Posted on 07/14/2017 9:27:24 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
“The Message” author Eugene Peterson says he regrets telling me he would officiate a same-sex wedding if asked to do so today by a gay couple who were “Christians of good faith.”
“On further reflection and prayer, I would like to retract that,” the evangelical author said in a statement.
Since we published the interview at RNS on Wednesday (July 12), the internet has caught fire. The article was the last of a three-part interview series that addressed a range of topics: why Peterson was stepping away from public life, what he thinks of Donald Trump, his view of megachurches, and whether he is afraid of death.
But nothing sparked more conversation than two questions I asked Peterson about same-sex relationships and marriage.
Some have asked why I would ask these questions at all. There were two primary reasons. First, he is one of the most influential Christian thinkers in the world and homosexuality is one of the most contentious debates in the church today. What Peterson believes about this topic matters, which is more than evident in the reaction it generated.
Second, and perhaps more interesting, I had spoken with several prominent pastors, authors and theologians who intimated that Peterson had told them privately that he was affirming of same-sex relationships. This prompted my curiosity about his views. If true, I knew my readers would be interested.
I spoke to Peterson on July 6 at 3 p.m. by phone for about 33 minutes, in an interview arranged through his publicist. It was recorded with his permission.
My questions were pointed, as any serious journalist’s should be. They were respectful and in no way pushy. When asked about his views of homosexuality, Peterson shares fond memories of LGBT people he knew during his pastoral ministry. He talks about being proud of his former church for accepting a gay music minister. He said his LGBT friends have just as healthy a spiritual life as he does. And he called it “not a right or wrong thing as far as I’m concerned.” Peterson also acknowledged that these are not statements he would have made “20 years ago.”
These statements indicated that he indeed affirmed same-sex marriage as others had claimed. It would be remiss for me not to follow up, so I asked whether he would perform a gay marriage if he were pastoring today and an LGBT couple asked him. Though he always responds with lengthy replies, he opted for a one-word reply: “Yes.”
The condemnations from conservatives were swift. LifeWay, America’s largest Christian book chain, threatened to ban his books if he didn’t affirm a traditional view of marriage. The heat rose quickly, and then Peterson retracted his remarks, claiming he was put on the spot. While he said a same-sex couple would be welcome in his church today, he would not perform a same-sex wedding “out of respect to the congregation, the larger church body, and the historic biblical Christian view and teaching.”
It is possible Peterson felt he had been placed on the spot and offered an answer that doesn’t reflect his true conviction. But it is also important to note that in the week prior to the publication, there was no attempt to clarify or change his answer to these questions.
Some people have claimed that perhaps Peterson is “senile.” Quite frankly, this smacks of ageism to me. And it doesn’t align with either his cogent state during the interview or the eloquence with which he answered my questions.
To all the LGBT Christians who read Peterson’s words and felt a sense of hope but today feel like deflated tires: I am sorry if today feels like yet another church-induced bruise. Regardless, you are sons and daughters of Almighty God and the object of God’s love. In fact, God is obsessed with you. There is nothing you can do today to make God love you less or more. Trust that these statements are true of you and that their truthfulness is not dependent upon the statements or beliefs of any leader.
As Peterson himself once wrote, “God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, his verdicts oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.”
Those of us who follow these kinds of conversations and care about what a leader like Peterson thinks must now sort out what this means for this debate, if anything. All I know is that Eugene Peterson is a man of deep faith who has lived, in his words, “a long obedience in the same direction.” His life and ministry bear witness to his love for God, love for people, and his love for the Bible. Peterson’s views on same-sex marriage — whether he supports it or opposes it — have no bearing on my respect for him or his ministry.
I have nothing negative to say about Peterson today, and I wish many of the outraged conservative Christians had taken a similar posture yesterday.
(RNS senior columnist Jonathan Merritt writes the “On Faith and Culture” column)
Better than even money that Mr Peterson will be forced to come out in the near future.
two thoughts:
“Fool me once...”
and
“Follow the money”
Ping.
Why should we trust a man who mangled the Word?
Too late apostate. You already said it. Backtracking is now only trying to keep your 30 pieces of silver.
And I’d bet that Jonathan Merritt is also a poofter.
You cannot be “gay” and be a Christian. The two are totally incompatible.
“Regardless, you are sons and daughters of Almighty God and the object of God’s love. In fact, God is obsessed with you. There is nothing you can do today to make God love you less or more.”
God loves us WHERE we are, but He doesn’t love us AS we are. Nor is God “obsessed” with us. God is sufficient. He doesn’t need us to complete Him.
