It isn't often that political philosophy and theology are explicitly linked. When someone who has influence in politics makes the connection, we should pay attention. That is what happened in this article tweeted by Sebastian Gorka, President Trump's Deputy Assistant. The article, by Joshua Mitchell of the American Affairs Journal, is entitled "A Renewed Republican Party." Gorka's comment on the article was, "STUNNING analysis of why @realDonaldTrump won and what it means for us all."
The article weaves a story of the roots of political thought in America, and it attempts to explain why Donald Trump won and to define what direction American politics should take now. Mitchell demonstrates a good understanding of the important influence of theology on voters and political leaders. He can explain the relationship between theology and philosophy in political thought. He makes a compelling argument for government policy that is both informed by the history of theology and modest in its estimate of the ability of government to bring about human flourishing. He sees churches (and synagogues) as central to the work of healing the wounds of American society.
While Mitchell's knowledge of and respect for the foundational role of theology in government policy are remarkable, however, his disregard for the central concerns of theology show the hollowness of the promise of his proposed civil religion. This is particularly so when he asks petulantly why European thinkers like John Calvin continue to shape the thinking of political conservatives. Here is his argument for a move away from Calvin:
"The covenantal theology found in The Institutes of Christian Religion (1559) is certainly important if we wish to understand Puritan New England. But who reads Calvin’s great American heir, Jonathan Edwards, today, except perhaps to frighten undergraduates? When original sin no longer captivates the American imagination, what use can Calvin be for us today? Protestant Evangelicals of the Reagan coalition did have an unforgiving view of sin; but like all austere religious movements in America, their ideas have softened with time. It is quite a leap from Calvin to the “compassionate conservatism” that many Protestant Evangelicals hold today."
Lest you think that this quote is taken out of context, here is his assessment of basing American political thought on European sources: "Each one of these authors helps us think about America, but they help more as critics than as defenders of the American experiment. Political parties will have no more than occasional successes if they are constantly trying to modify and attenuate the existing state of things. To achieve enduring results, they must work with the material at hand, not as if it is alien, but as if it is familiar." "The material at hand," in Mitchell's view, does not include the full package of Puritan New England theology, but so much of it as he believes continues to "captivate the American imagination." He would be happy with more about America as a "shining city on a hill" and less about original sin.
Views like Mitchell's are common among those who want to continue to see the benefits of theology for national strength and social cohesion, yet fail to understand how theology works. The agenda of theology is not set by popular opinion or by political strategists, but by the written Word of God. Central to its message are the issues of sin (including original sin) and salvation. The true church of Christ is much less concerned with political revival than it is with spiritual revival.
Mitchell proposes an agenda for political parties, but that agenda requires the cooperation of churches. Churches must resist the kind of cooperation that Mitchell is looking for. Christians involved in politics must reject the theological agenda that Mitchell is proposing. His analysis of the legacy of John Winthrop is sound as far as it goes, but if it leaves out original sin, it misses the point. Yes, the teaching of original sin is controversial. Yes, it may make the political unification of Americans more difficult. Yet it is indispensable. Without original sin, there is no salvation, no virtue, no grace, no Christianity.
Mitchell has thrown down a challenge to the Republican Party: will it reject the doctrine of original sin as outside the bounds of political speech? Or will it include those who affirm it and, in doing so, affirm the cure for original sin accomplished by the second Adam, Jesus Christ?
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned...even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:12, 18-19
"For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Correspondence on severity and clemency
As I have been thinking about some topics that are being publicly debated right now, whether it is the appropriateness of the death penalty or policy regarding illegal aliens, it occurs to me that much of the debate revolves around the issue of balancing justice with mercy where someone has broken the law. You have not only the offense itself and what the offense objectively deserves, but you have also to deal with the offender as a person and with those who are affected by the offense. In some cases, the person making the sentence or the law or policy will take a position that has more of severity than of lenience in it. In other cases, it will go the other way.
I had the occasion at one point to discuss this issue as it related to my own family. In the summer of 2013, my brother Caleb murdered his wife Andrea. He confessed to the crime and gave the police details that only the murderer could have known. The public did not become aware of his confession until October of that year.
