins, he means not that gluttony is as bad as homosexual practice but rather that homosexual practice is no worse than gluttony. Gross asks, ‘Why is one [gluttony] accepted and one [sexual immorality] rejected? … Why do they believe that the gay guy goes to hell but the fat preacher who builds some of the largest churches in the world makes it to heaven?’”

“Gross’s questions are easy to answer: (more…)

July 19, 2012

Theologian Dr. Robert Gagnon is not giving Alan Chambers a pass on theological issues he believes Chambers has distorted and minimized. Gagnon’s critique of Chambers’ letter is in four areas. Below are excerpts from all four areas discussed in Dr. Gagnon’s essay “Being a ‘Simple-Minded Jesus Lover’ Is No Excuse for Really Bad Theology:”

“Alan’s first strategy is to play the ‘aw, shucks’ humble card. He’s not a Bible scholar or a theologian, he says, but just a ‘simple-minded Jesus lover,’ neither Calvinist nor Arminian. As ‘just a Christian,’ Alan can rise above the controversy (‘That argument is so last year’) to tell us what the Bible really says. This posture, however, does not entitle him to avoid the hard work of actually reading Scripture contextually (as opposed to cherry-picking favorite texts) and revising his theology when others point out the problems in his interpretation of Scripture.” (more…)

July 19, 2012

Pastor Voddie Baucham of Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas recently made the case that homosexual orientation should not be considered like race when it comes to matters of civil rights and marriage. Following are excerpts from Voddie Baucham’s article on The Gospel Coalition website:

“Unidentifiable Minority”

“The first problem with the idea of conflating “sexual orientation” and race is the fact that homosexuality is undetectable apart from self-identification. Determining whether or not a person is black, Native American, or female usually involves no more than visual verification. However, should doubt remain, blood tests, genetics, or a quick trip up the family tree would suffice. Not so with homosexuality. There is no evidence that can confirm or deny a person’s claims regarding sexual orientation.” (more…)

July 17, 2012

Melinda Holloway is the latest to share her testimony on the Exodus International website’s “Real Stories.” Following is the first paragraph of her testimony entitled “No More Hiding:”

“I became a Christian at the age of eight and I was taught from the Bible that homosexuality was an abomination. So when I began having same-sex attractions in my early teens, they scared me. I wondered how I, as a devoted Christian, could be tempted by not just any sin, but THAT sin. God knew about my struggle. But because of my fear of rejection, I would not talk to anyone about my struggle.”

July 17, 2012

Following are a couple excerpts from Alan Chambers’ letter “You Are Not Alone:”

“Sometimes the difficulty in communicating how we’ve changed is due to the fact that we make it so complicated. We feel the story needs to be bigger than it is. I often wonder if there’s something else I should have done to accomplish more than I have? Is there something else that I’m supposed to do? From there I wonder, Is what we offer at Exodus lacking? I asked the attendees this year, ‘What did you come for this week? What did you go to the local Exodus ministry for? What is it that you were, and are, looking for?’” (more…)

July 16, 2012

Lifesitenews.com has reported that a gay activist by the name of Scott Rosensweig accused Mark Regnerus of “scientific misconduct,” harboring “anti-gay prejudices,” and “being politically biased” in a letter to the University of Texas. The university began an investigation shortly after Rosensweig’s letter. The Regnerus study, published in the July issue of Social Science Research, found “that children of homosexual parents have significantly more social and mental-health problems than children of heterosexual parents.” Here are some excerpts from the lifesitenews.com article titled “Author of controversial ‘gold standard’ study on gay parenting being investigated by university.” (more…)

July 16, 2012

After the recent Christianity Today article on the theological debate that Dr. Robert Gagnon initiated with Exodus International president Alan Chambers, Christianity Today has published a letter from Alan Chambers. Chambers does not appear interested in the theological debate at all and seems comfortable living in God’s grace. Here is an excerpt from Alan Chamber’s letter titled “Thoughts from a Simple-Minded Jesus Lover:”

“I doubt there will ever be human resolution to the debates surrounding eternal security, whether or not someone can be actively gay and a believer, or so many of the other weighty and divisive controversies plaguing our congregations. But I hope there will be a genuine desire to proclaim the truth of what God is for above all else. I hope that we will all take personal holiness more seriously than we do. I hope that we will seek to judge less and pray more. (more…)

July 12, 2012

Dr. Michael Horton, professor of theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary in California was also asked by Christianity Today to respond to Alan Chambers’ theological statements from a Christian Reformed point of view. Dr. Horton concludes with two solid points. First, “It is one of the most obvious teachings in the New Testament that without repentance no one can be saved.” Second, “It’s precisely because our bodies are too important to the biblical drama that they cannot be exempted from biblical discipleship.” A couple excerpts from Dr. Horton’s article “Let’s Not Cut Christ to Pieces” follows: (more…)

July 12, 2012

Dr. Ben Witherington, professor of New Testament for doctoral studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, agrees that “Robert Gagnon has a right to be disturbed about Mr. Chambers‘s recent pronouncements. It is not an act of compassion to encourage people to embrace a view of salvation or sexual behavior that requires less in regard to holiness than both Jesus and Paul required of us. Indeed, it is recipe for disaster.”

Christianity Today asked Dr. Witherington to respond to the theological debate Dr. Gagnon initiated from a Wesleyan Arminian point of view. More excerpts from his essay “‘Behavior Doesn’t Interrupt Your Relationship with Christ’: A Recipe for Disaster” follow: (more…)