Thu Jun 12, 2014 at 5:37 AM PT:
Since this made the rec list, I thought I'd share something Horace
Boothroyd III dug up in the comments that makes MacArthur's advice even
more obscene. It turns out that
a whopping 40 percent of homeless kids are LGBT. Out of that figure, 68 percent of them have experienced rejection by their families. Hope MacArthur is proud of himself.
June 10, 2014 By
Benjamin L. Corey
John MacArthur was recently asked by a reader how they should respond
to an adult child who has acknowledged they are gay. His parenting
advice?
Alienate them.
Separate them.
Isolate them.
Refuse to have a meal with them.
Turn them over to Satan.
Here’s the full clip:
SEE video above
I have a better idea: if you have a child who comes out to you,
regardless of your theological opinion, here’s what you should do:
Walk across the room, give them a big hug, and tell them that you’re always going to love them.
What troubles me about MacArthur’s advice, and so many who think like
him, is the horrible inconsistency that often is used when it comes to
shunning. One of the key passages folks use to support shunning comes
from 1 Corinthians 5– the unfortunate truth, however, is that Paul lists
several sins he thought were shun-worthy. Folks like MacArthur have
lifted sexual immorality out of that passage while completely ignoring
the rest of what Paul taught.
Why?
Because it would be horribly inconvenient to actually practice this
verse. In it, Paul teaches that we are to have nothing to do with
Christians who are… greedy.
Which in America, is a whole lot of us. I wonder if MacArthur would
also suggest you shun an adult child who makes $200,000 a year but
doesn’t tithe or give any of their money to charity? Somehow, I doubt
it.
I wonder if MacArthur would teach that we should isolate, alienate,
and turn over to Satan our children who struggle with over-eating? That
can be a form of greed because it is taking more than you need.
Or, what about the idolators mentioned in that same passage? I know a
boat load of Christians who are trusting in firearms for their safety
instead of God– which is idolatry. According to Paul,
they should be shunned as well.
And, don’t even get me started on the fact that Paul also mentions
“abusive” people in that passage also. That’s a whole other can of worms
that would require shunning a lot of Christians in leadership.
Paul goes on to also include drunks and swindlers… so let’s make the list of people we’re going to shun even longer.
I’m just glad that I worship Jesus– not MacArthur (or even Paul himself!).
Jesus is the one who religious conservatives hated because instead of shunning, he had meals with people.
The drunks.
The hookers.
The swindlers.
You know, the kind of people we’re supposed to shun.
This is precisely why we are to make Jesus– and nothing else– the
center of our faith and practice. Because it is through Jesus we find
that sharing a meal, not alienation, is what love looks like.
So, please– if you have a child who comes out to you, forget
everything that MacArthur is saying on shunning, and exchange it for
giving a hug and sharing a meal.
Please consider that regardless of whether you’re able to fully accept this or not, there are gay Christians.
Like I said yesterday,
perhaps your theology on the issue might not ever change or evolve, but
please know, these are real people you’re talking about. This isn’t
just a “concept” or an inanimate object– these are real live Christian
brothers and sisters that deserve every bit of love and empathy as
anyone else. Maybe you haven’t counseled the teenager in your church who
wants to kill themselves because they’re finally realizing that they’re
gay and always have been. Maybe you haven’t had a friend weep in your
presence over the fact that they realize they are gay, but also realize
they did not chose to be– and that they’ll never be accepted by the
tribe. Maybe you haven’t had a chance to serve in church for years on
end next to someone who you never realized was in fact, gay the whole
time and also unwavering in their love for Jesus and commitment to the
church.
These things have happened to me, but I get that maybe you’ve never
experienced them. So please, just consider that we are not talking about
an “issue” here– we’re talking about real people. People created in the
image and likeness of God. People with feelings, passions, hopes, and
dreams. When we allow this to simply become an “issue” within modern
Christian discourse, we end up dehumanizing the very real people we’re
actually referencing.
Please become willing to reexamine what the Bible teaches on homosexuality.
The apostle Paul taught that the church at Berea was “more noble”
than other churches because they didn’t blindly believe what he taught,
but instead studied the scriptures for an answer. Would you be willing
to do what the church at Berea did, and reexamine what is, or may not
be, in scripture? Remember- when looking at scripture there are all
sorts of things to consider,
such as historical context, the original language,
etc. While such exegesis is encouraged in many other theological areas
(such as women covering their heads) it’s not often encouraged on this
issue. I would invite you to reexamine these passages and consider the
same factors we consider when interpreting or applying any other part of
scripture.
If you’re willing to do this, Matthew Vines has a great new book with does exactly that–
God and the Gay Christian–
and I would strongly urge you to read it. Matthew is a conservative
evangelical who writes from a conservative evangelical perspective, and
does an outstanding job at showing that there is a very legitimate,
alternate understanding of some of these texts. When considering any
issue, it is important to take into account and give an honest ear to
all sides of an issue. Rarely has a conservative evangelical done what
Vines has done, and I would strongly encourage you to read it, and
consider the arguments he makes as you formulate your own opinion on
what the Bible does, or does not, teach on the issue.
