MARS HILL AUDIO Conversation 20
Texts, Sex, and Sanctity: Robert Gagnon on Homosexuality and the Bible
There are few issues within the church more potent than that of homosexuality. Barbara Wheeler, President of Auburn Theological Seminary in New York, has noted that “What we in the churches teach about homosexuality affects the lives of many more people than our own members.” In recent years, the debate on this issue has centered on disagreements over the exact nature of biblical teaching concerning sexuality. Dr. Robert Gagnon, Associate Professor of New Testament Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject and the author of the critically acclaimed text, The Bible and Homosexual Practice. In this Conversation, Dr. Gagnon talks with Ken Myers about the cultural trends and theological arguments that have shaped the dispute over the past few decades, in the hope of clarifying the answers to many of these complex questions.
Also included on this feature is a reading of Philip Turner’s essay “The Episcopalian Preference” published in First Things in the November, 2003 issue. 72 minutes.
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Introduction to “Sex, Texts, and Sanctity: Robert Gagnon on Homosexuality and the Bible” by MARS HILL AUDIO Journal host Ken Myers
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Introduction
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Robert Gagnon: “. . . the three main arguments that are brought forth to deny the relevance of the text . . .“
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“ . . . the Creation texts are pivotal . . .”
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“ . . . what is lacking is the sexual other . . .”
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“ . . . the decaying state of marriage in this country . . .”
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“ . . . the biblical witness is pervasive and absolute . . .”
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“ . . . men and women are complementary beings . . .”
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“ . . . Jesus intensified the demands of God . . .”
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“ . . . the Church welcomed people but it did not accept behaviors . . .”
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Introduction to the reading of Philip Turner’s essay, “The Episcopalian Preference”
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“ . . . the doctrine of the Trinity became something to be abandoned by progress . . .”
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“ . . . ‘new experience’ and ‘new learning’ that serves to ‘contextualize’ the negative biblical witness. . .”
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“ . . . the tradition of liberalism cannot allow for a single notion of the good to dominate the public square . . .”
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“ . . . ‘if within us we have nothing above us, we soon succumb to what is around us’ . . .”