I had been in communication with a lady who was a close friend of Andrea's. She wrote me after the confession was revealed in court, and she raised the subject of sentencing. Below is part of my reply before it was translated into Spanish:
"I appreciate your prayers for everyone involved in this tragedy. I want to respond to some of the things that you expressed, so that you will know better what to pray for.
In this life, Caleb will be judged by the law of the state of Virginia. No human law is perfect, but we respect the law because God appointed the government for the punishment of those who do wrong and the praise of those who do right. All law on this earth has elements both of justice and of mercy. No one deserves mercy, but government is sometimes like God by showing mercy. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, wrote a letter once to a government official who had asked him how to respond to requests for mercy. Augustine explained that there are times to be merciful and there are times to be severe.
If we as Caleb's family try to help him receive mercy from the court, it will be because we think there are reasons to show mercy. Not everyone will think that. Some will think...that he should receive the heaviest sentence possible. They need to say and do what they think they ought to say and do, and we will try not to take it personally.
I believe that the most important thing for Caleb is not the court's decision, but that he is right with God. I have communicated with him about that both before and after I learned about the confession, and that communication continues. He also has the benefit of a chaplain."
Monday, February 13, 2017
Government Policy and Social Services: the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Hispanic Alliance
On Wednesday, February 8, I had the privilege of attending the annual meeting of the Hispanic Alliance in Greenville, SC. The title I have given this article could be misleading, since the Hispanic Alliance is, by its own description, non-political . I saw nothing at the meeting to contradict that description, so my point is not that the Hispanic Alliance takes political positions: my point is that government policy has implications for the work that people involved in social services have to do.
The Hispanic Alliance's mission is to "to enrich the quality of life in our community" through cooperation "among service providers, the Hispanic members of our community, and the community at large." According to statistics from the Hispanic Alliance, nearly half (43%) of the 42,000 Latinos in Greenville County are foreign-born. Of these, the vast majority (76%) are not naturalized citizens. Thus, a significant amount of the Hispanic Alliance's work is with immigrants.
The Hispanic Alliance connects Hispanic and Latino people with service providers in four key areas: education, financial stability, health, and legal services. Each of these areas has a community team assigned to it, and the main part of the meeting was the reports of these teams. The teams look for ways to build partnerships in the community and to collaborate with each other on projects. Each team has aspects of its work that deal specifically with the needs of immigrants.
The Hispanic Alliance has a key role to play in helping with the naturalization process. If my memory serves me right, the legal services team reported that the Alliance helped 26 people become citizens this year. The processes involved in immigration and naturalization can be daunting and confusing, and the Hispanic Alliance helps people make sense of these processes and connect them with the services they need to get through them.
Though the speakers did not advocate any government policies or political action, several expressed disappointment and concern with the rhetoric and actions of the current administration. They portrayed the situation for immigrants as increasingly challenging and constantly changing. The presenters gave insight into the personal impact on immigrants of policies and actions by the outgoing and incoming administrations that have been politically controversial. This impact is a major factor in determining the needs that social and government workers must address.
In addition to the aid it provides legal immigrants, the Hispanic Alliance has projects designed to engage and serve illegal immigrants and their children. Some of the presenters used the politically correct term "undocumented immigrants", and some called them "illegal immigrants." The future of DACA and what it would mean for those who were brought into the country illegally as children was a subject of much discussion at the annual meeting. The presenters also outlined the responses that the Hispanic Alliance has made to the bullying of children of illegal aliens. (This is a special problem for these families, because they often do not feel free to report bullying when it takes place.)
I have been learning a lot about the situation of illegal immigrants outside of the meeting, so I want to cover that further in a separate post or two. I think I can sum up the situation, though, by saying that illegal immigrant families have humanitarian needs that should concern the whole community. It is not necessary to support a path to citizenship or other long-term concessions to illegal immigrants for us to see their humanity and have compassion on them in their need. It is also not necessary to incentivize illegal immigration or to relax immigration enforcement for us to recognize and address the problems that arise from the lack of opportunities or services and from the enforcement of immigration law.
