It just is. Martin Davie writes:
‘This is a point that is well made by the American writer Michael Brown in his book Can you be Gay and Christian? He asks the question why there are only a tiny number of biblical verses that directly address the issue of same-sex sexual relationships. His answer to this question is to draw an analogy with a book of recipes for sugar free puddings that has an introduction that explains why sugar should be avoided.…
Nestling at the back of what I fondly call my mind has been a reference, by O.R. Johnston (in his 1979 book, Who Needs The Family?) to an important but neglected piece of research which presented evidence for a positive correlation between sexual restraint and cultural achievement.
I was pleased to track down Johnston’s book, and his discussion of the research in question. Here is what Johnston has to say:
I turn now to the various types of marriage pattern in different societies and ask what advantages scholars have perceived in the different types of sexual regulation.…
Here I summarise this essay by Andrew T. Walker, entitled, ‘Gender and Sexuality’.
Gender refers to the biological differences between males and females and to the different cultural ways in which creational distinctions are expressed. Sexuality refers to God’s design for the procreative relationship between men and women and to the experience of erotic desire within that relationship.
Several axiomatic truths related to gender and sexuality are found in the Genesis 1–2 narrative.…
There is an epidemic of loneliness today. This is due, not just to the (hopefully) short-term effects of Covid-19 lockdown. There is the wider, and more persistent, problem of loneliness which is linked to the decline in marriage rates and the increase in marriage breakdowns.
God, in his wise and generous love, has provided a wonderful blueprint for flourishing marriages, and has used this blueprint to point towards a yet deeper and more lasting marriage – that between Christ and his people.…
In the eyes of many, the idea that churches can take a ‘welcoming but not affirming’ attitude towards LGBT people is absurd. It inevitably leads to treating people as second class Christians, tolerated but not fully integrated into the life of the church.
The perceived absurdity is compounded by the myth that only two possibilities exist: either that of full and unconditional acceptance and affirmation, or that of rejection. Any kind of middle ground is rarely explored.…
1 Corinthians 15:42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. 15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Paul’s teaching here has led some to interpret the resurrection appearances of vv5-8 as non-physical, amounting to something like subjective visions. …
Some time ago, I participated in a debate about divorce and remarriage in Church. I argued that a divorced person may be remarried in church during the lifetime of a former spouse, certainly if the divorce had been occasioned by adultery on the part of the former spouse, and possibly for other reasons also. I’m afraid I don’t have a record of the counter-argument, but here’s what I presented:-
There are many things that we should be able to agree on:-
If the Christian church is to adhere to (or recover) God’s good plan for men and women, then its pastoral care and witness will need some clarification and strengthening in a number of areas.
For example, we need to ask, How can we more effectively
…
Why do many people prefer cohabitation to marriage?
Courtesy of Metro News.
You might think: so superficial, so short-sighted, so selfish. I couldn’t possibly comment.…
