{"id":9836,"date":"2015-07-02T09:05:58","date_gmt":"2015-07-02T13:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/evetushnet\/?p=9836"},"modified":"2015-07-02T09:05:58","modified_gmt":"2015-07-02T13:05:58","slug":"a-conversation-with-justin-lee-on-relationships-for-gay-and-same-sex-attracted-christians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/evetushnet\/2015\/07\/a-conversation-with-justin-lee-on-relationships-for-gay-and-same-sex-attracted-christians.html","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with Justin Lee on Relationships for Gay and Same-Sex Attracted Christians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

this is my first answer:<\/p>\n

The question we\u2019ve been given is, \u201cWhat are your beliefs about morally appropriate relationships between persons who experience same-sex attraction?\u201d This is (a modified version of) the question being asked by American culture today, but there are a couple of respects in which I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the best question to address the needs of our churches and the longings of our hearts.<\/p>\n

The best thing about this question is its focus on relationships<\/em>: on love. So much Christian discussion about the role of gay and same-sex attracted people in our churches focuses instead on acts or on identities. There is a place for talking about both of these things, but the central question, I believe, is, \u201cHow are gay and same-sex attracted people called to give and receive love?\u201d This is a question about relationships.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a question solely about relationships between<\/em> same-sex attracted people, though. I\u2019m sorry to spend so much time on \u201cWhy is this the question we\u2019re being asked?\u201d, but I think the choice of question illuminates a serious problem in American Christian cultures. When we think about love between adults, we think in terms of sexual relationships: not necessarily marital relationships, since Americans increasingly delay marriage or choose not to marry, but relationships which could become marriages. This is the form of love, kinship, and care that we acknowledge in law and culture. It is almost the only<\/em> form of love between adults that we recognize.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

more<\/a>, including lots of my usual shtik but also a couple things I haven\u2019t said elsewhere<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

this is my first answer: The question we\u2019ve been given is, \u201cWhat are your beliefs about morally appropriate relationships between persons who experience same-sex attraction?\u201d This is (a modified version of) the question being asked by American culture today, but there are a couple of respects in which I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the best question […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1071,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[256,1264,11,30,110,27],"class_list":["post-9836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gay-catholic-whatnot","category-mackerel-snapping","tag-chuuuuuuuurch","tag-gay-catholic-whatnot","tag-his-banner-over-me-was-love","tag-mackerel-snapping-2","tag-the-fruit-of-service-is-peace","tag-vocation"],"yoast_head":"\nA Conversation with Justin Lee on Relationships for Gay and Same-Sex 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