Even if you don’t agree with Matthew in the end, his book will help
you to realize that many people affirm monogamous, same sex marriage
without discarding the Bible. I know to some of you that might sound
crazy, which is really why you should read the book– from one
conservative evangelical to another. I think what Matt has done is huge:
at a minimum, he has helped to show there is an alternative biblical
understanding which should firmly place this issue into the category of
“secondary theology” where Christian charity should leave room for
disagreement without declaring who is in, and who is out.
Please consider that we treat our gay brothers and sisters
differently than everyone else, and even if you’re right– this behavior
is wrong.
Let’s say your theology doesn’t change and that you
even turn out to be correct in that homosexuality is a sin.
Still, you face a cultural issue that one should find appalling– the
fact that we’ve basically forced gay Christians to go out and get their
own churches instead of being welcomed at ours.
Greg Boyd shows the absurdity of what we’ve done in his book,
Repenting of Religion (one
of my favorites– and will provoke you in good ways. Greg once said that
he lost 1000 members of his church when he wrote it). In the book, Greg
points out that America has an obesity epidemic and that much of the
time, the obesity is caused by gluttony (over eating)– which is a sin.
Furthermore, we know that over-eating is also greed (taking more than
what you need), which the Bible calls idol worship (Col 3:5, Eph 5:5).
Boyd’s question then becomes (as does mine): if we make gay Christians
go out and get their own churches, why are we not forcing people who are
obese due to over eating to go out and get their own churches as well?
Obviously, we’d never dream of such a thing– the sin of over eating is
culturally acceptable, so we ignore the teachings of scripture on it
most of the time. On a more practical level, as Boyd points out, we know
the reasons why a person may over eat are complex, personal, and
unknown to us– which means that only God can judge them, since God is
the only one who understands the whole picture.
Therefore,
even if homosexuality is a sin, following this
line of thinking, we should be using the same standard that we use with
people who are obese from over eating: love them, include them, and
refrain from judging them. The fact that we have created an entire,
separate way of viewing and treating our gay brothers and sisters, is
nothing short of corporate sin.
We’d rarely- if ever- treat these people the way LGBTQ people get
treated, and that should be a deeply concerning realization. The fact
that one group, and only one group, has been effectively marginalized
from the church (you know, that thing that’s supposed to represent Jesus
here on earth) should cause us tremendous sorrow.
Please consider that even if you’re right, it shouldn’t dramatically change the praxis of your faith.
Tuesday I was with my friend and fellow author, Frank Schaeffer and
he was telling me a story about his parents. They were theologically
conservative on the issue of homosexuality, but as Frank describes, were
“glorious hypocrites” because they were so loving to their gay friends
in their day to day living. Ultimately, I think the correctness of a
theological opinion is somewhat irrelevant in comparison to personal
behavior– a truth Jesus taught in Matthew 25. Consider all sides and
still think it’s a sin? Have at it– but please consider being a glorious
hypocrite on the issue, as we are on
so many others, by choosing radical love for other people instead of planting your flag in the rightness of correct belief.
Even I have publicly admitted that I still struggle with the entire
theology around this– struggling with theology is okay. However, as I
have also stated publicly, wherever I land will be irrelevant to the
praxis of my faith, just as it was for Frank’s parents. I will still
radically love people. I will still radically include people. I will
still invite everyone to join me in following Jesus… and I will still
refrain from judgement, because I’m not God and I don’t have all of the
information to make righteous judgements about others.
There’s no reason why this issue should change the praxis of
your
faith, either. We’re all just trying to follow Jesus, and we should be
so focused on our own issues that we lack the time to focus on the
perceived issues of others.
Please consider that the cultural obsession with
homosexuality within the American Church is detracting from the things
Jesus asked us to do.
Later today I’ll be releasing an interview I shot Tuesday with Frank Schaeffer regarding his new book,
Why I’m An Atheist Who Believes In God.
In the book, he writes that “Jesus was a traitor to the culture wars of
his day”, because the message Jesus came to bring didn’t line up with
the battles the current culture wanted to fight. The same is true today–
it is American Christian culture who has placed this issue at the front
and center and convinced much of the culture that this is “the” war
worth fighting. Meanwhile, in the past two years I’ve met with rescued
slaves in India, orphans in Africa, seen kids in third world countries
drink water that could easily kill them, and watched the homeless trot
off into the streets during a New England blizzard. There are real,
pressing issues we could devote our time to– but the whole anti-gay
battle? That’s a distraction from the real issues facing our world–
issues we can actually impact if we don’t get caught up into fabricated
culture wars. So, please consider being like Jesus– be a traitor to the
culture wars of today, and focus on the issues that really matter.
///
As I said, I believe this to be an issue
that should be kept to secondary theology that still allows for
Christian unity and that regardless of where our theology lands, it
should not impact the praxis of our faith. I understand this is a hard
issue for many of you to wrestle with, and this post isn’t one where I’m
trying to provoke you or get in your face– I just humbly ask, that you
please consider these few things… and see what might change within your
own heart.