It is the responsibility of the government to consider the impact of its actions on the vulnerable, but the government is not always in the best position to help those who do not enjoy the full protection of the law. That is why the work of organizations and groups like the Hispanic Alliance is so important. A major event that contributed to the development of the Alliance as an organization was an immigration raid in Greenville in 2008. Children were separated from their parents, and parents were temporarily released to their homes but unable to financially support their children. This disruption would have destroyed lives if it were not for the help and support from the local community. This is just one example of the difference that private individuals and organizations can make.
In closing, I want to say that I enjoyed the meeting very much. The gathering of staff members, administrators, volunteers, and partners was very diverse and vibrant. Some of the backgrounds represented surprised me: for instance, I sat next to a very friendly lady from Saudi Arabia who seems to be very active in the Hispanic Alliance. The network of organizations and agencies involved with the Alliance is very impressive, and I was glad I was able to learn more about it. I have started following up and will continue to follow up on the connections that I made.
The Hispanic Alliance's mission is to "to enrich the quality of life in our community" through cooperation "among service providers, the Hispanic members of our community, and the community at large." According to statistics from the Hispanic Alliance, nearly half (43%) of the 42,000 Latinos in Greenville County are foreign-born. Of these, the vast majority (76%) are not naturalized citizens. Thus, a significant amount of the Hispanic Alliance's work is with immigrants.
The Hispanic Alliance connects Hispanic and Latino people with service providers in four key areas: education, financial stability, health, and legal services. Each of these areas has a community team assigned to it, and the main part of the meeting was the reports of these teams. The teams look for ways to build partnerships in the community and to collaborate with each other on projects. Each team has aspects of its work that deal specifically with the needs of immigrants.
The Hispanic Alliance has a key role to play in helping with the naturalization process. If my memory serves me right, the legal services team reported that the Alliance helped 26 people become citizens this year. The processes involved in immigration and naturalization can be daunting and confusing, and the Hispanic Alliance helps people make sense of these processes and connect them with the services they need to get through them.
Though the speakers did not advocate any government policies or political action, several expressed disappointment and concern with the rhetoric and actions of the current administration. They portrayed the situation for immigrants as increasingly challenging and constantly changing. The presenters gave insight into the personal impact on immigrants of policies and actions by the outgoing and incoming administrations that have been politically controversial. This impact is a major factor in determining the needs that social and government workers must address.
In addition to the aid it provides legal immigrants, the Hispanic Alliance has projects designed to engage and serve illegal immigrants and their children. Some of the presenters used the politically correct term "undocumented immigrants", and some called them "illegal immigrants." The future of DACA and what it would mean for those who were brought into the country illegally as children was a subject of much discussion at the annual meeting. The presenters also outlined the responses that the Hispanic Alliance has made to the bullying of children of illegal aliens. (This is a special problem for these families, because they often do not feel free to report bullying when it takes place.)
I have been learning a lot about the situation of illegal immigrants outside of the meeting, so I want to cover that further in a separate post or two. I think I can sum up the situation, though, by saying that illegal immigrant families have humanitarian needs that should concern the whole community. It is not necessary to support a path to citizenship or other long-term concessions to illegal immigrants for us to see their humanity and have compassion on them in their need. It is also not necessary to incentivize illegal immigration or to relax immigration enforcement for us to recognize and address the problems that arise from the lack of opportunities or services and from the enforcement of immigration law.
It is the responsibility of the government to consider the impact of its actions on the vulnerable, but the government is not always in the best position to help those who do not enjoy the full protection of the law. That is why the work of organizations and groups like the Hispanic Alliance is so important. A major event that contributed to the development of the Alliance as an organization was an immigration raid in Greenville in 2008. Children were separated from their parents, and parents were temporarily released to their homes but unable to financially support their children. This disruption would have destroyed lives if it were not for the help and support from the local community. This is just one example of the difference that private individuals and organizations can make.
