The Reformed Advisor

Tag: same sex

The Church is Partially to Blame for Efforts to Redefine Marriage

Posted on May 20, 2015 in Marriage, Sexuality by

Abigail Rine is a professor of English at George Fox University. Each year she hands out a reading assignment to her gender theory students designed to provoke them. She recently decided to assign the book “What Is Marriage” by noted Princeton professor Robert P. George, Ryan T. Anderson, and Sherif Girgis. The book is a simple explanation of the conjugal view of traditional marriage.

Rine reports that the book, which is a manual of sorts on the traditional view of marriage as it relates to procreation, was offensive to her evangelical students at her evangelical university. Let that sink in for a moment.

But Rine said something that needs to be admitted: the church helped create the effort to redefine marriage.

I don’t mean that the church altered biblical teaching or even advocated marriage redefinition. Certainly some churches have done this but the vast majority of churches today continue to adhere to traditional biblical teaching of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. What I mean is that how the church handled the issue of marriage and sexuality in past decades aided the rise of marriage redefinition efforts.

Rine writes:

Steps Every Church Can Take to Defend Biblical Teaching on Marriage

Posted on May 13, 2015 in Marriage, Religious Freedom by

As I discussed yesterday, the Supreme Court is preparing to rule on the issue of marriage. More specifically, whether or not it should be legal in all 50 states for homosexuals to marry. This decision will have a major impact on every person regardless of which way the court rules.

Several years ago I was involved with educating churches and pastors on what steps they could take to protect their churches from lawsuits due to changing cultural norms. While many churches were receptive to such instruction, some churches believed it unnecessary. Few churches today seeking to protect their religious freedom think being educated is unnecessary.

Groups like The Gospel Coalition have been more cautious in recommending to churches steps that can be taken to protect their pastors, facilities, and religious freedom. So when I see recommendations from The Gospel Coalition, in conjunction with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), I take notice.

In a blog post not long ago, The Gospel Coalition recommended five ways churches can protect their religious convictions and freedom amidst a changing culture. These are five steps groups like ADF and the one I worked with were encouraging years ago; they are more critical today than ever.

The five steps are:

Did You Know the Supreme Court is About to Decide Whether Gay Marriage Should Be Legal for All States? Then What?

Posted on May 12, 2015 in Marriage by

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. Once they make a decision it is binding on all 50 states and there is little (if any) recourse for anyone opposed to the ruling. For this reason the pending decision regarding marriage is more than important, it is potentially historic.

The question everyone is wondering is whether or not the court will impose a sweeping decision on all 50 states that is – at best – controversial.

Let’s rewind a few years to the Roe v. Wade decision. This decision, which legalized abortion in all 50 states has been hailed as one of the most infamous decisions in U.S. history. This is primarily because it removed states’ rights to determine the issue within their borders. Rather than letting each state determine how to handle the issue, the court issued a sweeping ruling that was binding on all states.

To say that decision has been contested ever since would be a monumental understatement. The fact that pro-life laws are being passed on the state level at record rates is but one sign among many that the court made the wrong decision regarding abortion.

The Reason This Gay Woman Supported a Local Business is Stunning! I Hope More People Are Like Her

Posted on April 21, 2015 in Marriage, Religious Freedom by

Remember that pizzeria in Indiana that was targeted by hateful people just because they wanted to do business according to their beliefs? The pizzeria said they would not cater a gay wedding because it would violate their convictions. Of course the media exploited their comments and liberals and LGBT people lost their minds.

Then a GoFundMe page was started and people across the country began raising money to support the business because it had to close its doors temporarily due to death threats (that’s some “tolerance” for ya!).

The donations all seemed relatively normal.

Until Courtney Hoffman donated.

Courtney Hoffman is a gay woman. She not only donated to help the pizzeria she expressed her sadness over how the media and LGBT people reacted to the pizzeria owners’ desire to live according to their beliefs. She wrote:

The Connection Between Dolce and Gabbana and “Synthetic Children”

Posted on April 14, 2015 in Marriage by

If you didn’t know better you would think that anyone still in support of the traditional family is an outdated bigot that needs to get with the times. Everyone, the media and “experts” tell us, supports alternative families.

With this in mind I am sure it was a surprise when famed designers Dolce and Gabbana revealed that they support the traditional family. The fact that they are both openly gay makes their support for the traditional family more powerful; and more heinous to LGBT activists.

When the famous duo’s position was made public there was immediate backlash against them. Stars like Elton John called for a boycott of Dolce and Gabbana for simply stating their position. Responding to such backlash the duo said:

A Polyamory Advocate Used a Pastor’s Words Against Him – It Didn’t End Well…for the Pastor!

Posted on March 24, 2015 in Marriage by

In case you didn’t know, there is an effort to redefine marriage. One of the most deceptive and false narratives in this effort is that the redefinition will stop with homosexuals and same-sex “marriage.” For several years now many of us have been issuing constant warnings that if marriage is redefined for homosexuals it will have to be redefined for any other group, person, or group of people that want to be “married.”

