Want to help young people follow Jesus? Talk about sexuality and gender
Andrew Bunt
A young woman visited a local church one Sunday morning. As she met members of the church, reflected on the words of the songs, and listened to the preacher, she encountered God and decided she wanted to become a follower of Jesus.
After the service, she approached a friend of mine who was one of the leaders of the church. As the young woman started talking, she broke down and began to sob. When she had managed to compose herself a little, she explained her tears: ‘I want to become a Christian, but you’re going to hate me because I’m a lesbian.’
Preparing for the next frontier in sexual ethics: polyamory and more
Andrew Bunt
The first same-sex marriages in the UK took place in 2014. A decade later, many of us Christians feel we are still playing catchup: we are trying to get our heads around same-sex sexuality and how to hold on to our Biblical conviction that marriage is the lifelong union of a man and a woman while simultaneously loving well those who are attracted to people of the same sex. We are wrestling with how both to love God and love our neighbour in relation to same-sex sexuality.
But while Christians have been playing catch-up, wider society has been continuing to develop its sexual ethic. Same-sex relationships aren’t really a point of debate for most people in modern Western society. In fact, to many, it seems obvious that two people of the same sex should be able to marry.