Gallup "found a slight increase in the percentage of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender... climbing from 5.6% in 2020 to 7.1% in 2021. Since 2012... LGBTQ identification has risen slowly but steadily from 3.5%." - Lifeway
"At the United Methodist Church, money’s tight, factions are readying exits, and social justice takes priority in witness. However, the denomination’s 'traditionalists' — so named for their support for the accuracy and authority of the Bible, especially regarding LGBT marriage and clergy — are growing in number and telling others how Jesus saves." - CPost
"This month, the United Methodist Church (UMC) was scheduled to hold its quadrennial General Conference in Minneapolis, with a debate about homosexuality causing a potential schism. But the 10-day meeting and the much-anticipated vote have been bumped to August 29, 2021, still in Minneapolis." - CL
"A new study appearing last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry concluded that 'gender-affirming' surgery is associated with reduced demand for subsequent mental health treatment.... even a cursory reading of the study itself tells a far less optimistic story" - Public Discourse
"At a Council of Bishops meeting on November 6, the five active Western Jurisdiction bishops announced a Safe Harbor Declaration for LGBTQ clergy. Saying they’re 'haunted by the actions of the 2019 Special General Conference....We do not believe The United Methodist Church has the authority or the power to impose limits on the movement of God’s Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s beloved LGBTQ+ children.” - Church Leaders
"The Wesleyan Covenant Association released a statement last Thursday expressing their leadership’s support for the Indianapolis Plan for Amicable Separation, a proposal that will be considered at the UMC General Conference next year." - Christian Post
"The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in three cases that could set important precedents about whether federal civil rights protections on the basis of sex also guarantee legal protections on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation." - Christian Post
Read the series.
When we read culture through the lens of the Bible, rather than the Bible through the lens of culture, we often find clarity. Genesis 19 (when coupled with Jude 7) and Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 are all strongly negative toward same-sex activity. With forcefulness the Mosaic Law prohibits homosexual activity, however, in a literal grammatical-historical handling of Scriptures pertaining to the Mosaic Law, we must conclude that this was a conditional covenant exclusively for Israel, and that it was completely fulfilled in Christ, and now it serves the purpose as a tutor leading people to Christ.41 The Christian is not under the Mosaic Law in any way—not for justification, and not for sanctification. Further, the Mosaic Law is not ethically applicable to the church beyond the purpose spelled out expressly in Scripture.
