Tag: Sexuality

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Canada Society

1. Knowing the Times

This is a list of resources that you may find helpful. It is a curation based on my own choices, like any curation. Let this be a sieve for you to drain and collect what is useful.

captive by philosophy

There are some philosophies entering into the church which Christians need to be aware of. The philosophies are in a cluster composed of Critical Theory and Intersectionality.

intersectionality

Rosaria Butterfield, the former lesbian university professor, now Christian believer, has written about intersectionality for Table Talk at Ligonier ministries. She says:

How did we get to a place where it makes sense for a person to reject truth not because it’s false but because it hurts? How did we get to a place where we label people—image bearers of a holy God—as knowable primarily by their political and social group, as if that is their truest and most indelible virtue? Under what worldview could my words cause suicide but the genital mutilation that allows a biological man to masquerade as a woman cause celebration and affirmation?

READ THE REST: Intersectionality and the Church

critical theory

While I was at the Immanuel Network conference hosted by my friend Ryan Fullerton and his church, I was given a booklet by Neil Shenvi and Pat Sawyer titled, Engaging Critical Theory and the Social Justice Movement (you can download a copy for the price of an email here).

Shenvi says that Critical Theory is a worldview that is antithetical to Christianity. He writes:

The story of critical theory begins not with creation, but with oppression. The omission of a creation element is very important because it changes our answer to the question: “who are we?” There is no transcendent Creator who has a purpose and a design for our lives and our identities. We don’t primarily exist in relation to God, but in relation to other people and to other groups.  Our identity is not defined primarily in terms of who we are as God’s creatures. Instead, we define ourselves in terms of race, class, sexuality, and gender identity. Oppression, not sin, is our fundamental problem. What is the solution? Activism. Changing structures. Raising awareness. We work to overthrow and dismantle hegemonic power. That is our primary moral duty. What is our purpose in life? To work for the liberation of all oppressed groups so that we can achieve a state of equity.

READ MORE from Shenvi’s blog series

The current spirit of the age involves these variations of a cultural Marxism which has morphed into Critical Theory. It relates to issues of ethnicity (Critical Race Theory), gender and (LGBTQ+ advocacy), politics and more.

I have written about cultural Marxism, and the helpful analysis of Albert Mohler and Robert Smith, here.

Paul’s warning to the Colossians is very applicable here:

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 2:8

idealized cultures

Some more articles in this vein are Leonardo De Chirico on Pope Francis and his new statement Querida Amazonia. :

Querida Amazonia tends to have a very positive view of indigenous cultures – at times somewhat naïve – and in so doing it lacks biblical realism. According to the Bible, cultures are not to be idealized nor demonized: they are mixed bags of idolatry and common grace in need of redemption. Pope Francis tends to idealize native cultures, seeing them as already infused by the grace of God.

READ THE REST

This seems to derive from a similar philosophy to the intersectional/cultural marxist ones mentioned above.

What Does the Bible Say About…

Lust, Homosexuality, Transgenderism? Owen Strachan and my fellow pastor Gavin Peacock have written a trilogy of books that address simply what the bible says about three areas of hot contention. In these areas, some of the philosophies mentioned above are deeply embedded. Highly recommended.

Order the books from Christian Focus publishers.

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Canada Clint Global Gospel Society Suffering & Trials

The Persecution Spectrum

Could it be that we misunderstand the persecutions which Christians face? On the one hand, we can think that only the imprisoned are persecuted. At the other hand, we can argue that every resistance from the world, the flesh and the devil is a species of persecution.

Degrees of Persecution

I think it’s better to think of persecution on a spectrum. When seen on a spectrum, persecution of Christians is not limited to the extremes of being either non-existent (we’re not persecuted in the West) or state co-ordinated (Stalinist, Maoist, etc). There are degrees. And each degree requires a measured response.

Persecution in the West

In the West, the spectrum of persecution applies. It is not like the overt political co-ordination of other countries, but it is moving along the spectrum in that direction.

