In one week, my book People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is not just an Issue will be released. If I can be honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it’s for an author whenever a new book is released. But on the other hand, this book is so different than anything I’ve written that I’m having a tough time sorting out my feelings about its release. The book isn’t about me. It’s about two... Read more
The Syrian refugee crisis is complex and there’s no easy solution. I don’t claim to understand the ins and outs of the Syrian civil war, nor the most effective way America can be involved. But I’m not here to talk politics. I’m here to remind us that part of a Christianity’s DNA is that we help those in need, which includes welcoming the stranger. Yet according to the perspective of many Christians on social media, the American values of safety... Read more
*The following is the complete manuscript of my paper I presented last Thursday at the annual Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting. I was one of four participants who presented on “Just War in an Age of Terrorism.” Two of the panelists were Just War theorists, and I was one of two “pacifists,” though as you’ll see, I don’t prefer this term. I want to begin my brief talk by acknowledging the complexity of this topic. Pulling together and synthesizing the diverse... Read more
The following is the full manuscript of a paper I’m presenting (like, right now) at the Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta (Wed, Nov 18th at 3:10pm EST). My paper is the first of four papers that discuss “Methodological Approaches to a Theology of Marriage.” The other presenters are Drs. Megan DeFranza (Boston University), Stephen Holmes (University of St. Andrews), and David Gushee (Mercer University). This paper represents a summary of what I discuss more broadly in my book People to Be Loved: Why... Read more
I want to let you know about a few new pages that I’ve added to my blog. First, I’ve added (or my publisher added) a separate page for each of my forthcoming books, People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is not just an Issue and Living in a Gray World: A Christian Teen’s Guide to Homosexuality. Both of these books will be released on December 8th through Amazon, but if you preorder them today, you’ll receive some free bonus content. If... Read more
On May 11, 2015, my friend wrote a post on my blog entitled: Living in Fear as a Gay Christian. The blog got a lot of attention, so I asked my friend if he would follow up with another blog to let use know how his last 6 months have been. Here’s a personal update. April 5, 2015, Easter Sunday was the first time in 23 years I stepped foot in a church. Having struggled with Same Sex Attraction, the... Read more
It’s been a couple weeks now since I’ve engaged Megan DeFranza’s book Sex Difference in Christian Theology. It’s been a crazy busy month, which included a last minute week-long hunting trip outside of Billings, Montana. Perhaps the best thing for my soul was that the lodge where we stayed had a crappy internet connection, which prevented me from blogging or checking my email. I miss Montana. In any case, I’ve got two more thoughts (= blogs) that I’d like throw... Read more
*The following post is by my friend Jessica Minassian, who’s an author, speaker, and the resident “big sis” at LifeLoveandGod.com. If you’re a teen girl, or has teen girls, you need to know about Jess’s ministry. Ten years ago on a whim, my husband threw some flowery graphics on a webpage and we launched LifeLoveandGod.com, a place where girls could ask and get answers to their most personal, pressing questions. What started as a place to continue the relationships I began at... Read more
This post is part 3 in my series of responses to Megan DeFranza’s provocative book Sex Difference in Christian Theology. As I said in my first post, this book has been one of the most thought provoking books I’ve read in the past few years and I highly recommended it to anyone interested in a Christian theology of sex and gender. And just so everyone knows, Megan has begun a series of blogs responding to my posts. If this discussion... Read more
This blog is part 2 of my interaction with Megan DeFranza’s excellent book Sex Difference in Christian Theology. As previously stated, Megan has offered a compelling argument that challenges the binary model of human sexuality. Some people are neither male nor female, Megan argues. And she views the “naturally born eunuch” (Matt 19) as the biblical basis for exploring the category of a third (or other) gender. Jesus’ first type of eunuch—who has ‘been so from birth’—provides a biblical door... Read more
Theology in the Raw
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