Monday, May 18, 2015

Kevin DeYoung on Speaking to Different Groups About Sodomy

I enjoyed Kevin DeYoung's book, "What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality?" More needs to be said and studied, but the book is a good start for the average Christian who needs a primer on what the Bible teaches on homosexuality. One of the problems in conversations about sodomy is different groups require different tones. DeYoung addresses this in an appendix where he gives various ways of approaching different groups. I wish he had fleshed this out a bit more, maybe giving some examples from real life or some possible scenarios. Still it is helpful.
If we are speaking to cultural elites who despise us and our beliefs, we want to be bold and courageous. 
If we are speaking to strugglers who fight against same-sex attraction, we want to be patient and sympathetic. 
If we are speaking to sufferers who have been mistreated by the church, we want to be winsome and humble.
If we are speaking to shaky Christians who seem ready to compromise the faith for society's approval, we want to persuasive and persistent.
It we are speaking to those who are living as the Scriptures would not have them live, we want to be straightforward and earnest.
If we are speaking to belligerent Christians who hate or fear persons who identify as gay or lesbian, we want to be clear and corrective.  

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Let the saints be joyful in glory, let them sing aloud on their beds, let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind the kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron. Psalm 149:5-8