Part of what is happening is that there is a vast shift which removes the cultural elites of the past and replaces them with others. Christians are not in the cultural elite anymore. In fact, they are viewed with suspicion. The result is that Christians won’t get preferential treatment. When they enter grey areas, Christians won’t get the benefit of the doubt. Christians were in the habit of feeling they ought to have their voice heard, as much or more so than other citizens. Now when their voice enters the public square, many people are looking for a way to turn off the microphone. It’s not always state co-ordinated. But it is social, informal and real.

Denunciation as Persecution

I was reminded of this when our church posted an announcement on social media about an upcoming conference on biblical sexuality. The comments were hostile. When I tried to be winsome and persuasive, I was accused of being arrogant and not secular enough in my reply.

From this exchange I realized something. The person who was so incensed by our conference did not want to dialogue with me. They wanted to denounce me. Denunciation has been a form of persecution made popular in the twentieth century, particularly in communist countries. There is no physical effect. There is not even a legal component. But denunciation is a more aggressive form of opposition than mere disagreement.

Distorted Views of Persecution

Now if you agree with me that persecution is on a spectrum, the temptation will be to distort the proportions of the persecution that you might feel. It can be easy to dramatize our psychological injuries into massive systemic plots. In fact, across society, this is already happening as people will claim that others are expressing micro-aggressions against them. If we make a co-worker’s denunciation of us into a basis for a rights crusade, we will have lost the battle completely.

Our Adversary

Instead, we have to consider how the early Christians faced varying degrees of persecution. In the first century when Peter wrote to the “elect exiles” in the region of modern Turkey, he reminded them that the first persecutor was the devil. He called him the “adversary” and likened him to a prowling lion “seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

According to Peter’s logic, a Christian who reads his first letter needs to be watchful for this persecutor, the devil. In fact, Peter instructs:

Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world

1 Peter 5:9

Unless you are going to interpret the passage in a way that limits Satan’s activity only to the work of governments, you will broaden the application. Persecution is on a spectrum. If we don’t recognize the spectrum, we will be “ignorant of his designs” (2 Cor 2:11) and fail to resist the devil when he works in ways other than government-sanctioned persecution.

Not Bitter and Fuzzy

We ought to beware of letting our happy, yet clear witness turn bitter and fuzzy. If we give our best energies to fighting for a cultural seat at the table, we will have little energy left to be faithful ambassadors of another kingdom. If we lobby only for societal rights, we’ll be fuzzy about the superior summons to belief in the gospel. If we are shrill in our replies to sinners who are “without God and without hope in the world” (Eph 2:12), then our bitter witness will only communicate that our gospel is powerless to change hatred to love. The gospel even creates love for enemies (Mt 5:44).

Practice Joyfully Clear Witness

Our gospel witness muscles can practice responding to persecution in the less intense end of the spectrum. That practice will prepare us for more intense sufferings. At least Christians will stop being surprised by the spectrum of persecution. Peter says we shouldn’t be surprised (1 Peter 4:12). We know that it is coming. If we respond with joyful clarity about the truth of the gospel, we can have confidence that we share in some degree with the “same kinds of suffering… experienced by [our] brotherhood throughout the world” (5:9).

Above all, we need to remember that we “share Christ’s sufferings”, with the goal that we “may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed”. (4:13). Let us embrace our joyfully clear witness. This witness is both our duty and our joy across the entire spectrum of persecution.

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Canada Clint Creation Family Gospel Society Theology

Christians Must Talk About Sexuality

No professing Christian can afford to ignore the topic of sexuality. The sexual revolution has swept across North America into unlikely places like Alberta the land of oil and cowboys. The sexual revolution refuses to be ignored. Conservative politicians would like to drop the topic. And Christians cannot merely act like it is a problem for “someone, somewhere”. Christians must talk about sexuality or else they are in danger of being blindsided by it.

Either Oil or Sexuality

Take Alberta for an example. The most prominent news events of the last decade, other than oil and natural disasters, have been issues relating to sexuality. In Alberta, school-based clubs have become a sexuality flashpoint. These clubs are places where children have legal privacy protections permitting them to pursue gay identities and activities. The name given to these clubs is Gay-Straight Alliances or GSAs.

