May 7, 2014

The following excerpts are from Part 2 of the article “Retrieving Our Son Back from Homosexuality” by Steve and Janice Graham for the PFOX spring 2014 newsletter: “In our last issue, Steve and Janice Graham told of their struggles when their son confessed his confused sexual feelings and addiction to homosexual pornography. In part two, they take us on their journey through treatment and healing: When our son admitted his problems with homosexuality, we took him to see a psychiatrist—but it was too upsetting for him. He thought we believed he was crazy. We didn’t know what to think. We were in shock—and a bit of denial.” …

“Years later, our son’s therapist concluded he wouldn’t have struggled with homosexual tendencies had it not been for the pervasive homosexual influence of the internet. In other words, he was fed a gay identity.” (more…)

May 6, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Riskey Living” on Andrew Comiskey’s website: “When the Holy Spirit blew open Jesus’ tomb, God blew away our excuses for living half-lives. The very Spirit that liberated Jesus from sin and death summons us from our tombs as well. We must choose. Will we leave our prisons, now that the door has been opened? Will we lay claim to the ground of the new creation or remain in the shadows, more comfortable in grave clothes than in robes of righteousness? ‘ …

“The world provides many excuses. Note these excuses generated by gay activists. Homosexual identity and practice become a closed horizon for anyone with same-gender attraction. The gay self becomes a new ethnos, a genetically-inspired destiny devoid of any choice and thus free from moral meaning. Rather than open prison doors, such activists pad the prison and convince the vulnerable that this is their destiny. ‘By appealing to lustful desires, they entice people who are barely escaping from those who live in error. Offering freedom, they are slaves themselves…’ (2P2: 18, 19)” …

May 5, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Assessing ‘God and the Gay Christian’ – Part One of Five” on Joe Dallas’s website: “Today’s church is being asked – pressured, really – to follow the culture’s lead, and the culture is leading towards wholesale approval of homosexuality. So Matthew Vine’s new book God and the Gay Christian is a fresh, eloquent, and well publicized addition to the pressure.” …

“… sexual sin matters. And it matters hugely. That’s why this book calls for scrutiny. It asks us to revise our understanding of what we’ve traditionally considered a sexual, and thereby serious, sin. If its author is right, then we need to overhaul our thinking. If he’s wrong, then his call for revision is an invitation to gross doctrinal and moral error, having the potential to deceive believers, misinform the public, and further weaken the moral climate in the Body of Christ. And that, I’d say, is a pretty big deal. So this week, we’ll be reviewing Vine’s arguments, offering responses and counterarguments, and (hopefully) some thoughts to equip readers for the conversations they’re likely to have on the subject.” (more…)

May 5, 2014

A new book edited by Southern Seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr. refutes the claim that “homosexual orientation and committed same-sex relationships are consistent with a “high view” of the Bible and evangelical Christianity.” The new SBTS Press e-book, God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines is free.

May 4, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Should ex-gay ministries get involved in politics?” by Robert Gollwitzer on the Homosexuals Anonymous website: “That question raised quite some concern among ex-gays even not so long ago. Some groups (like Homosexuals Anonymous) have completely abstained from taking an active part in politics, others have been out there from the beginning. So where are we now? Does it even matter? It does – very much so.”

“I don’t know if there ever was a time where it might have been understandable to focus only on being a “safe haven” for those seeking help in dealing with unwanted same-sex attraction. If there was, this time is over now. We simply cannot afford staying silent anymore and concentration on therapy, counseling or pastoral care.” …

May 4, 2014

The following excerpts are from the article “Gay conversion therapy bans stall across the nation” by Cheryl Wetzstein on The Washington Times website: …”A movement to ban the controversial practice of “conversion therapy” that counsels gay children and teens on how to become straight is meeting with unexpected problems after the easy passage of bills in California and New Jersey.

… “Supporters insist they still have political momentum to pass more bans on sexual orientation change efforts for minors, with one top campaigner saying the delays at the state level are only a temporary setback.” … “But Christopher Doyle, a licensed clinical professional counselor who supports sexual orientation change efforts, said the bills were losing because of a coordinated effort by ex-gays to introduce themselves to lawmakers and talk up the potential benefits of the practice.” …

April 25, 2014

The following excerpts are from the article “The True Legacy of Matthew Shepard” by Chad Felix Greene on the American Thinker website: “We now know that Matthew Shepard died in a drug deal with his gay lover that cold October night in Wyoming. We know the drug was crystal meth and we all know the terrible consequences of using that drug. His death was cruel and unjustified, but it was not a hate crime and it certainly was not a brilliant light shining down upon the ugly realities of a hostile and violent heterosexual population threatening gay people. Yet why do gays still hold so tightly to this narrative?”

“The liberal mindset seems to be perfectly comfortable with emotionally gratifying lies as long as they serve a purpose. The incident emboldened the gay left to push for aggressive hate crime laws, and despite being one of a small handful of gay bashing violence in the entire decade, the story has been continuously used as justification for gay fear of violence.” … (more…)

April 24, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “The Same-Sex Wedding Invitation Debate” on Joe Dallas’s website: “Lots of buzz lately about whether or not a Christian should attend a same-sex wedding ceremony. And as buzz goes, this one’s awfully relevant, as more and more believers are facing this practical, emotional choice: Accept the invitation although I don’t believe in same sex marriage, or decline and risk alienating someone I deeply love? … So I’d like to take some space today to better explain where I stand, and why.” …

“What’s at issue here is attendance at a wedding ceremony, ostensibly approved of and rejoiced over by those who come to it. Attendance means, to my thinking, more than loving support for the person(s) involved. It also means an offer of approval and blessing.”

“There’s the catch, and it’s not minor. Celebrating a loved one’s sin is a serious matter, no matter how deep the love nor how important the loved one. (more…)

April 18, 2014

The following excerpts are from the blog “Tears on Good Friday” on Joe Dallas’s website: … “I’d rather weep over the torture and slow death He endured than remember that the servant is not above His Lord. Where He went I’m to go, a chilling thought when I consider today’s recollection of where He went. Still, if I emote over the cross today while avoiding it in fact, what’s the use?”

“But if I say Yes to the cross and Wow to the resurrection glory that follows, then, at least to my thinking, I’m on track this Good Friday. If I avoid the reality that I’m called daily to die to myself, then my grief today is rather shallow. Likewise, if I tell myself I’ve got this cross thing done and am doing it right, I’m truly deluded. We will no doubt be applying and reapplying this principle to ourselves, seeking to die to sin while kicking and screaming concurrently, until we, too, finally say It Is Finished. (more…)

April 18, 2014

The following excepts are from the blog “An Unlikely Love” by Alan and Leslie Chambers on Alan Chambers’ website: … “Leslie and I were called on to represent the Church by the head of the Church, not by all the members of it. From any vantage point, Leslie and I have been marginalized. For years we have been marginalized by society for our belief that God’s creative intent for sexual expression is one man married to one woman for one lifetime. Now in our efforts to simply and wholly love and serve people, we have been marginalized by the mainstream Christian Church who once hailed our story as miraculous. We are now an embarrassment to many and I’m not always exactly sure why. Ironically, it is now the LGBT community who respect our complex story and are increasingly accepting us for who we are: unlikely friends.” …

“Outwardly we have become what we inwardly always longed to be: friends to anyone who wants to be friends with us. (more…)