In closing, I want to say that I enjoyed the meeting very much. The gathering of staff members, administrators, volunteers, and partners was very diverse and vibrant. Some of the backgrounds represented surprised me: for instance, I sat next to a very friendly lady from Saudi Arabia who seems to be very active in the Hispanic Alliance. The network of organizations and agencies involved with the Alliance is very impressive, and I was glad I was able to learn more about it. I have started following up and will continue to follow up on the connections that I made.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Why I attended the Annual Meeting at the Hispanic Alliance
On Wednesday, I had the privilege of attending the annual meeting for the Hispanic Alliance in Greenville. I went to network and to get more information about what the organization is doing. This was the first event I have attended at the Alliance, and it will not be the last.
My connection with the Hispanic Alliance may come as a surprise to some, but it may make more sense when I explain what led up to it. I was actually introduced to it by Darian Blue. You may remember him in his role as head of the Phillis Wheatley Association, but the conversation about the Hispanic Alliance arose because of a project of the church he pastors, Nicholtown Missionary Baptist Church. The church is purchasing 200 bus passes to give to people in the community, and the members of the congregation were encouraged to ride with the passengers and get to know them.
This project was announced in the morning service on January 17, a day when my wife and I happened to be visiting. After the service, I spoke with Pastor Blue. Pastor Blue had mentioned previously the problems with access to transportation for people with low income and for the African American community, but he told me that day that access to transportation is a pressing need for Hispanics in particular. He mentioned the 9 month transportation study done in Greenville by the Piedmont Health Association in 2015, and he mentioned Adela Mendoza of the Hispanic Alliance and her work on the study.
I reached out to Ms. Mendoza and offered to help in any way I could. She told me that there are two great needs in the Hispanic community-safety and access to transportation. The big priority on transportation right now is to fund and implement the recommendations of the transportation study. I asked her about volunteer opportunities to help alleviate the need for transportation. She raised a possibility that we are looking into right now. I will let you know more details as plans become firmer.
The biggest strength of the Hispanic Alliance is its network of volunteers and organizations. The Alliance builds bridges between Hispanic communities, service providers, and the general community. Ms. Mendoza recommended that I get to know the network and connect with people I can help on the transportation issue and with other needs. That is the other thing I am working on now with the Hispanic Alliance, and that is why I attended the annual meeting.
I will write another post, hopefully this week, on what I learned and my impressions at the annual meeting. I have some other things in the pipeline, including pieces on immigration, the connection between national politics and the local community, and an interview with Darian Blue on racial diversity in churches. Stay tuned!
My connection with the Hispanic Alliance may come as a surprise to some, but it may make more sense when I explain what led up to it. I was actually introduced to it by Darian Blue. You may remember him in his role as head of the Phillis Wheatley Association, but the conversation about the Hispanic Alliance arose because of a project of the church he pastors, Nicholtown Missionary Baptist Church. The church is purchasing 200 bus passes to give to people in the community, and the members of the congregation were encouraged to ride with the passengers and get to know them.
This project was announced in the morning service on January 17, a day when my wife and I happened to be visiting. After the service, I spoke with Pastor Blue. Pastor Blue had mentioned previously the problems with access to transportation for people with low income and for the African American community, but he told me that day that access to transportation is a pressing need for Hispanics in particular. He mentioned the 9 month transportation study done in Greenville by the Piedmont Health Association in 2015, and he mentioned Adela Mendoza of the Hispanic Alliance and her work on the study.
I reached out to Ms. Mendoza and offered to help in any way I could. She told me that there are two great needs in the Hispanic community-safety and access to transportation. The big priority on transportation right now is to fund and implement the recommendations of the transportation study. I asked her about volunteer opportunities to help alleviate the need for transportation. She raised a possibility that we are looking into right now. I will let you know more details as plans become firmer.
The biggest strength of the Hispanic Alliance is its network of volunteers and organizations. The Alliance builds bridges between Hispanic communities, service providers, and the general community. Ms. Mendoza recommended that I get to know the network and connect with people I can help on the transportation issue and with other needs. That is the other thing I am working on now with the Hispanic Alliance, and that is why I attended the annual meeting.
I will write another post, hopefully this week, on what I learned and my impressions at the annual meeting. I have some other things in the pipeline, including pieces on immigration, the connection between national politics and the local community, and an interview with Darian Blue on racial diversity in churches. Stay tuned!
