In recent years, attempts to transform oneself from male to female, or female to male, and the normalization of same-sex attraction, including so-called “same-sex marriage,” have badly distorted the global landscape of sexual ethics.

Thus, a new Statement on sexuality has been issued by about 150 committed Christian leaders. It is called the Nashville Statement, and was jointly drafted by a gathering of Christian leaders in Nashville on August 25, 2017.

The Statement is crafted on the conviction that the Scriptures speak with clarity and authority for the good of mankind. It acknowledges that all have sinned and are in need of divine grace through Jesus Christ. It affirms that no form of sexual sin is beyond forgiveness and healing, and that all sin is to be put to death through the grace of Jesus Christ.

Reaction

As expected, in our culture of sexual license, there has been a high-pitched condemnation of the Nashville Statement by pro-gay church leaders who reject the Statement as heresy. In the past three days, some have issued counter-manifestos claiming that homosexuality is holy.

A group of over 300 pro-gay Christians and LGBT advocates have endorsed and published a counter manifesto called Christians United in direct response to the Nashville Statement.

The majority of the outcry leveled at the manifesto and those who endorsed it centers around Article 10, which states:

WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness.

WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.

The counter-manifesto, promotes homosexuality and transgender lifestyles as “fully blessed by God” and “without a need to conform to the heteronormative, patriarchal, binary sexuality and gender paradigm that Christianity has come to promote and embrace.”

The female mayor of Nashville, Megan Barry, condemned the Nashville Statement and said it "does not reflect the inclusive values of the people of Nashville." Others called it "callous beyond words", and said it was "Antithetical to true Christianity and the teachings of Christ."

I personally read the Statement, and found it well-written, compassionate, and a clarion call to biblical faithfulness. You can decide for yourself.

----

"For the word of the LORD is upright, And all His work is done in faithfulness" (Psalm 34:4).