Another sexuality issue shifted the politics in Alberta dramatically. That flashpoint was the so-called “Lake of Fire” blog post from a provincial political candidate, Allan Hunsperger. In the post, he spoke of the judgement which awaited those who will not inherit the kingdom of God (cf. 1 Cor 6:9-10). The problem was what he said about eternal judgement and how it applied to gay people. The 21st chapter of Revelation says:
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (v.8). Connecting “the lake that burns with fire” to the LGBTQ community set off a firestorm.

The candidate’s party lost the provincial election which many thought they would win. The “Lake of Fire” became a slogan that stood for ‘hateful comments that bring political disaster’. Maybe the candidate should not have phrased things as he did, or he should have clarified that “the sexually immoral” of Rev 21:8 includes all sexual lust and activity outside of monogamous heterosexual marriage, not just homosexuality. Regardless, it is clear that the bible’s view of sexuality would not be accepted in the public square in Alberta anymore.

Sexuality Views: A Case Study

For Christians in Canada, I think they should take Alberta as a case study for why they should talk about sexuality. Alberta can no longer be associated with so-called social conservatives. The province’s society has departed from publicly favouring Judeo-Christian values, even if they had no interest in the gospel. Alberta has shifted as radically as the price of oil.

A bellwether of this radical shift can be observed in American theologian Albert Mohler’s regular commentary. Normally Canada doesn’t register too highly on the attention meters of Americans, so it is worthwhile to consider the number of entries in Albert Mohler’s The Briefing relating to Canada or even the province of Alberta. Most if not all of his commentary about Alberta has to do with the sexual revolution (For a list of The Briefing commentaries that mention Alberta goto this link). Of course, the sexual revolution is so significant that it has its own category tag on Mohler’s site.

The personal autonomy and individualism which have marked Alberta since pioneer days have turned towards a radical autonomy in sexuality. Mohler observed what happens:

If we buy into the worldview that is undergirding this moral revolution on sex and marriage and the entire society and its ordering, we would have to understand that worldview says that human beings have an absolute right of self-determination when it comes to personal autonomy, gender, gender identity, sexuality, definition of marriage, or virtually anything else. But if you buy into that worldview, you have to extend it everywhere the logic would take us, even into the public schools, even into the lives of children and teenagers, even into a government policy that officially advises the schools they are to take the children through the process of choosing their pronoun, deciding what name they want on their report cards, deciding whether they want to play for the boys or girls team, and on and on.

The Briefing (January 20, 2016)

We cannot afford to be unclear about issues of sexuality. Our purpose is not simply to be better culture warriors or political operatives. Christians need to know what the Scriptures teach about humanity created in the image of God. Christians need to be clear about the creation design of male and female—binary sexes, which are designed to complement one another in their capacities and roles. The foundation is supernatural, as in the creative power of God. Yet the evidence of binary sexes is what even non-theist scientists defend.

Start To Talk About Sexuality

Christians need to start somewhere. Obviously the first place to start is reading through the first three chapters of Genesis, the affirmation of Jesus in Matthew 19, the sophisticated awareness of what is sexual sin presented by Paul in the first chapter of Romans, and the brilliant depiction of marriage in the sixth chapter of Ephesians which points to a higher reality, namely the union of Christ with his people.

Two contemporary resources to help us talk about these things are statements issued by the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

The first, the Danvers Statement aimed to summarize the biblical teaching on binary sexes as designed to complement one another in marriage. The term ‘complementarian’ was coined to express this biblical viewpoint of equality in marriage with diversity in roles within marriage.

The second resource is the Nashville Statement which sought to address issues of transgenderism, homosexuality, polygamy, polyamory and more with biblical viewpoints in contrast to those beliefs.

So we can make a start. We can read the bible and learn from good resources. It can be uncomfortable, but we have to do it. If we start to be informed, we can “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

Let us be careful not to lose either truth or love.

If you are in the Calgary area, Saturday August 24 you should consider attending this conference:

Gender, Sexuality and Christian Witness Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Saturday, August 24 with Denny Burk, President of the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

unsplash-logoToni Reed