When You Come Out to Someone and They Say, “I Don’t Care.”
It happened again last week. I was hanging out with a straight Christian friend—not a good friend, but a new friend—and he brought up “the issue” of same-sex sexuality. He had lots to say about it, which is fine, though I’m sometimes surprised at the passion some straight Christian folks have about non-straight people without […]
Prioritizing Mercy When Discussing Sexuality
By Tony Scarcello. Tony is a church planter, writer, and the pastor of Open Table Church in Eugene, Oregon. He regularly speaks all over the country, helping churches and leaders think biblically and lovingly about their LGBTQ+ neighbors. His first book, Regenerate: Following Jesus After Deconstruction, is available wherever books are sold. You can connect with […]
Challenges Faced by Parents of LGBTQ Kids
Last summer, The Center took a survey of over 500 Christian parents who have LGBTQ+ or same-sex attracted kids. We wanted to better understand the challenges these parents were currently facing—and we used the data we gathered in that survey to help us create our series Parenting LGBTQ Kids. Now that the series is complete, we want to […]
Did Consensual Same-Sex Sexual Relationships Exist in Biblical Times? A Response to Matthew Vines
Rainbow Flags and Symbolic Ambiguity
By Gregory Coles. Greg is a Senior Research Fellow at The Center and is the author of Single, Gay, Christian and No Longer Strangers. This is a blog post about rainbow flags and other LGBTQ+-related symbols. But it’ll take us a little while to get there. First, let’s talk about crude hand gestures. […]
Curiously Fluid Data on Sexual Fluidity
By Gregory Coles. Greg is a Senior Research Fellow at The Center and is the author of Single, Gay, Christian and No Longer Strangers. Last month, I wrote a blog post discussing the findings in a recent study on sexual orientation change. (With apologies for spoiling the surprise: I concluded that the study was methodologically dubious, and that orientation change may […]
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts, Part 3: The Ontological Problem
This blog series is drawing from the research paper: “The Problems with Correlating Sexual Orientation Change Efforts and Gender Identity Change Efforts,” available for free here. Written by Drs. Paul Eddy and Preston Sprinkle. In the previous post, we discussed the language problem that’s built into the correlation between Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) and […]
The Tale of the Presumptive Lesbian
By Gregory Coles. Greg is a writer and member of the Center’s Collaborative Team. Be sure to check out his new book No Longer Strangers. This is a story about my straight friend Rachel. Why my straight friend, you ask? Why don’t I just call her my friend? Great question, Imaginary Reader. I’m […]
Tavistock: A Microcosm of the Debate on How Best to Care for Trans* Kids
By Dr. Paul R. Eddy and Dr. Preston Sprinkle. The cultural tensions surrounding transgender experience are evident. But no aspect of the transgender discussion has ignited more controversy than how best to care for children who experience gender dysphoria. This issue has become, as one scholar puts it, the “Transgender Battle Line.”[1] Perhaps the […]
Our Hopes for the Future of the Church
The following blog is cowritten by Rachel Gilson and Greg Coles and is the conclusion of our series, “Gay” vs. “Same-Sex Attraction”: A Dialogue. Rachel is the director of theological development for Cru Northeast. You can find more of her writing at rachelgilson.com. Greg is part of The Center’s collaborative team and is the author […]