In Which Kristin Kobes Du Mez Flounders Like a Fish Out of Water

Last updated on: November 30, 2021 at 11:47 am by Grayson Gilbert

In Which Kristin Kobes Du Mez Flounders Like a Fish Out of Water 2021-11-30T11:47:50-05:00 Grayson Gilbert

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In a recent exchange between Denny Burk and Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Twitter regarding her book Jesus and John Wayne, a relatively simple question arose:

When I read your book, I thought you treated evangelical opposition to gay rights as a negative thing. Others have told me that you personally affirm the church's teaching that homosexuality is sinful. Do you believe homosexuality is sinful?

— Denny Burk (@DennyBurk) November 26, 2021

To answer his question, Kristin Du Mez provides a 1,000 word response without a clear answer. His question wasn’t an open-ended question, but rather, a “yes” or “no” question, to which she equivocates on what should be a relatively simple answer. I find it interesting in her response that she appeals to the genetic fallacy in some sense, but she does so through a faulty understanding of what the genetic fallacy actually entails. For one to be guilty of committing this fallacy, they must discredit the argument based on the history of the one making the argument or their moral credibility, rather than the argument itself.

Now, had Denny Burk asked this question apart from a context that is germane to homosexuality, it might be considered a blatant red herring. Don’t misunderstand me as saying it would be unimportant—it is and would be even if the book didn’t touch on homosexuality in any manner. However, given that she does address the topic of gay rights in her book, Burk’s question is not only appropriate, but part and parcel to assessing her work “on its own merits.” And here is where things really took an interesting turn in Kristin’s response, which I would invite you to read (linked to above).

In her subsequent reasoning, she actually gives a bit of her own personal history and reasons, to some degree, that how she came to the conclusions she currently holds are shaped by this reality. To be fair, we are all shaped by environment to some degree as we come to embrace the ideologies we do. Paul speaks of this quite candidly in Rom. 12:1-2, using the passive sense of the word “conformed” to speak of how one is pressed into the mold of this world’s system of thought.

The reason I find this interesting though is not that she admits this, but rather, it is that she fails to see the irony of this in her mounting critiques on what is broadly defined as Christian Nationalism. In other words: even though she plainly admits that all sides are shaped by their history, culture, and experience—I believe she fails to see how this impacts her subsequent lack of an answer to a simple question on whether or not homosexuality is sinful. Much of the current debate on homosexuality within broader Christian circles is shaped by some degree to the current ethos on homosexuality that our culture embraces, and arguably, the same could be said for how she understands the egalitarian vs. complementarian debate.

This is why systematic theology books continue to be written and published for the Christian community. Each new generation must tackle objections to the doctrines of this historic, Christian faith, which presupposes that there actually is an historic faith with an objective truth that we are able to know, from generation to generation. And this is ultimately where I believe our core, foundational differences lay. For many, the goal isn’t necessarily to understand history in light of Scripture, but rather, to understand Scripture in light of history.

What I’m arguing for is not a rejection of historic theology (how theology has developed in the broader Christian tradition), nor even jettisoning the historical context as we read the Scriptures. Rather, what I’m advocating is a rather simple principle, in that Scripture itself should be taken on its own merits at the end of the day. To be sure, we need to understand the historic context of the Scriptures in order to rightly exegete a given passage, but the issue boils down to what one’s final authority is in these matters.

Coincidentally, what often happens in these types of debates is that the one who dissents from historic orthodoxy just so happens to find historic precedent, or as is often found with those of egalitarian convictions that employ a trajectory hermeneutic, some potential historic precedent is found, for their particular interpretation of Christian doctrine—and this is why Burk levels the charge that Du Mez invariably weakens the ordinary Christian’s resolve to trust the Scriptures (see Burk’s follow-up here). Rather than being able to affirm a plain reading of Scripture, one that has no doubt been held to with near unanimity throughout the broader Christian tradition, she flounders through the remainder of her response, where a simple “yes” or “no” answer would do.

