Cs lewis and homosexuality
CS Lewis on the Church’s response to its gay members
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to reside under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes hibernate , his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they accomplish so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to move to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to construct a Hell of earth. Their very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.” From C.S. Lewis “God in the Dock”
When I read this quote from C.S. Lewis I could not help but ponder that this was an apt description of the relationship between the church and its same-sex attracted members. I have often tried to understand how
Spiritual Friendship
In the last few days, there has been an extensive debate over a post by Thabiti Anyabwile arguing that Christians should possess done more to invoke people&#;s &#;gag reflex&#; about male lover sex in arrange to oppose queer marriage. I responded directly to this yesterday, and also published a response by Kyle Keating.
Today, I want to highlight C. S. Lewis&#;s most extensive comment on the subject of homosexuality.
Lewis is probably the most effective, clear-headed communicator of Christian belief to unbelievers the Church has produced in a century. He understood how to appeal persuasively to his readers&#; heads, hearts, and imaginations. His perspective is worth listening to when it comes to one of the most difficult communication challenges the Church faces in America today.
Lewis wrote in a very different cultural situation, where there was much more stigma attached to homosexuality than there is today. However, since Anyabwile encourages Christians to adopt an approach which would appeal to the same &#;nausea&#; which Lewis references, it&#;s worth taking
Spiritual Friendship
When I was an undergrad, my friend Matt Canlis introduced me to A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken&#;s spiritual memoir about falling in love with his wife Davy, their studies at Oxford and joint conversion to Christianity under the influence of C. S. Lewis, her premature death at the age of 40, and his struggle to arrive to terms with it.
The book explores the menace of idolatry in idealistic love in a particularly poignant way, but I won&#;t try to summarize that lesson here.
Instead, I want to focus on a letter from C. S. Lewis which Vanauken excerpts in the publication. Vanauken taught at Lynchburg College, and he and his wife led an informal ministry to students there. Less than a month into the fall word in , Vanauken writes,
we were confronted with a major problem: homosexuality. A girl came to converse to Davy alone; a boy to talk to us both. They came because we were Christians. Our pre-Christian view of homosexuality had been tolerant: if that was what people wanted, why not? And one of our dear friends was a pleasant lesbian lady. But now as Christians what
Homosexuality – The Line In The Sand
by Jana Harmon
'The world judges what is natural from its show state. Christianity judges what we see as not normal but abnormal, fallen. The world judges superhuman revelation by human life. Christianity judges experience by divine revelation.'1 Peter Kreeft
Each generation brings with it an issue that demands allegiance. Today’s culture has drawn a line in the sand. Either you are for or against her. From the legislature to media to teaching, the message is explain - homosexuality is not only normal, but it is good. It is to be celebrated. Mistake to do so is an automatic indictment of your inability to cherish, to accept those who are different, to deplore diversity. But it is more than that. It is intolerant, bigoted, and hate-filled. Celebration of traditional union of man and woman in marriage, preservation of sex within the heterosexual marriage bed alone is outdated and closedminded. Degrading homosexuality as anything less than a stunning, mutual exchange of devotion, somehow, is not what Jesus would do. . .
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