July 16, 2012

Lifesitenews.com has reported that a gay activist by the name of Scott Rosensweig accused Mark Regnerus of “scientific misconduct,” harboring “anti-gay prejudices,” and “being politically biased” in a letter to the University of Texas. The university began an investigation shortly after Rosensweig’s letter. The Regnerus study, published in the July issue of Social Science Research, found “that children of homosexual parents have significantly more social and mental-health problems than children of heterosexual parents.” Here are some excerpts from the lifesitenews.com article titled “Author of controversial ‘gold standard’ study on gay parenting being investigated by university.” Read the rest of this entry →

July 16, 2012

After the recent Christianity Today article on the theological debate that Dr. Robert Gagnon initiated with Exodus International president Alan Chambers, Christianity Today has published a letter from Alan Chambers. Chambers does not appear interested in the theological debate at all and seems comfortable living in God’s grace. Here is an excerpt from Alan Chamber’s letter titled “Thoughts from a Simple-Minded Jesus Lover:”

“I doubt there will ever be human resolution to the debates surrounding eternal security, whether or not someone can be actively gay and a believer, or so many of the other weighty and divisive controversies plaguing our congregations. But I hope there will be a genuine desire to proclaim the truth of what God is for above all else. I hope that we will all take personal holiness more seriously than we do. I hope that we will seek to judge less and pray more. Read the rest of this entry →

July 12, 2012

Dr. Michael Horton, professor of theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary in California was also asked by Christianity Today to respond to Alan Chambers’ theological statements from a Christian Reformed point of view. Dr. Horton concludes with two solid points. First, “It is one of the most obvious teachings in the New Testament that without repentance no one can be saved.” Second, “It’s precisely because our bodies are too important to the biblical drama that they cannot be exempted from biblical discipleship.” A couple excerpts from Dr. Horton’s article “Let’s Not Cut Christ to Pieces” follows: Read the rest of this entry →

July 12, 2012

Dr. Ben Witherington, professor of New Testament for doctoral studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, agrees that “Robert Gagnon has a right to be disturbed about Mr. Chambers‘s recent pronouncements. It is not an act of compassion to encourage people to embrace a view of salvation or sexual behavior that requires less in regard to holiness than both Jesus and Paul required of us. Indeed, it is recipe for disaster.”

Christianity Today asked Dr. Witherington to respond to the theological debate Dr. Gagnon initiated from a Wesleyan Arminian point of view. More excerpts from his essay “‘Behavior Doesn’t Interrupt Your Relationship with Christ’: A Recipe for Disaster” follow: Read the rest of this entry →

July 15, 2012

Tom Usher has written an article pointing out how Dr. Nicoloi’s letter to Alan Chambers has been taken out of context. Usher includes Nicolosi’s letter in the article, which he claims is the original source of its posting. Following are some excerpts from Usher’s article on TheRealLiberalChurch website:

“Much is being made of Dr. Nicolosi writing to Alan Chambers that he, Dr. Nicolosi, has said that he can’t ‘cure’ anyone of same-sex attraction. That is not to say that Dr. Nicolosi is saying that he has never treated anyone the results of which have been to-date arriving and remaining where the client is no longer sexually aroused by those of the same sex.” Read the rest of this entry →

July 14, 2012

The following is a Press Release by First Stone Ministries:

Press Release: FSM No Longer an Exodus Ministry

Many of you may know that for 36 years, First Stone Ministries has been affiliated with Exodus International, a network of ministries that all proclaim freedom from homosexuality through relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the last several months, the leadership of First Stone Ministries has become increasingly aware of some changes in Exodus’s ideology and leadership that have resulted in us feeling we are unable to continue as an Exodus Member ministry while maintaining Biblical integrity and a clear conscience before God. In April, First Stone officially resigned as an Exodus Member ministry. Read the rest of this entry →

July 14, 2012

Excerpts from the the Christian Post article “Interview: Alan Chambers Talks Gay ‘Cure,’ Salvation for Homosexuals.”:

Christian Post: “I believe you mentioned before that everyone at Exodus, the board, agree to the changes you made at Exodus. A New York Times story mentioned though that there is a growing schism within the network and I’m not sure if he was referring to Exodus or to all groups similar to yours. I wanted you to clarify if there is a schism. What kind of response have you been getting after the changes (to halt reparative therapy)?”

Alan Chambers: “…We’ve had 12 ministries leave our network in the last six weeks or so. So there is some disagreement over a number of different things. I don’t think it can boil down to one issue over another but I think there is some disagreement. But out of 270 or so organizations that are still a part of Exodus, 12 leaving is sad for sure but people have to do what they have to do. It’s not any different than something like a split that we see happen in churches all the time.” Read the rest of this entry →

July 12, 2012

Here are some excerpts from the Christianity Today article by Weston Gentry titled, “Exodus International’s Alan Chambers Accused of Antinomian Theology:”

“‘It’s not that he is simply not saying the warnings [against homosexual activity] in Scripture. I could live with that,’ Pittsburgh Theological Seminary professor Robert Gagnon said of Chambers’s recent comments. ‘It’s that he is saying the exact opposite of what Scripture clearly teaches … . He’s preaching an anti-gospel.’”

“The theological heresy in question is antinomianism. The term was coined by Martin Luther to refer to those who believe that since faith is sufficient for salvation, Christians are not obligated to keep God’s moral law.” Read the rest of this entry →

July 11, 2012

The Alliance Defending Freedom (formally the Alliance Defense Fund) lent its legal support to an Illinois school board that decided to stop using material from the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network aimed at elementary schoolchildren. Following are excerpts from the Alliance Defending Freedom article titled “Defending Schoolchildren from the Homosexual Legal Agenda:”

“Last fall, the district’s Materials Review Committee approved the use of GLSEN’s ‘Ready, Set, Respect!’ curriculum program, which promotes homosexual behavior. After reading one of the books in the curriculum, several parents voiced concerns. In May, the board voted to drop the GLSEN materials from elementary schools, finding the materials inappropriate and a poor reflection of the community’s values.” Read the rest of this entry →

July 10, 2012

Jeff Buchanan, vice president of Exodus International has written an article on sexual identity and being a Christian that was published by The Gospel Coalition.

Here is an excerpt of Jeff Buchanan’s article: – “This sexual identity crisis has breached the church where labels such as “gay Christian” and “gay celibate Christian” are becoming more commonly used and accepted. Some Christians with same-sex attractions now say the evolution of common vernacular makes it acceptable to adopt these terms as accurately describing their experience. But are such labels compatible with our identity in Christ? Do they draw us closer to Christ? Here are six points for us to consider.” Read the rest of this entry →