Tony Jones: GLBTQ can live in accord with biblical Christianity

Posted on November 15, 2010
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I've long said that the way the church responds to homosexuality will be one of the biggest tests of the next years. Recently, two things have occurred that have spoken to where some parts of the church are heading. The first was a statement by emergent church leader Tony Jones; the second by 'out of the closet' megachurch pastor, Jim Swilley.

The first is a comment by Tony Jones:

One of the key leaders of today’s most cutting-edge church movement has opened an Internet discussion on the issue of same-sex marriage with the bold proclamation that he believes “gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and queer” individuals can and should live out their sexuality in – and blessed by – the Christian church.

“I now believe that GLBTQ can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (as least as much as any of us can!),” writes author and church leader Tony Jones, “and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state.”

Jones is an author and former youth pastor who holds a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is also the national coordinator of Emergent Village, a loosely-formed friendship of churches that derive their descriptive name from having “emerged” from postmodernism to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into a post-Christian culture

SOURCE

The second is a message from Jim Swilley, the pastor of a large church in Georgia, who just recently came out saying he was divorcing his wife and living openly as a homosexual. My friend, Ed Stetzer, has a great post about the Swilley situation, including Swilley's video where he 'comes out'.

Ed closes his statement with a great question. I'd like to post it here as well for your consideration and comment:

Is it possible to demonstrate legitimate love and compassion to homosexuals, while believing homosexual behavior itself is sinful? Is there a kind of accountability for pastors that is both realistic and effective? What would that look like? Is it possible to maintain biblical orthodoxy while jettisoning biblical morality?

What do you think? How will YOUR church address the issue of homosexuality? (Because, I think EVERY church WILL HAVE TO; and very soon).

Todd

Comments

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Peter Hamm on Mon, November 15, 2010

Who’s more wrong?

The ones who say, with their life and words, that the Bible doesn’t say what it says because they excuse a sin.

or…

The ones who say, with their life and words, that the Bible doesn’t say what it says because they are filled with hate.

Both sides of this issue are trying to force us all to one of those extremes or the other. I refuse to allow it.
CS on Mon, November 15, 2010

This is the same Tony Jones who says that he has to question his faith on a daily basis and wonders if everything he believes is really a sham, for the record.

—
CS
Christopher Fontenot on Mon, November 15, 2010

This is one screwed up church with an incredibly charismatic false teacher. Claims Biblical inspiration but not inerrancy. How convenient that is. No humbling but lots of pride. No repentance but lots of justification.

It is possible to demonstrate legitimate love without abandoning the Biblical truth of the sin of homosexuality. What you have to abandon is the notiion that homosexuality is a “worse” or “the worst” kind of sin.

It is not possible to maintain Biblical orthodoxy while jettisoning Biblical morality. Biblical morality is orthodoxy.

God will not save anyone and leave them the same.
Leonard on Mon, November 15, 2010

Our church has had some people leave because of our stand on homosexuality and our approach to homosexuals. These are different issues for us.

Some felt we were to strict because we said it was a sin and that you could not be a member or hold a position of leadership service. Others left because we did not stop homosexuals from coming to our church and fellowshipping in small groups and such.
Peter Hamm on Mon, November 15, 2010

Leonard, that sounds like the balance I want to walk.

And although I’m “conservative” on my views of Biblical inspiration, we should do well to research and find out what we REALLY think about “inerrancy” and whether that’s a litmus test for heresy. It’s not as old a belief as many might think. A “formal doctrine of inerrancy” is a new idea, only maybe a couple hundred years old.

That aside, how do we answer the question is where we should camp on this issue, imho. Whether or not Tony Jones apparently dismisses large swaths of the Bible in his practice and theology is less a pressing matter than how I manage to love the sinner while not loving his sin.
Christopher Fontenot on Mon, November 15, 2010

I have done some digging as to what they teach in the Church In The Now. I can say without question that this man and his now ex-wife are lost. No wonder there is no church discipline which should have removed him from leadership after his first divorce. The one word that comes up is licentiousness.