1. Avoid the phrase “the gays” and the term “homosexual.” If you’re a white male and don’t like to be called “white boy,” then you should not refer to gay people as “the gays.” And if you take offense at people calling African Americans “colored folk,” then you too should avoid calling gay people “the gays.” This phrase is backwoods, outdated, and grammatically incorrect (“gay” is an adjective, not a noun). It’s a poor way of referring to people made... Read more
On April 25 at 11:26am, an earthquake with the magnitude of 7.8 rocked the country of Nepal. The damage has been mind boggling: 8.1 million in need of some form of humanity aid including shelter, medicine, medical aid, clean water etc. 3.0 million in need of food 14,062 reported injured 130,000 homeless 7,200 killed (and climbing) I just got back from Nepal on April 2nd, so it’s sobering to think that some of the buildings where recently stood have been... Read more
In my previous post, I summarized the Good and Questionable parts of Kevin DeYoung’s new book, What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality. Again, I think this is quite simply a fantastic book that needs to be read by every Christian. And I probably agree with 80-90% of what Kevin says. Still, by way of an internal critique—as iron sharpens iron—there are some bits that I found questionable. Or, in the case of what follows, inaccurate, In this review,... Read more
*I’ve updated this blog on 5/6/2015. After re-reading the blog, I felt that some things sounded condescending and I apologize to Kevin and everyone else who may have been put off by my previous tone. My intention wasn’t to belittle Kevin or make myself look superior; however, there were some things that I said that were immature and unhelpful. I hope this updated review will honor Kevin much more than the previous one did. Kevin DeYoung has written a... Read more
By Preston Sprinkle and Jeff Cook This will be our final post in the 8 part dialogue in which we discussed the question: “Does the New Testament forbid same sex relationships?” We were originally going to post 10 blogs but we both felt like there’s been a good number of points raised that we could chew on for many weeks and months to come. And all God’s people said… To conclude, we wanted to circle back around and reaffirm our... Read more
The following post is part 7 of 10 in the debate between Jeff and me about homosexuality. In this post, I respond to Jeff’s response to my opening blog on Monday. I want to thank my friend Jeff for yet another provocative post that has challenged my thinking and, especially, my heart. It’s unfortunate that most of the readers of this blog/dialogue don’t know Jeff personally, and therefore haven’t experienced his raging passion for God and God’s people. But... Read more
The following post is by Jeff Cook, where he responds to my opening argument about the Bible and same-sex relations. This post is part 6 of 10 in the debate between Jeff and me about homosexuality. I wish to affirm, wish to grant and wish to champion much I read in Preston’s opening. I trust Preston’s heart as he calls us all to consider, not someone else’s sin, but our own. I am grateful that he is pushing those... Read more
The following post is number 5 of 10 in the discussion about homosexuality between Jeff Cook and me. In this post, I lay out my approach to the question: “Does the Bible prohibit same-sex relations?” The word “of” is ambiguous. It could connect the subject with its object—“the sin which is homosexuality.” But “of” could also mean something like “toward” or “concerning.” The “sin which has been committed toward homosexuality; that is, toward LGBTQ people. It’s this second sense... Read more
The following post is written by Jeff Cook, where he responds to my response to his opening argument. This is part 4 of 10 of our dialogue about homosexuality. The first three posts can be found here: One, Two, Three. Hey Friends. Thanks to those of you who are contributing in productive and gracious ways through the comment section, and thank you to Preston for your thoughtful response! Though our material may not be new, Preston and I hope... Read more
The following is part 3 of 10 in the dialogue/debate between Jeff and me about the Bible and same-sex relations. In this post, I respond to Jeff’s opening argument. My friend Jeff Cook has written a provocative and challenging post regarding same-sex relations and New Testament ethics. His argument is both fresh and original. Indeed, I learned a great deal about how deontological and virtue ethics coincide and where they diverge. Many thanks to my friend for pushing me... Read more
Theology in the Raw
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