Conservative Protestantism’s continuing antigay agenda “is likely to mean saving fewer souls.” This is a conclusion of American Grace authors Robert D. Putnam of Harvard and David E. Campbell of Notre Dame. Writing in the Los Angeles Times (Oct 17), they confirm a continuing cultural finding: that “intolerance of homosexuality” is proving to be “the…
After an average of 16 years in mixed-orientation marriage, the same-sex oriented spouse is still same-sex oriented. On the basis of self-reports, there’s no shift toward heterosexual attraction on the part of the same-sex oriented spouse, even though there’s some participation in sex acts within the marriage. When asked about frequency of sexual relations within…
“Is the Church guilty of beating people with the Bible?” This is the question with which Southern Baptist seminary president Al Mohler begins a recent blog attacking those who say gay people get “clobbered” with Bible verses. Feigning shock, he says: “As strange as that argument might sound, it is actually a powerful weapon in…
Bloggers on the Religious Right attack bestselling author Philip Yancey for speaking at the 2011 Gay Christian Network conference. After the event, Yancey posted a response at http://www.philipyancey.com/. Noting this “hammering … for [his] agreeing to speak”, he wrote: “I get tired of writing about this issue because it stirs up such a storm of…
“What was the most significant change in Christianity over the past decade?” In response to this question from Christianity Today (December, 2009), John Stackhouse of Regent College answers: “The rapid collapse of Christian consensus against homosexual marriage in North America, including among evangelicals.” “What is the greatest moral issue in America today?” In October, evangelical…
Anne Rice: “I quit being a Christian. … I remain committed to Christ … but not to being ‘Christian’ or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.” The bestselling novelist, who turned from atheism to Christ in 1988, explains that the…
“The Repeal of Proposition 8” by Todd Bouldin (www.toddbouldin.wordpress.com, August 6, 2010). “Marriage Untainted by Religious Motivation” by Alan F. H. Wisdom (The Washington Times, August 16, 2010). “What is the ‘Gospel’ Response to the Prop 8 Ruling?” by Tony Jones (blog.tonyj.net, August 13, 2010). “Same-sex Marriage and the Insignificance of the Nuclear Family” by…
There’s a beautiful house for sale on St. Simons Island in Georgia. Over the years it was made even more beautiful by the loving companionship of the two women who made it their home from 1967 to the death of one of them in 1996. In 1961, bestselling evangelical author and novelist Eugenia Price and…
The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University by Kevin Roose (Grand Central, 2009, 319 pp.)
A major proponent for Prop 8’s ban on gay marriage admits: “It is almost certainly true that gay and lesbian couples and their children would benefit from having gay marriage.” David Blankenhorn, founder of The Institute for American Values, acknowledged this under David Boise’s cross-examination in California in January. Blankenhorn went further. He granted that…