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Thursday, July 16, 2015

For the sake of the gospel...


Whatever your views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage I recommend reading this Blog post from Rachel Held Evans entitled Give up the Persecution Complex It's true that it is written from the perspective of the culture of USA. I don't think we, in NZ, have the same "persecution complex" i.e. feeling "persecuted" because of legislation allowing same sex-marriage. However, Rachel Held Evans courageously expresses the injustices done by Christians in the face of issues they disagree with. Here are just a couple of quotes from her full post.

"So what I’d like to suggest to my fellow Christians is that perhaps taking up the cross means laying down the persecution complex. A spirit of fear and entitlement does more to obscure the gospel than elucidate it...."


"Living in a pluralistic society that also grants freedom and civil rights protection to those with whom one disagrees is not the same as religious persecution.   And crying persecution every time one doesn’t get one’s way is an insult to the very real religious persecution happening in the world today.  It's no way to be a good citizen and certainly no way to advance the gospel in the world." 

A book I would also highly recommend is Torn: 
"As a teenager and young man, Justin Lee felt deeply torn. Nicknamed "God Boy" by his peers, he knew that he was called to a life in the evangelical Christian ministry. But Lee harbored a secret: He also knew that he was gay. In this groundbreaking book, Lee recalls the events--his coming out to his parents, his experiences with the "ex-gay" movement, and his in-depth study of the Bible--that led him, eventually, to self-acceptance. 


But more than just a memoir, TORN provides insightful, practical guidance for all committed Christians who wonder how to relate to gay friends or family members--or who struggle with their own sexuality. Convinced that "in a culture that sees gays and Christians as enemies, gay Christians are in a unique position to bring peace," Lee demonstrates that people of faith on both sides of the debate can respect, learn from, and love one another."