My typical warning goes something like this: If the government redefines marriage to include same-sex “marriage” it will have to continue redefining marriage to include polygamy, polyamory, pedophilia, incest, and bestiality. There will be no logical, moral, or political reason not to continue redefining marriage. If the government does not continue to redefine marriage for these groups it will be guilty of the same “discrimination” it now accuses traditional marriage supporters of.

Professing Christians that attempt to “love” their neighbor by supporting their sin and advocating for marriage redefinition will, in the end, either limit their support to homosexuals – thereby becoming guilty of the same “discrimination” they now accuse traditional marriage supporters of, or, endorse any and all forms of “marriage”; including polygamy, polyamory, et. al.

If these Christians that now support redefining marriage for homosexuals end their support of marriage redefinition there, they will have a hard time explaining their position using Scripture; or logic. The reality that many will broaden their support to include polygamy and polyamory is an easy conclusion given their existing ability to twist and stretch Scripture to support same-sex “marriage.”

Why Does Having a Gay Kid Change a Parents Theology?

Posted on February 5, 2015 in Marriage, Sexuality by

A headline caught my attention a couple of weeks ago. The headline reads “Evangelicals with gay children challenge church.” Being an active participant in the effort to strengthen marriage and convey the biblical definition and image of marriage God designed to the next generation, I couldn’t help but read the article.

The story is about parents, Rob and Linda Robertson, whose 12-year old son Ryan told them he was gay. The Robertson’s sought o help their son by loving him, seeking counseling for him, and through church participation. Sadly though, at age 18, after a six year battle that eventually led to drug use, Ryan overdosed and died.

What strikes me about this story is not the circumstances, the Robertson’s story is one of many that are very similar. (That is a tragic reality of our culture.) Instead, I am struck by the Robertson’s response. They are seeking to help the church change the way it responds to evangelical kids that come out as gay. In essence, the Robertson’s want Christian parents to affirm their kids’ homosexual lifestyle.

Linda Robertson recently said:

Seriously!? Pastor Sues Michigan for the Right to Marry Homosexuals

Posted on February 3, 2015 in Marriage, Religious Freedom by

A Detroit “pastor” is suing the state of Michigan claiming infringement on his religious freedom. That’s becoming an increasingly normal headline. The problem with that headline in this case is the damage this “pastor” is causing to marriage and the Gospel.

Neil Patrick Carrick was a “pastor” with the United Church of Christ. This is, presumably, a quasi-denomination not serious about being true to the Gospel or God’s design for marriage. Mr. Carrick – because I really have a hard time referring to him as pastor – believes in same-sex “marriage” and wants the freedom to marry homosexuals in his church. Carrick not only wants the freedom to marry homosexuals but also to marry people in polygamous relationships as well.

Carrick recently commented that laws defining marriage between one man and one woman result in the state engaging in “the disparate treatment” of gays, lesbians and “plural relationships.”

Next Step: Daughter Planning to Marry Father After Dating for 2 Years

Posted on January 28, 2015 in Marriage by

I don’t even feel like saying “I told you so.” Back when same-sex “marriage” was gaining steam and people were lining up to support it so they wouldn’t be called names, many refused to compromise and withstood the onslaught of attacks. One of our main concerns was that if marriage was redefined to include homosexuals, what legal or moral ground would there be to refuse redefining marriage for polygamists, pedophiles, and anyone else that wanted to get married?

One of our greatest concerns has been realized.

This case, this 18-year old girl, will be the catalyst for the movement to normalize and then legalize incestuous relationships. The slippery slope is getting slipperier. In the exact same way that homosexuals first normalized and then legalized same-sex “marriage,” this girl and her father are taking pages right out of the LGBT playbook.

The girl, unnamed at this point, was interviewed by New York Magazine, a rather lengthy interview that details how the relationship began. While most would assume some abuse must be present, the reality is that this girl was estranged from her father for 12 years before being reunited. The girl, at age 16, spent a week with her father and his live-in girlfriend, during which the two went from getting reacquainted to kissing, making out, and eventually having sex; which was the girls first time.

Are You a Christian That Affirms Homosexuality? You Need to Read This!

Posted on January 14, 2015 in Marriage, Sexuality by

What is the message being communicated by Christians and the church regarding homosexuality? In years past we might be quick to answer the question and our chance of accuracy would be fairly certain. Not so much today. The push to normalize homosexuality has caught many churches and Christians up in its net and seemingly dragged them along. The result is a Christian culture that is frayed at the ends with churches that have decided to abandon biblical teaching in favor of a cultural message.

The new message declares the Bible old, outdated, irrelevant for today’s culture, or even just plain wrong. Somehow pastors want their congregations to believe in the veracity and inerrancy of Scripture when it comes to the existence of heaven and hell, the creation of the world, salvation and eternity. But not about human sexuality.

Pastors want people to believe that God created man and woman, that He formed them from the dust of the earth and gave them life – but not that He knows what is best for them. It must be a weird sort of tension to try and affirm Genesis 1 -3 as biblical truth then relate Romans 1 as outdated and irrelevant.

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