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Local action: First interview with Darian Blue
Today, I am joined by Darian Blue, Executive Director of the Phillis Wheatley Center in Greenville, SC. This is a community center that serves the underprivileged members of the community. Darian Blue is also pastor of Nicholtown Baptist Church.
In this first post about local concerns, I try to inform and help people in Greenville County think about where religion and community needs connect. I ask Director Blue not only about the center but also about his own life and beliefs and about how those inform and motivate his service to the community. We talk about the experience of extreme poverty and about the challenges that the poor in our community face. We talk about what the community and Christians in particular can do to help. We also talk about what gospel preaching has to do with social services.
I feel that there are several reasons it is important for Christians in Greenville to be familiar with Darian Blue. First, he is a black (or African American) pastor of a black church in the area. If your church's demographics are very different from those of the community at large, your church is like most in the area. I think it is important to try to understand why that is. Unless there is a language barrier, there are probably factors driving the self-segregation on Sundays that can and should be changed. I did not raise this issue in this interview: Pastor Blue did. Whether or not you agree with Pastor Blue's theology or his social views, I hope you will take this opportunity to evaluate how effective the church in the area is at bringing people together.
Second, Director Blue is on the front lines of community service. He is helping people that others are not helping. Concern for the poor and the underprivileged is a gospel issue. Because of that, I take an active interest in those who are serving them, especially if they are serving them in the name of Christ. I hope you will do the same.
Take action:
1. Commit to pray for the center, its staff, and those it serves.
2. If you have not done so already, look for opportunities to form ongoing relationships with people of another race or social background.
3. Check out the PWC's website to learn about opportunities for service.
4. Consider purchasing tickets to the student fundraiser production The Sound: A Motown Tribute. Here is a sample of the students' work. The production will be at 7 pm on Thursday, December 29 at the TD Convention Center. For ticket information, call (864)240-4242.
5. Share this interview with everyone you know in the Greenville area.
Subscribe to this blog and to my YouTube Channel for more posts on Darian Blue and on the Greenville community.
In this first post about local concerns, I try to inform and help people in Greenville County think about where religion and community needs connect. I ask Director Blue not only about the center but also about his own life and beliefs and about how those inform and motivate his service to the community. We talk about the experience of extreme poverty and about the challenges that the poor in our community face. We talk about what the community and Christians in particular can do to help. We also talk about what gospel preaching has to do with social services.
I feel that there are several reasons it is important for Christians in Greenville to be familiar with Darian Blue. First, he is a black (or African American) pastor of a black church in the area. If your church's demographics are very different from those of the community at large, your church is like most in the area. I think it is important to try to understand why that is. Unless there is a language barrier, there are probably factors driving the self-segregation on Sundays that can and should be changed. I did not raise this issue in this interview: Pastor Blue did. Whether or not you agree with Pastor Blue's theology or his social views, I hope you will take this opportunity to evaluate how effective the church in the area is at bringing people together.
Second, Director Blue is on the front lines of community service. He is helping people that others are not helping. Concern for the poor and the underprivileged is a gospel issue. Because of that, I take an active interest in those who are serving them, especially if they are serving them in the name of Christ. I hope you will do the same.
Take action:
1. Commit to pray for the center, its staff, and those it serves.
2. If you have not done so already, look for opportunities to form ongoing relationships with people of another race or social background.
3. Check out the PWC's website to learn about opportunities for service.
4. Consider purchasing tickets to the student fundraiser production The Sound: A Motown Tribute. Here is a sample of the students' work. The production will be at 7 pm on Thursday, December 29 at the TD Convention Center. For ticket information, call (864)240-4242.
5. Share this interview with everyone you know in the Greenville area.
Subscribe to this blog and to my YouTube Channel for more posts on Darian Blue and on the Greenville community.
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Constitution Party News
The Constitution Party's National Committee Meeting takes place this year on December 9-10. Judge Roy Moore will be the keynote speaker, and former Presidential candidate for the party Darrell Castle plans to address the party's future. Go to the Constitution Party website for details.
