How Should The Church Engage Those With Same-Sex Attraction Or Gender Dysphoria?

Apologetics, Christianity, Christians, Church, Culture CrossExamined, Gender Dysphoria, JesusIsNotFakeNews, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Ryan Leasure, Same-Sex Attraction, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Ryan Leasure How should the church engage those who experience same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria? In response, I want to highlight seven basic principles that the church must embrace. Affirm The Divine Image Genesis 1 is clear that everyone, without qualification, is made in God’s’s image. That is to say; whether someone is attracted to the opposite sex or the same sex, they are equally image-bearers of God. The same goes for individuals who experience gender dysphoria. One’s’s feelings or attractions in no way mitigates against this universal status. As Christians, we should enthusiastically embrace this truth. Nobody — not the government, the church, or anyone else — can bestow a higher status on each person than God already has. Moreover, not only did God create all people in his…
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Can We Know Anything for Sure?

1. Does Truth Exist?, Apologetics, Can we know anything for sure, Christianity, Does truth exist?, Doug Potter, God, Gospel, reason, SES, Southern Evangelical Seminary, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Doug Potter The following is an excerpt for our Why Trust the God of the Bible? Ebook. Many today fail to see the importance of grounding their reasoning process in reality in spite of the fact that whatever is not based on reality is un-reality, in other words, unreal. The slippery slope of subjectivism and relativism is the result of such “reasoning” manufactured in the imaginations of the mind rather than in reality, on Truth. This distinction is especially important for Christians who desire to share their reasonable faith. Sadly, subjectivism has crept its way into the church with the assumption that we do not need to defend our faith with reason; we only need the Bible. Despite the claims of subjectivism and “blind” faith, one of the most fundamental observations…
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How to Build a More Discerning, Less Naïve, and Better Culturally Engaged Church

Biblically-sound articles, Christianity, ChristianMomThoughts, Christians, Church, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Natasha Crain, Politics and Religion, Social media, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Worldview
By Natasha Crain  In my last article, Christian Naivety is Harming the Church’s Engagement with Today’s Culture; I identified four ways that I’ve seen many Christians respond with naivety to calls for discernment in today’s world. At the end, I asked, “How do we fix this?” and said my answer would be the subject of my next article. This is that article. Since this is a follow-up, please be sure to read my last post before this one for context. Let me start by saying that the title of this article is a rather sweeping proposition. Obviously, this is a single article, the issues are complex, and I’m not claiming that what I write here is a complete answer to all the problems we have. But I want to offer what I…
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The Bible and BLM; Life and Death

Black Lives Matter, BLM, BLM Christian, Christianity, Is BLM Biblical, Post Christian
NOTICE: The Following is Religious Expression The Bible and Black Lives Matter; Life and Death By Brace E. Barber August 25, 2020 Everyone should agree with the statement that black lives (including all sexual orientations and alternations) matter. The value of life and God’s longing for each of us to live in eternity with him is what the Bible is all about. God created man in his image,[i] “he crowned them with glory and honor,”[ii] he is patient with us “not wanting anyone to perish,”[iii] and he “gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”[iv] Though everyone should agree that black lives matter, anyone who does so without a belief in God as their creator, has no basis for believing…
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Why It Is Foolish To Insist There Is No God

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Atheism, atheist, Christianity, Christians, Evidence, Objections to the existence of God, reasons to believe, Skeptics, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, There is no God
By Al Serrato  “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” If this passage from Psalms is correct, then many people today – including numerous scientists and other well-educated folks – are fools, for they insist that God does not exist. While name-calling is never productive, is there a way in which one might conclude that a person who denies God’s existence is indeed a “fool,” and not merely someone with whom we disagree? Well, let’s begin with a look at the definition of “fool,” which includes “a person who has been tricked or deceived into appearing or acting silly or stupid.” Now, sometimes we trick ourselves and thereby make fools of ourselves. We might insist that a steady diet of fast food isn’t the reason that our…
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Was Jesus a Jerk? A Response to the Friendly Atheist

Apologetics, Christianity, Erik Manning, IsJesusAlive, Jesus, New Testament, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Erik Manning A few weeks ago, CNN Tonight host Don Lemon said: “But here’s the thing, Jesus Christ, if that’s who you believe in Jesus Christ, admittedly was not perfect when he was here on the Earth. So why are we deifying the Founders?” As you can imagine, this caused quite a stir over social media and on the blogs, since the Bible clearly teaches Christ’s sinless perfection. While a few right-wing Christian leaders went a little overboard in their denouncements of Lemon,  “The Friendly Atheist” took it as an opportunity to take some jabs at Jesus.  Hemant Mehta, the author of the blog, writes:  “Let’s talk about what Jesus did. * Jesus once got so angry he flipped over tables and benches. * Jesus cursed a fig tree…
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Don’t Lose the Person When Winning an Argument

Apologetics, apologist, argument, Bellator Christi, Brian Chilton, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Evangelism, Gospel, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Winning an Argument
By Brian Chilton 1 Peter 3:15 is a classic prooftext for the defender of the faith, otherwise known as the Christian apologist. Peter writes, “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). While this verse is imperative to the modern Christian, we must also remember the next verse where Peter states, “Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame” (1 Pet. 3:16). Peter emphasizes how a Christian does apologetics as much as he stresses the need for apologetics. Many times,…
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The Main Argument of The Abolition of Man

Alec King, Aristotle, British schools, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Culture & Ethics, debunking, England, English, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gaius, Hinduism, literature, Martin Ketley, Men without Chests, pedagogy, philosophy, Plato, propaganda, Saint Augustine, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, sublime, Tao, That Hideous Strength, The Abolition of Man, The Conditioners, The Control of Language, The Green Book, Thomas Traherne, thumos, Titius, upper forms, values, Wheaton College
Lewis foresees a class of men called “the Conditioners.” The Conditioners have “seen through” all attempts to ground behaviour in any ultimate truth. Source
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Stephen Meyer and James Tour: Tonight, a Wide-Ranging and Personal Conversation

abiogenesis, chemical evolution, Christianity, Discovery Institute, Discovery Institute Press, faith, Faith & Science, Intelligent Design, James Tour, mind, origin of life, physical processes, Rice University, Stephen Meyer, The Mystery of Life’s Origin
Does life's origin reflect the activity of a mind, or do blind, purely physical processes alone serve as a fully satisfactory explanation? Source
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What Does Paul Say About Homosexuality?

Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Culture, Homosexuality, JesusIsNotFakeNews, New Testament, Paul, Ryan Leasure, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Ryan Leasure In this post, we’re asking the question: What does Paul say about homosexuality? To find out, we need to investigate Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and 1 Timothy 1:9-10. Let’s consider each text in turn. Romans 1:26-27 This passage is probably the most significant biblical text addressing homosexuality. In the broader context, we read that God reveals his wrath from heaven against all ungodliness. Even though people know God exists through natural revelation, they have suppressed the truth and worshipped idols instead. Therefore, God hands them over to their depraved minds. Verses 26-27 give us an example of this depravity: For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature (para physin); and the men…
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