Top Highlights

• The sanctity of same-sex relations is one of the most pressing ethical questions facing the church today. Unlike other topics that Christians debate—the rapture, the millennium, speaking in tongues, etc.—homosexuality affects the very core of human persons. It is, as I have stated elsewhere, not just an issue to be debated, but touches the heart an...
• One of the most difficult things about discussing homosexuality is language. (The very word “homosexuality” is offensive to some.) People who explore these issues for the first time are confronted with a whole new set of terms and face the threat of being cited by the self-appointed language-police, who liberally dish out moniker violations. This i...
• After much discussion, we decided to use the terms “affirming” and “traditional” in this book. They aren’t perfect, but they seem to be better than the other options—especially when the reader understands exactly what is (and isn’t!) meant by each term. The term “affirming” is used to describe Bill Loader’s and Megan DeFranza’s view that consensual...
• In relation to homosexual passions, the argument has been mounted that Scripture does not judge a person because of their orientation, including their feelings, but condemns only the act and the intent to act. For many this has been a huge relief. It is okay for them to be gay and have homosexual feelings as long as they do not act on them.
• As we shall see, this softening of the biblical position does not do justice to the text, which sees the orientation itself as a symptom of sin.