Check out this interview with Darrell Castle for information and perspective on the 2016 Presidential campaign. Mr. Castle, while optimistic, is frank about what he sees as the shortcomings of the party this year and the changes that are needed to make it competitive in the future. If you are interested in the Constitution Party, you will not want to miss this interview.
Check out this interview with Darrell Castle for information and perspective on the 2016 Presidential campaign. Mr. Castle, while optimistic, is frank about what he sees as the shortcomings of the party this year and the changes that are needed to make it competitive in the future. If you are interested in the Constitution Party, you will not want to miss this interview.
Debating Homosexuality in a Repressive Environment: Brandon Ambrosino and the Gaineses
On November 29, Buzzfeed writer Kate Aurthur wrote an article "exposing" HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Uppers as attending a church that opposes homosexuality and same-sex "marriage." This is not the first such recent attack by media personalities on people and churches who hold orthodox views on sex and homosexuality, and it will not be the last. It is a recurring problem that Christians are having to learn to cope with. Homosexual activists are a powerful and determined foe, and they show no signs of letting up until everyone is forced or cajoled into affirming the homosexual lifestyle to be natural and right.
A number of Christians have written and spoken well on the subjects of homosexuality, American culture's embrace of the homosexual lifestyle, and the national and international battle to normalize homosexuality through the power of money and government. Not everyone can be involved in writing books on this battle and in keeping up with all that is going on. Not everyone can or should follow all of the public discussion that takes place on the position of Christianity relative to homosexuality. However, it is a debate that every Christian in America needs to be prepared to address.
There is an opportunity at this point in our political life for Christians to have some influence on the direction of the public discourse about homosexuality. The Gainses are simply the most recent lightning rod for the rage of the LGBT lobby, but the moment chosen for it is one when some in that community are particularly apprehensive about an imminent backlash against the lobby's coercive tactics. One such critic of these tactics is Brandon Ambrosino, who criticizes Buzzfeed in his Washington Post article today, Buzzfeed's hit piece on Chip and Joanna Gaines is dangerous.
Ambrosino's argument is that the recent election triumph of Donald Trump should show LGBT activists that it is not safe to try to shut up their opponents. He says that the nearly 40 per cent of Americans the Pew Research Center shows not supporting same sex "marriage" can not be ignored. He recognizes that the issue of homosexuality and in particular homosexual marriage is one hot-button issue that is alienating many Americans from the mainstream media, particularly outlets like Buzzfeed. He argues for respecting the rights and engaging the arguments of critics.
Needless to say, there is cause for encouragement here. As I have said, one doesn't have to be a supporter of Donald Trump's campaign to feel threatened by and indignant toward public figures who dismiss opposition to the LGBT agenda as "homophobia." While the president-elect's position on LGBT issues is not a clear rejection of the status quo, the motivations of a significant number of his supporters lie near the social fault lines on those issues. Ambrosino seems to believe, I think rightly, that the strongest pushback is coming and coming soon. I agree with him that it was a mistake for the LGBT lobby to use political and social coercion against opponents, and that they may soon be forced to have the kind of philosophical and theological engagement that they should have had from the beginning.
As far as Ambrosino himself, though, it seems he is more of an LGBT strategist and diplomat than a theological and philosophical debater. His article, while giving the broad outlines of a suggested polemic, offers no resources on the debate over Christianity and homosexuality. He seems to have written no books on the subject. The only place I can find where he addresses the subject in any detail is an article from July of 2015, in which he bluntly claims that the Bible gets it wrong on homosexuality. But that's okay because, according to Ambrosino, Jesus' teachings and the teachings of the apostles and prophets aren't infallible. He thinks we can respect and learn from them while at the same time believing that if they were around today, their views would have evolved the way those of mainstream American society's have.
Ambrosino's estimate of his ability to answer critics far outstrips the public fruits of his study and thought. Perhaps his smugness is partly the result of a lack of response to his writing. Owen Strachan posted a reply to Ambrosino's article, but did not cite extra-biblical sources like Ambrosino did. Perhaps conservative Christians were too busy debating former President Jimmy Carter's views and dealing with heterodox theologians like the ones Ambrosino cites--Peter Enns and then-professor at Fuller Daniel Kirk--to interact much with Ambrosino. (Ambrosino also cites C.S. Lewis, a popular yet sometimes very heterodox author whose contributions and heresies have been around longer.) Perhaps he is more important to conservatives as a political and social link with the LGBT community than as a thinker in his own right.
