By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Several weeks ago I wrote a letter to my ethics survey class here at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. One line read: “Thanks for the name-hugs.” Imagine a scholar studying the writings of…
California Baptists expel ‘third way’ church
This story hs been updated with a statement from New Heart Community Church. By Bob Allen A statewide affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention has booted a member church for advocating a “third way” of neither condemnation nor full embrace…
How I got here: The LGBT issue, part 17
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee My mind and heart have changed on the LGBT issue. I am not the only one by any means–the trickle is becoming a flood. I could point you to a stack of thoughtful books…
Leviticus, abomination and Jesus: The LGBT issue, part 10
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Not long ago I received a communication from a person identifying himself as John Calvin, quoting Leviticus 20:13 to me, suggesting that this text resolves the LGBT issue. Dr. Calvin’s concern was already on…
The sins of Sodom (and Gibeah): The LGBT issue, part 9
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Traditionalist Christians on the LGBT issue argue that there can be no legitimate same-sex relationships because they are banned by the Bible. Thus even where traditionalists acknowledge the existence of enduring same-sex orientation, they…
How traditionalists connect the biblical dots: The LGBT Issue, part 8
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee The essentials of the traditionalist reading of scripture on same-sex relationships can be rendered by this formula, though of course there are variations: Genesis 1-2 + Genesis 19 + Leviticus 18:22/20:13 + Judges 19…
Biblical inspiration, human interpretation: The LGBT issue, part 7
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee The (Protestant) Bible has 66 books, 1,189 chapters and 31,273 verses, spoken, written and edited over more than a millennium, in three different languages, in multiple social settings, by dozens of authors, with the…
If this is where you get off the bus: The LGBT issue, part 6
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee It should be clear by now that “the LGBT Issue” is by no means just one issue, and that its complexity requires a sufficiently complex response. Careful readers will see that my approach in…
If This is Where You Get Off the Bus: The LGBT Issue, part 6
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee It should be clear by now that “the LGBT Issue” is by no means just one issue, and that its complexity requires a sufficiently complex response. Careful readers will see that my approach in…
Six options for the churches: The LGBT issue, part 5
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee What is the posture that forgiven sinners in the church should have toward other forgiven sinners? Pope Francis rocked the Christian world with his response in a 2013 interview when he was asked about…
‘Third-way’ Baptist church faces possible expulsion
By Bob Allen The 175-church Los Angeles Southern Baptist Association is expected to vote this fall on whether to expel a member church for embracing a “third way” besides discrimination against or unqualified endorsement of people who identify as gay….
The power of witness
On July 28 I was one of about two dozen clergy, activists, family and friends who traveled with a couple to the Jefferson County courthouse in Louisville, Ky., to get a marriage license. We went knowing it was a fool’s…