-First of all I ordered "Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality" by Wesley Hill last week! It arrived on Friday. I have not had time to read it but have heard great things and I am really looking forward to reading it. If you have never read this amazing article he wrote on Ransom Fellowship titled “A Few Like You”: Will the Church be the Church for Homosexual Christians? check it out and maybe you will see why I am excited to read his new book! I will let you know how I liked the book when I finish it.
-I read a really good article by Albert Mohler today titled: Between the Boy and the Bridge — A Haunting Question about all the recent suicides of young men who struggle with homosexuality. It really challenges the church to get involved in the lives of young people struggling with this.
-Had a great weekend and enjoyed church. Went to a cookout with people from church and got to know some people a bit of least. I admit I was still very reserved but of least I went and did talk to some people! :) Also I had a long talk with my brother and he really is encouraging me to join a small group at church. I probably am going to finally do it soon. I know, I know I have said I would before but I think this time I really will. He thinks, and I agree, that it just would be alot easier for me to get to know people and get closer with people in a small group environment like that compared to everyone rushing home after church on a Sunday morning. So I hope I can take this leap of faith as its a big step for me to be vulnerable like that.
-Anyways just overall I have been feeling so much more positive about things lately and feel like my life is starting to improve. I feel like God is really working in my life and I am very slowly starting to open up a bit more to others. I still have a very long way to go but its a start of least. I thank you all for your prayers and encouragement please feel free to continue to pray as it is greatly appreciated!
Here are a couple verses from Psalm 34 I wanted to share that really encouraged me to keep trusting the Lord:
Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:18
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Hey AJ,
ReplyDeleteGlad things are improving for you. I hope your social situation, especially, continues to improve, because I know how much of a challenge improvement in that are can be.
I had read that article by Al Mohler before I saw it on your blog. I must say that, given the source, I was surprised by the message. IMO, Al Mohler represents the more fundy branch of Evangelicalism (for example, he's stridently opposed to theistic evolution), so it was a decent article considering the viewpoint behind it.
However, I did disagree with the constant emphasis on not loving the sin. Mohler stated: "Was there no believer to befriend Tyler and, without loving his homosexuality, love him?" Why the hell did he need to add "without loving his homosexuality"? If an individual believes that homosexuality is wrong, loving the person would automatically involve not loving the sin. I sense a fear in Mohler's writing that people might just start loving homosexuals too much. . .
Hey gaypk! Thanks for visiting. Yea things are slooowwwly improving socially. Its very hard as you know. Trying of least.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you I dont really know why he had to add that about "without loving homosexuality." I also noticed that when I read it. If someone struggles with say being an alcoholic or something you dont usually see christians mention loving the person "without loving the alcoholism" so dont know why he had to mention it here. Still overall it was a pretty good article with a good message overall I thought.
I would suspect (though I'm guessing) that a large part of why Mohler worded things the way he did is just the result of his audience. Many people who read his blog are pretty conservative and would probably be concerned about his message becoming "liberal" or something if he didn't emphasize that he wasn't speaking of loving the homosexuality. This is similar to how when I talk about my SSA with conservative Christians, I won't typically call myself "gay" (at least at first) so as to not scare them needlessly. By speaking like this, Mohler probably got some people to listen to and consider his message who may not have otherwise. So while I think it's sad he needed to do that, it may have actually been for the best.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to alcoholism, the operative difference here is that no one thinks alcoholism is a good thing. However, side A theology is growing in popularity and does teach that homosexuality is a good thing. So "without loving alcoholism" is obvious in a way that "without loving homosexuality" is not.
Anyway, just my 2 cents on that issue.
Oh good points Neo. I honestly never thought of it like that with no one supporting alcoholism but there being different sides and opinions on homosexuality! Great point.
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear you say you are feeling more positive about things lately. Ps.34:18 is such a great verse, being broken is not a bad place to be, it is where we meet Jesus.
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