If Ambrosino is going to cast himself as an ambassador, however, perhaps more attention should be given to his philosophical and theological ideas. I would rather give the honor of debating him to someone better known than I am, but I may extend the challenge if no one else does.
A number of Christians have written and spoken well on the subjects of homosexuality, American culture's embrace of the homosexual lifestyle, and the national and international battle to normalize homosexuality through the power of money and government. Not everyone can be involved in writing books on this battle and in keeping up with all that is going on. Not everyone can or should follow all of the public discussion that takes place on the position of Christianity relative to homosexuality. However, it is a debate that every Christian in America needs to be prepared to address.
There is an opportunity at this point in our political life for Christians to have some influence on the direction of the public discourse about homosexuality. The Gainses are simply the most recent lightning rod for the rage of the LGBT lobby, but the moment chosen for it is one when some in that community are particularly apprehensive about an imminent backlash against the lobby's coercive tactics. One such critic of these tactics is Brandon Ambrosino, who criticizes Buzzfeed in his Washington Post article today, Buzzfeed's hit piece on Chip and Joanna Gaines is dangerous.
Ambrosino's argument is that the recent election triumph of Donald Trump should show LGBT activists that it is not safe to try to shut up their opponents. He says that the nearly 40 per cent of Americans the Pew Research Center shows not supporting same sex "marriage" can not be ignored. He recognizes that the issue of homosexuality and in particular homosexual marriage is one hot-button issue that is alienating many Americans from the mainstream media, particularly outlets like Buzzfeed. He argues for respecting the rights and engaging the arguments of critics.
Needless to say, there is cause for encouragement here. As I have said, one doesn't have to be a supporter of Donald Trump's campaign to feel threatened by and indignant toward public figures who dismiss opposition to the LGBT agenda as "homophobia." While the president-elect's position on LGBT issues is not a clear rejection of the status quo, the motivations of a significant number of his supporters lie near the social fault lines on those issues. Ambrosino seems to believe, I think rightly, that the strongest pushback is coming and coming soon. I agree with him that it was a mistake for the LGBT lobby to use political and social coercion against opponents, and that they may soon be forced to have the kind of philosophical and theological engagement that they should have had from the beginning.
As far as Ambrosino himself, though, it seems he is more of an LGBT strategist and diplomat than a theological and philosophical debater. His article, while giving the broad outlines of a suggested polemic, offers no resources on the debate over Christianity and homosexuality. He seems to have written no books on the subject. The only place I can find where he addresses the subject in any detail is an article from July of 2015, in which he bluntly claims that the Bible gets it wrong on homosexuality. But that's okay because, according to Ambrosino, Jesus' teachings and the teachings of the apostles and prophets aren't infallible. He thinks we can respect and learn from them while at the same time believing that if they were around today, their views would have evolved the way those of mainstream American society's have.
Ambrosino's estimate of his ability to answer critics far outstrips the public fruits of his study and thought. Perhaps his smugness is partly the result of a lack of response to his writing. Owen Strachan posted a reply to Ambrosino's article, but did not cite extra-biblical sources like Ambrosino did. Perhaps conservative Christians were too busy debating former President Jimmy Carter's views and dealing with heterodox theologians like the ones Ambrosino cites--Peter Enns and then-professor at Fuller Daniel Kirk--to interact much with Ambrosino. (Ambrosino also cites C.S. Lewis, a popular yet sometimes very heterodox author whose contributions and heresies have been around longer.) Perhaps he is more important to conservatives as a political and social link with the LGBT community than as a thinker in his own right.
If Ambrosino is going to cast himself as an ambassador, however, perhaps more attention should be given to his philosophical and theological ideas. I would rather give the honor of debating him to someone better known than I am, but I may extend the challenge if no one else does.
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