To be sure, this was simply a grand exercise in word games, where an author who is capable of producing clear, coherent arguments deliberately chooses to muddy the waters, while casting aspersions on contrary thought. For those of us who affirm the historic understanding of the church on homosexuality, that yes, it is indeed sinful and counter to how God created male and female, this wasn’t all that difficult to parse out her intentions, especially as you come to the end of her response:

My Reformed tradition has long resisted a narrower (selectively applied) view of inerrancy.

So back to theology. Burk points to I Cor 15:1-5 as the heart of the gospel. Agreed! So much so that I refuse to use views on gender, sexuality, atonement theory, baptism, spiritual gifts and the like as a way to preemptively exclude believers from fellowship in the Body of Christ.

We can spend our lives asking what right belief & obedient discipleship looks like in all these areas, & we should. But I’m going to do so in conversation & communion with my LGBTQ sisters & brothers in Christ. Because of the gospel.

Here she simply concedes her more pluralistic roots color her understanding of these things. In much the same way that a Progressive Christian would affirm that one need not land on any particular stance to be considered a genuine Christian, she appeals to the gospel proper as her defense. Yet as any student of history and theology would know, we come from a long tradition that has had no qualms addressing people as if these things actually do matter, and bear eternal consequences. As students of Scripture likewise well know, these things are not really subject to debate, as much as many would like to make them so. Paul gives clear understanding that sexual ethics matter with regard to one’s eternal outcome (1 Thess. 4:1-8; Rom. 1:19ff).

Previous Post

November 17, 2021

Your 'Fur Babies' Aren't Children

Next Post

December 2, 2021 The Metaverse, the Destruction of a Person, and the Christian Dilemma

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #ShoutYourAbortion 10 Commandments 2016 Election 2017 2020 Election Abortion Accelerate Books Adultery America Andy Stanley Arminianism Ashley Madison Atonement B&H Academic Baptism Barry Horner Beauty Biblical Elders Billy Graham Blog Book Review Bruce Jenner Caitlyn Jenner Calvin Calvinism Cheating Chick-fil-A Children Christ Christian History Christian Living Christian Podcasts Christianity Christmas Church History Church Leadership Civil Disobedience Constitutional Coronavirus Culture Death Demoninations Discipleship Doctrine Doctrine of God Donald Trump Ecclesiology Entertainment Eschatology Ethics Evangelical Evangelism Evil Evolution Fear Forgive Yourself Forgiveness Francis Chan Future Israel Gay Marriage Gender Genesis George Floyd Gospel Government Gun Control Halloween hamartiology Heavenly Reward Hermeneutics History Hollywood Holy Spirit Homeschool Homosexual Homosexuality Hope Hospitality Humor Husband Infant Baptism Interview Jesus John Piper Josh Duggar Joshua Harris Judgment Justice Kathy Griffin Kim Davis Leadership Logic Love Manhood Marriage Martin Luther Messianic Prophecy Miscarriage Mocking Modesty Money Movie Reviews Music Music Review Netflix New Testament Obergefell Old Testament Parenting Pastor Pastoring Persecution Planned Parenthood Podcast Politics Pop Culture Pornography Prayer Preaching Predestination Pride Prosperity Gospel Rachel Held Evans Racism Ravi Zacharias Redemption Reformation 500 Reformation Day Reformed Theology Relationship Repentance Salvation Same Sex Marriage Satan Satire Scripture Seminary Sex Sin slavery Sola Scriptura Soteriology Sovereignty Spiritual Gifts Spurgeon Star Wars Steven Furtick Suffering Sufficiency of Scripture Sunday School Supreme Court Technology Testimony The Church The Lord of the Rings The Problem of Evil The Shack Theology Theonomy Tithing Transgenderism Tullian Tchividjian Uncategorized Universalism Vanity Fair Video Games Virgin Birth Voting Wife Women Worldview Worship

Select a Month June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 June 2023 April 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz