When Christians apologize for the ways that they have harmed the LGBT community, is the apology enough? Should there be a next step? If so, what might that look like? What are the tangible things that we should be doing as Christians to put action to our words? If you are LGBT (Christian or not) what practical steps or recommendations would you like to see Christians take or at least consider? What would be meaningful to you? For our next... Read more
Is LGBT history something you would like to learn more about? Below are 10 notable documentaries about LGBT history that we will be viewing this summer with our interns for continuing education. If you’re interested in learning more yourself, a brief description has been listed next to a diverse handful of documentaries on LGBT history that we feel are worth checking out. If you’re a heterosexual Christian that is seeking to build bridges with those in the LGBT community, documentaries... Read more
The following post is from Michael Overman. Michael is interning with us this year while working towards his Masters of Divinity at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. You can check out his blog at findingthebalance.net. I have always wanted to learn to play the violin… Perhaps this is because of my brief stint at playing cello in 5th grade (another instrument I love but could never master). Perhaps this is because I was raised in the south and have a certain love for those... Read more
Read the on-point one paragraph Part 1. Here are a few more quick and brilliant assessments I read in a compilation on culture wars today: According to the culture wars thesis, individuals on either side of the divide see their worldview as absolute and the opposition’s as illegitimate and “utterly alien to the American way.” The [“I deserve”]-based emphasis of contemporary discourse along with the polarizing nature of modern public debate (fostered through sound-bite long news accounts and the inflammatory language... Read more
The following post is from Brent Bailey, a Master of Divinity student at Abilene Christian University. Brent will be interning with us again at The Marin Foundation this summer and you can find his blog at oddmanout.net. We’re quickly reaching a point of critical mass in our culture in which stories related to sexual minorities are nearly ubiquitous in the media. As more states and nations legalize same-sex marriage, more public figures (even NBA players!) come out, and more prominent pastors make... Read more
Today I came across an essay from sociologist James Davison Hunter called The Culture Wars Reflect the Polarization of American Society. This is an amazingly accurate paragraph: The question of the tactics of power politics imposing its vision on all others is not an idle one–for the simple reason that cultural conflict is inherently antidemocratic. It is antidemocratic first because the weapons of such warfare are reality definitions that presuppose from the outset the illegitimacy of the opposition and its... Read more
The following post is from Jason Bilbrey, our Director of Pastoral Care at The Marin Foundation. You can contact Jason with inquires connected to pastoral care at [email protected]. Here’s what I’ve heard countless times from conservative folks who email me asking for help: “I want to support _________ (my trans daughter, gay marriage, the queer community, etc.), but I don’t want to _________ (preach a watered-down gospel, be soft on sin, approve of that lifestyle, etc.).” I would estimate that about... Read more
The good folks over at Church Marketing Sucks recently asked me some questions about engaging in the gay marriage debate from the perspective of their predominantly conservative evangelical audience. You can read Part 1 of this interview here. You can see the original Part 2 on Church Marketing Suck’s website here. For your convenience, I have also posted the interview here: “Yesterday we began a conversation with Andrew Marin about gay marriage. Marin is the author of Love Is an Orientation and founder of The Marin Foundation, which seeks... Read more
We will be meeting for our next Living in the Tension gathering this upcoming Monday, May 6, at 7pm. We’ll be discussing the recent events and reactions around Jason Collins and the #1 draft pick in the WNBA, Brittney Griner, recently coming out. The two were met with remarkably different reactions in news outlets, so we’ll take some time to discuss our thoughts on the different treatment. Is there some type of a double standard at play? Does it have... Read more
This post discusses my thoughts on NBA player Jason Collins being the first active player in a major men's sport to come out. I also talk to my good friend, NY Yankees all star center fielder, Curtis Granderson, about his thoughts as well. Read more
Love is an Orientation
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