{"id":83659,"date":"2019-07-12T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=83659"},"modified":"2019-07-12T06:58:12","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T10:58:12","slug":"ct-celibate-gay-christians-neither-shockingly-conservative-nor-worryingly-liberal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=83659","title":{"rendered":"(CT) Celibate Gay Christians: Neither Shockingly Conservative nor Worryingly Liberal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers Mark Yarhouse and Olya Zaporozhets step bravely (foolishly?) into this battleground with their comprehensive study of people like me: Costly Obedience: What We Can Learn from the Celibate Gay Christian Community<\/span>. It\u2019s an important book with an academic feel that grows more pastoral as you read on. Yarhouse has written multiple volumes on LGBTQ experience based on careful research from the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity at Regent University in Virginia, where both of the authors teach. I wouldn\u2019t agree with everything he\u2019s ever written, but I thank God for the gracious tenor of his contributions.<\/p>\n

This newest book is essentially a listening exercise, based on an in-depth survey of celibate gay Christians. You hear their stories of milestone events and experiences in church life and ministry\u2014as well as research that maps their mental health outcomes and relational challenges. But they are not the only voices recorded: There\u2019s also input from friends, along with some fascinating insights into the perspectives of some evangelical pastors. The authors helpfully add their own measured reflections.<\/p>\n

Certain conversation topics could prove controversial. We hear differing thoughts, for instance, on such questions as the origins of same-sex attraction, the correct labels to use (is it \u201cgay,\u201d \u201csame-sex attracted,\u201d or something else?), the possibility of same-sex desires that aren\u2019t wholly sinful, and the prospect of changing one\u2019s sexual orientation. But one of the authors\u2019 strongest points is the need to discuss these issues more carefully. They write, \u201cSome church leaders and some celibate gay Christians seem to us, at times, to be describing two different things, rather than disagreeing on precisely the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

This appeal for a better conversation within evangelicalism couldn\u2019t be timelier.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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What a GREAT review from Ed Shaw (co-founder of @LivingOutOrg<\/a>) of new book “Costly Obedience” by @markyarhouse<\/a> and Olya Zaporozhets about Christians who are both gay and celibate. https:\/\/t.co\/LzqHBbhrKl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nate Collins (@NateCollins) July 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n