The Gospel begins with “Repent”.
“And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” - Acts 2
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name...” - John 1
Those who rejoice in their sin are NOT children of God.
From the article’s author (paragraphs mine)....
To all the LGBT Christians who read Peterson’s words and felt a sense of hope but today feel like deflated tires: I am sorry if today feels like yet another church-induced bruise.
Regardless, you are sons and daughters of Almighty God and the object of God’s love. In fact, God is obsessed with you.
There is nothing you can do today to make God love you less or more. Trust that these statements are true of you and that their truthfulness is not dependent upon the statements or beliefs of any leader.
Turning away from their sin would be a great step in achieving God’s grace of forgiveness.
Amen!! You said it much more eloquently than I did.
Agree. Was wondering the same thing (about Merritt).
> Those who rejoice in their sin are NOT children of God.
They rejoice in their sin and are openly PROUD of it.
No way you can obtain forgiveness with that attitude.
“In 2009, I was contacted by the blogger in response to an article I wrote about just that—that Christians must love people who experience sexual brokenness. We corresponded several times by email and text for a couple of weeks, some of them inappropriate. When I was traveling through a city near him, we met for dinner because we’d corresponded so recently. As we were saying goodbye, we had physical contact that went beyond the bounds of friendship. I was overcome with guilt, knowing I had put myself in an unwise situation. We never saw each other again and we ceased contact after a period of time...
...I don’t identify as “gay” because I believe there can be a difference between what one experiences and the life that God offers. I’m a cracked vessel held together only by God’s power. And I’m more sure each day that only Christ can make broken people whole.”
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2012/july/jonathan-merritt-shares-his-story.html
FWIW:
“This reporter, however, asked a hypothetical question: if I were pastoring today and if a gay couple were Christians of good faith and if they asked me to perform their wedding ceremony—if, if, if. Pastors don’t have the luxury of indulging in hypotheticals. And to be honest, no is not a word I typically use. It was an awkward question for me because I don’t do many interviews at this stage in my life at 84, and I am no longer able to travel as I once did or accept speaking requests....
...When I told this reporter that there are gay and lesbian people who “seem to have as good a spiritual life as I do,” I meant it. But then again, the goodness of a spiritual life is functionally irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
We are saved by faith through grace that operates independent of our resolve or our good behavior. It operates by the hand of a loving God who desires for us to live in grace and truth and who does not tire of turning us toward both grace and truth.”
Amen.
And thanks for the new tagline
Like a cockroach, they always scurry for cover when the light has been cast on them.
That didn’t take long.
His disdain for “Megachurches” is going to cost him, as many of them use(d) his paraphrase.
Notice i said “paraphrase” and not “translation”. There is a big difference.
What we have learned over recent years,, however, is the writers of these new translations have a point of view they are pushing. The NIV has many verses missing and what's worse, most of them are about Lucifer or Satan. Now this guy is fence jumping on sodomy. The recent movie called " The Shack" was pushed in many churches, but the liberalism dripped off the screen so I decided to check out the author. He doesn't believe in Hell, so nobody is going. There was some decent messaging in the movie, but preaching Grace all the time is leaving out the whole council of God.
I think I will discourage people from paraphrased Bibles and just stay with what I know works. I wish I could read Hebrew and Greek to make sure the translators were on track. I've found reading the Septuagint there are important differences in the NKJV. The Septuagint was what the age of the Apostles had to read. It has much more information than modern Bibles have about the OT.
I hear you.
Back-in-the-day, the big paraphrase was “The Living Bible”. It was an easy read and very popular at the time. However, it never purported to be anything BUT a paraphrase, which was OK by me. Nice to read out loud, but certainly not the best for a deep word study or for teaching doctrine.
For the 36 years that I have been a Christian, I have seen other books come and go. They make a big splash (I worked in a Christian bookstore) so I know. Some were ok as devotional reading, but some were so pernicious that they caused church turmoil and even split-ups.
Here are a few I remember:
Prison to Praise
Pigs in the Parlor
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
The Prayer of Jabez
The Purpose-Filled Life
The Shack
Jesus Calling
The Circle-Maker
and many, many more.
Anyway, I REALLY love reading the KJV just for the majesty of the language, but I do understand that 500 years of changes in English requires some explanation of some of the passages. (I LOVE Strongs, and now it’s available online...no schlepping required!)
May God bless you in your ministry! :-)
ooo...Another one I remember!
The Late Great Planet Earth.
I’m sure there are more.
The Bible has lasted 3000 years, but these other books are lucky to last a decade.
I guess sales took a hit.
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