#james brownson

[milkboydotnet]

Dr. James Brownson, author of Bible, Gender, Sexuality, talks about the issues with gender complementarity. 

[sacredtension]

James Brownson on Romans 1

James Brownson on Romans 1

I got horribly sick last week with strep throat, which completely destroyed my writing and posting schedule. I hope to be back on track with new material this Thursday or next Monday, but till then, I thought I would post James Brownson’s second lecture from his lecture series for The Reformation Project.

Dr. Brownson is, I believe, the new bar of affirming theology, and if you havn’t read his…

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[sacredtension]

James Brownson on Gender Complimentarity

James Brownson on Gender Complimentarity

If you haven’t yet read Dr. Brownson’s excellent book Bible, Gender, Sexuality, (you really should) you can now watch a series of lectures he gave for The Reformation Project outlining his book. They are all excellent, and well worth your time. You can also read my interview with him here.

In the following video, Dr. Brownson discusses gender complementarity as a foundation for rejecting same-sex…

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[sacredtension]

When Morality and Experience Clash

When Morality and Experience Clash

Over the past year, as I have struggled to sort through what I believe about my sexual orientation and how I am to live, I have come up against a conflicting conundrum. This dissonance is, specifically, how the traditional ethic articulates itself, and this articulation of the traditional ethic makes me uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. It’s important to note that I’m neither a theologian…

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[urbanchristiannews]

Conservative Christians to Change Their Tune on Same-Sex Behavior Like Slavery, Solar System?

Conservative Christians to Change Their Tune on Same-Sex Behavior Like Slavery, Solar System?

Kirsten Powers writes weekly for USA Today. (Photo by Len Spoden Photography, courtesy of Kirsten Powers)

Could there be a future where most American Christians support same-sex relationships? If so, it will be due to the emergence of conservative Christians who say orthodox believers can support lifelong, monogamous gay relationships without undermining their commitment to biblical authority.

(…

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[urendimaleldil]

“The Bible does not regard impulses to sin that arise from within oneself in the same neutral way [that it regards being tested by God or one’s environment]. Instead, it views these inner impulses as manifestations of an inward sinful nature. This is seen most clearly in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, where Jesus declares that looking at a woman with lust is the same as adultery (Matt. 5:28); he also likens the inner experience of anger toward one’s brother to murder (Matt. 5:21-22)…In all these verses that speak of inward impulses, the neutral sense of ‘testing’ doesn’t provide an adequate understanding. Such impulses are seen in Scripture as manifestations of a sinful nature and are to be resisted in the same way that sinful actions are to be avoided (see Matt. 26: 41; Mark 14:8; Luke 22:40, 46; 1 Cor. 7:5; Gal. 6:1; 1 Tim. 6:9) [Therefore], If same-sex erotic acts are always morally wrong, then the impulse to engage in those acts is also a manifestation of a disordered and sinful inner state. Focusing on behavior alone—and regarding as neutral the “preference” or inclination toward such behaviors—simply cannot be justified from Scripture, particularly from the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. If the acts are sinful, all inclinations to such acts are to be understood as manifestations of a sinful nature, and are to be resisted as such. If we take the teaching of Jesus and the rest of Scripture seriously, such distinctions between impulse and action don’t carry the same importance in the presence of God, who searches the heart (see 1 Chron. 29:17; Ps. 139:23; Jer. 17:10). Before God, if an action is wrong, the inward impulse toward that action is equally culpable. ANger is the same as murder, lust the same as adultery. Unless divine grace transforms us throughout, we cannot find wholeness before God. [T]he attempt by some traditionalists to bracket sexual orientation and to focus only on sexual behavior is ultimately untenable, even if it may seem necessary or benevolent from a pastoral point of view. Where does one draw the line? Where does the sinful impulse begin? Is it when gay or lesbian persons experience a desire for friendships with others of the same sex, admiration for another’s physical beauty, the tendency to frequently think about another person, the persistent desire to be with another person, the desire to be touched by another, the desire to kiss or be kissed, or the desire for still more intimate sexual contact? For most gay and lesbians persons, these desires are part of the same continuum, and they cannot always be readily distinguished from each other.”

James Brownson, Bible Gender Sexuality Andrew is rocking my brain right now. I'm grateful that he is gracious willing to talk to a fence-straddler like me. Thank you Andrew.

[godoftheoppressed]

Jesus makes it clear that the calling to lifelong celibacy is not for all (Matt. 19:11), and Paul explicitly urges those who cannot exercise self-control to get married. This should not be viewed as a ‘second-best’ option, but merely as an expression of the diversity of gifts given by God.

Bible, Gender, and Sexuality by James Brownson

[milkboydotnet]

Guilt is specific. When we feel guilty, we condemn ourselves for specific things we have done wrong. In a Christian context, guilt can be addressed by repentance and the receiving of forgiveness. But shame is not so easily dealt with. Shame quickly becomes all encompassing: it defines the self in its entirety. Guilt says that we have done bad things; shame says that we are bad. In a traditionalist context, homosexual acts may incur guilt, but a homosexual orientation causes shame.

James V. Brownson, Bible, Gender, Sexuality