John MacArthur, Bad Theology, and LGBTQ Suicides (It’s time for CHANGE)

Last updated on: June 11, 2014 at 12:21 pm by Brandan Robertson

John MacArthur, Bad Theology, and LGBTQ Suicides (It’s time for CHANGE) 2014-06-11T12:21:07-04:00 Brandan Robertson

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.

Yesterday, my friend Benjamin Corey posted a video on his blog featuring the well-known Fundamentalist mega-pastor Dr. John MacArthur answering a question he received concerning how to respond if your son comes out as gay. When I clicked on the video, I expected to hear something along the lines of “call them to repentance”, “extend the grace of God to them”, or “pray for them”- all of which are popular responses of those who hold a conservative view of homosexuality. While those responses aren’t, in my opinion, the most sufficient or helpful responses to the struggle that an LGBT person experiences in conservative Christianity, they are also not terrible responses. The fact that most evangelical churches are at a place where they would say those types of statements in regards to homosexuality is a big improvement over where we evangelicals were just five years ago. However, as I listened to MacArthur’s answer to the question, my draw literally dropped, my stomach churned, and I sensed a great deal of anger rising up within me, in a way that almost never happens. (I am not typically an angry guy!) What elicited such a response from me, you ask? Take a listen and hear for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWYAwknMlH4

Yes, you heard him right. John MacArthur’s advice to a Christian parent whose son comes out as gay is to:

Tell them to repent (i.e.- stop being gay)
If they don’t repent, bring a small group to tell them to repent.
If they still don’t repent, tell your church community and confront them publicly.
If they still don’t repent- alienate, isolate, and don’t share a meal with them.

Are you kidding me?! While I understand that MacArthur is using a modified version of Jesus’ method for resolving conflict among believers, to attempt to apply this to the situation of an individual who is struggling to understand and embrace their sexual identity is not only a misuse of the Biblical text, it is absolutely, positively, 100% destructive.

I don’t mean to overstate this point or be dramatic (and I don’t think I am) but if this is the response the John MacArthur is advocating to his thousands of listeners and readers around the world, it seems to me that his theology is at least partially responsible for the depression, suicides, and intense bullying and discrimination of LGBTQ men and women within the Church. If the response of evangelical Christians to our gay friends, siblings, and acquaintances is to alienate, isolate, and excommunicate, we must realize that we are personally responsible for the depression, mental illness, and untimely deaths of those human beings whose souls are crushed under the weight of shame, hatred, and condemnation caused by those who bear the name of Jesus Christ. Because it is this very course of action that is responsible for the pain that so many LGBTQ men and women feel. This is the reason many in the LGBTQ community want nothing to do with Christianity- our response to them is so radically inconsistent and hypocritical. If this is our response, we are nothing more than anti-Christ’s. We are people who have distorted and contorted our theology in a way that is used to condemn instead of liberate, wound instead of heal, isolate instead of connect into the community of redemption.

Our theology has very real implications and consequences. What we believe will truly inform how we respond to real life situations. I pray that whoever the person is that sent this letter to John MacArthur will feel the tug of the Holy Spirit on their heart and realize that his message is not the message of Christ. That his way of dealing with their gay child is neither healthy nor holy. And I pray for the gay son, that he would find a community that embodies that radically inclusive love and grace of Jesus to him, a community that calls him to be the person God has designed him to be, and a community that celebrates who he is, as he is. Because only a cursory reading of the Gospel accounts of Christ’s life and teachings reveal to us that this would have been Christ’s response. And Christ’s response always leads to abundant life. The enemy’s response always leads to destruction. It is abundantly clear which response is the Christian one. It is also abundantly clear that many evangelicals are caught in a theology that is causing great harm to so many beloved human beings. If your theology leads to someone’s suicide, it is not a theology worth keeping. Period. How many more stories do we have to hear of men and women burdened with despair and crushed under the cold isolation from their family because “it’s the Christian thing to do” before we realize that our theology is wrong? That it is time to rethink how we understand human sexuality and the Christian response based on the fact that our response does not lead to life, like Christ’s?

Thankfully, MacArthur’s view is not the mainstream posture of evangelicals. Many are changing and reforming their belief systems to mirror Christ and the Scriptures. But that fact that in 2014, a mainstream evangelical pastor with thousands of followers can stand up and teach his people that the correct response to their son coming out is to humiliate and to isolate is not only disturbing, it is absolutely wicked. I am all for finding a middle way for evangelicals between Side A and Side B views on the issue of sexuality. I don’t believe evangelicals must necessarily abandon the traditional view of homosexuality in order to be loving, gracious, and accepting of the LGBTQ community. But I am also aware that many very conservative evangelical theologies lead to responses like the one MacArthur is advocating, which is tremendously troubling. Frankly, it makes me wonder if a healthy third way is possible after all. (Which has been the topic of much debate as of late- read about it here, here, and here) If it is, it must be a way to embraces people as they are, regardless of what we believe about their sexuality, and chooses to integrate, not isolate, people into our communities.

All that I know is something has to change. Because precious people’s lives are one the line. We as followers of Jesus absolutely cannot stand around and let such theology continue to be propagated amongst people who claim to embody “Good News”. Because such theology is antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The only response I can think of to such destructive theology is to combat it with love. To let the LGBTQ people in our lives know that they are deeply loved by God and by us, just as they are. To let them know that the way of people like MacArthur is not the way of Jesus and is not, in reality, how God responds to them. To let them know that nothing…absolutely nothing…. can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Because that actually sounds like good news. That sounds like a way that brings abundant life. That sounds a whole heck of a lot more like Jesus.

What are your thoughts on MacArthur’s theology and the response he is advocating? How can evangelicals better embody the love of Christ to the LGBTQ community? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 10, 2014

We Make The Road By Walking

Next Post

June 12, 2014 Millennial Evangelicalism?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Breaking News Contributor Post Current Events Devotional Devotional Ideas For A Better Tomorrow General Posts Guest Post Interview Missiology Nomad Rants Recalibrate Reflections Response Review The Other Side Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 August 2017 July 2017 May 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 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 June 2014 May 2014 June 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which prophet had a vision of God standing beside a destroyed altar?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joel Micah Amos Ezekiel