I have been watching Peter Labarbera declare a blog battle with Warren Throckmorton. He calls on his readers to complain about Warren to his employer Grove City College for not practicing what Peter considers a biblical view of how to counsel people who have same sex attractions.
It’s gotten really heated on Peter’s side of the issue (calling in reinforcements and everything) but I am sure both bloggers don’t mind the web traffic. What blogger would mind web traffic?
I asked Warren a couple of questions about Peter’s posts and here is the dialog (printed with permission):
How much of an impact has Peter’s efforts to pressure Groves City College to “expose” you for being a “renegade” actually had? … How do you approach your daily communion with Christ and how does that lead into your approach to your ministry, blog and job?
While imperfect, I am trying not to return evil for evil (I Peter 3:9). Challenges like this are opportunities to clarify your views and make new friends. Some who initially contacted me critically are now seeing that my views have been distorted and are looking into my work a bit more. So I do think things can work out for some good ends and I look for those opportunities.
Do you feel a kinship with other Christians in this realm of ministry and what is your vision for what you do?
I do. As you know, I like the congruence model of sexual identity ministry. I think it best integrates what we know about sexual attractions, identity integration and Christian teaching. But that is my model. Others feel strongly about their approach. I want to keep open communication with those in ministry. Christians are followers of Christ and as such I think the main goal of ministry should be to enhance and support that end.
Peter’s hyperbolic approach is in a league of his own. Even so, somebody somewhere (hopefully personally and privately) has to ask accountability questions of fellow Christians concerning what we say and believe. This accountability is especially important when done in the name of Christ. Strip away the attack mode of Peter’s missives and there is an underlying principle worthy of addressing: is affirming someone’s sense of self as “gay” biblical?
I posed this question to Throckmorton as well and here is his response:
I would answer a little differently that I think affirming what we believe to be true is right – we believe people are created with worth in God’s image and we believe Christ gave Himself for all. This is what evangelical Christians affirm over all social constructions. To me, acknowledging the reality of one’s inner world is different than affirming it. There is a difference between what is and what ought to be. Acknowledging what is is not the same as living in accord with how we believe we ought to live.
I also asked my friend and boss Alan Chambers the same question:
I am regularly asked to accept people who are living all sorts of ways. When someone asks for my acceptance, the answer is, “Okay.” I will accept those whose beliefs, opinions and lives are radically different than mine. A man who has friends must show himself friendly, the Bible says. I don’t see acceptance of a person as an endorsement of their beliefs, decisions or anything of the sort. As a man who believes every part of scripture I can’t endorse sin—not even my own. No matter how hard I try I still fail daily at all sorts of things. I treat myself and others the way I know God treats me, with an abundance of grace.
I’m not the standard, Jesus is. I’m not the judge. Those two things free me up to love imperfect people in the same way God loves this imperfect person. As a Christian I do have biblically based convictions about sin and therefore when you ask, “is affirming someone’s sense of self as “gay” biblical?” I wouldn’t affirm anyone’s lifestyle if it conflicts with what I believe the Bible clearly states is sinful. So, if a friend or anyone asked me to affirm their decision to identify as gay or lesbian I would reiterate my support of them as a person, my acceptance of them but my inability to affirm something I believe is less than God’s best for them. You can take “gay” out of the question and insert about a thousand other things, though. Gay isn’t the only thing we can get involved in that we want affirmation in. It just seems like the one everyone likes to focus their attentions on.
Life is SO much more than this issue. Regardless of how people identify themselves that doesn’t change how we as Christians approach them as counselors or friends: with humility, grace, truth, honesty and sacrificial selflessness all embodied in our role model of Jesus Christ.
About Randy Thomas
Is affirming gay people Biblical? If we are talking about the person – yes. If we are talking about the life they live – no.
I have met many people who have lived the gay life and left it, some who have SSA but have never ‘acted out,’ people who are still taking the ‘gay identity’ and an even greater number of people who have never dealt with the temptations of SSA yet they deal with other temptations. Each person has been created by God and deserves respect and affirmation. This is, by no means, giving affirmation to the way in which they live. I truly appreciate Warren and Alan and their stand for truth, love and respect.
An excellent article and unfortunately a view that I believe many well meaning Christians will reject since they equate affirming a person with affirming a person’s lifestyle and a person’s sin and sinful lifestyle.
Well, it’s a tricky subject. If a friend asks if I think homosexual sex is a sin, I have to say no. I can’t affirm that. If they ask to affirm “gay identity,” I have to say I don’t care, since I don’t really believe such a thing exists, and the Bible certainly doesn’t talk about it. People use all sorts of labels to describe this journey (post-gay, ex-gay, Side B) and, to me, they all pretty much mean the same thing. If I say I affirm the person, I also have to be intentional about what it means to affirm a person. What actions are a part of affirmation? It’s something I’m still learning, and it’s the most difficult part of this. It’s easy to say what we think is and is not sin. We know that, and it’s pretty black and white. How to affirm others — whether we agree with them or not — is the hard part, since we really aren’t built for that kind of love.
But then again, that’s what grace is for.
So you don’t think it is a sin but can’t affirm that? Should that period be a comma?
Oh sorry. Yes, that period should be a comma. I do believe homosexual sex is a sin, obviously. Darn typos.