{"id":30909,"date":"2015-07-03T18:00:10","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T22:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=30909"},"modified":"2015-07-03T18:00:10","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T22:00:10","slug":"hundreds-of-answers-and-eighty-one-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2015\/07\/hundreds-of-answers-and-eighty-one-questions.html","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Answers and Eighty-One Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Kevin DeYoung posted 40 questions on the Gospel Coalition website<\/a>, aimed at Christians who support marriage equality. They are all the sort of thing you would expect from a conservative Christian website like The Gospel Coalition \u2013 and thus are things which most\u00a0Christians who\u2019ve thought about this issue will have already considered<\/a>. A\u00a0lot<\/em> of people have responded. Here is a round-up of the ones I am aware of:<\/p>\n

Susan Cottrell<\/a><\/p>\n

Buzz Dixon<\/a><\/p>\n

Kimberly Knight<\/a><\/p>\n

Ben Irwin<\/a><\/p>\n

R. L. Stollar<\/a><\/p>\n

Aaron Porteous<\/a><\/p>\n

Theology is Poetry<\/a><\/p>\n

John Shore<\/a> addressed\u00a0some questions to DeYoung. Many\u00a0of them are excellent:<\/p>\n

What Bible verses led you to override your own innate moral sense?<\/p>\n

Why do you think it\u2019s okay to quote from the Bible without any reference to the context of that quote? (asked several times)<\/p>\n

Do you think there\u2019s anything unhealthy about the amount of time and energy you spend thinking and worrying about the \u201csexual sins\u201d of others?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Each is a response to one of DeYoung\u2019s questions \u2013 and so\u00a0see DeYoung\u2019s questions in bold here with Shore\u2019s corresponding questions:<\/p>\n

Do you think close family members should be allowed to get married?<\/strong> Do you think you should be a guest on The Jerry Springer Show?<\/p>\n

Should marriage be limited to only two people?<\/strong> Should you replace Jerry on The Jerry Springer Show?<\/p>\n

Does equality entail that anyone wanting to be married should be able to have any meaningful relationship defined as marriage?<\/strong> Do you think it\u2019s acceptable to foster the persecution of an innocent sub-population by posing inflammatory and irrelevant questions as if those questions were thoughtful, legitimate, and pertinent?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shore\u2019s questions range from the serious to the sarcastic, but he\u00a0adds some additional serious commentary, including the following:<\/p>\n

DeYoung\u2019s core premise informing every one of his questions is the same: Any Christian who affirms LGBT equality is sinning against God and destined for hell.<\/em><\/p>\n

And this is exactly why DeYoung\u2019s faux-humble questions are so loathsome: He\u2019s flat-out (if ever-so-subtly) bullying Christians who have changed their minds, or are considering changing their minds, on the issue homosexuality. He knows his audience; he knows who reads The Gospel Coalition<\/a>, where he blogs. He knows that many of his readers\u00a0are right now questioning the idea that homosexuality is a sin. And he knows how emotionally vulnerable that kind of questioning can make people who were raised amidst\u00a0the same brand of toxic Christianity that he makes his living selling.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matthew Vines likewise responded with 40 questions<\/a> of his own, highlighting\u00a0how\u00a0it is often presumed that only those whose viewpoint is not traditional need to defend their stance. Alise at Knitting Soul<\/a> only had one question \u2013 but with some commentary that is worth quoting:<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the question I\u2019ve been afraid to ask of the people who claim to speak for God for a long time.<\/p>\n

When are you going to listen to the answers to your questions?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It takes a lot of arrogance to ask people who have been marginalized for much of history to prove that they don\u2019t deserve that marginalization.<\/p>\n

It takes a lot of arrogance to require people in loving, consensual relationships to prove that they aren\u2019t like people who prey on the weak and abused.<\/p>\n

It takes a lot of arrogance to assume that people who have waited centuries to enjoy the same protections under the law need to \u201cslow down and think about the flag (they\u2019re) flying.\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes a lot of arrogance to ask people who live every day with fear of losing their jobs, losing their families, losing their churches to promise that they won\u2019t be mad at people who support laws and practices that encourage those things.<\/p>\n

It takes a lot of arrogance to set yourself up as a martyr when your words have caused parents to turn their children out on the street, when your words have driven people to suicide.<\/p>\n

My friends don\u2019t have to answer your questions. I don\u2019t have to answer your questions. They\u2019ve been answered, over and over and over again.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t want to listen to why we\u2019re waving the flag, that\u2019s your business. But until you\u2019re willing to answer why you won\u2019t listen, I\u2019m done answering your questions.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With all that, I\u2019m not sure that there is any point in writing my own answers \u2013 especially since I don\u2019t share the assumption of the Gospel Coalition that \u201cverses<\/a>\u201d and \u201cpassages<\/a>\u201d are the definitive<\/a> way that matters ought to get settled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Have I missed\u00a0any other blog posts or articles which answer\u00a0the questions?<\/p>\n

\"inclusive\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kevin DeYoung posted 40 questions on the Gospel Coalition website, aimed at Christians who support marriage equality. They are all the sort of thing you would expect from a conservative Christian website like The Gospel Coalition \u2013 and thus are things which most\u00a0Christians who\u2019ve thought about this issue will have already considered. A\u00a0lot of people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":30796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[661,3678,4091,6166,6523,9841],"class_list":["post-30909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-progressive-christianity-religion","tag-answers","tag-fundamentalists","tag-gospel-coalition","tag-kevin-young","tag-lgbtq","tag-questions"],"yoast_head":"\nHundreds of Answers and Eighty-One Questions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kevin DeYoung posted 40 questions on the Gospel Coalition website, aimed at Christians who support marriage equality. 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