M.D. Perkins, Dangerous Affirmation: The Threat of “Gay Christianity”
(Tupelo, MS: American Family Association, 2022). 243 pages.
For the past two thousand years, Christians have all agreed that homosexuality is a sin. However, things have changed since the 1960s. Over the past 60 years there has been a growing movement of professing Christians seeking to affirm homosexuality by reconciling the Christian faith with homosexuality. Author M.D. Perkins calls this movement, “gay Christianity.”
Perkins argues in his book Dangerous Affirmation: The Threat of “Gay Christianity” that homosexuality and Christianity are incompatible. Perkins’ aim is to help the average Christian understand and respond biblically to the gay Christian movement. Perkins warns of the danger of affirming what God denies. Though Scripture is the primary focus, Perkins does not shy away from “controversial topics like homophobia, LGBT suicide rates, conversion therapy laws, and the rise of ‘gay celibate Christianity’” (p. 4). The tip of the spear of the gay Christian movement is a five-pronged attempt to change the church: change by “rethinking” about the church’s theology, Bible, the nature of the church, and Christian identity.
Perkins observes that in canvasing the theological literature, there are three gay theologies:
- Affirming theology (revisionist).
- Queer theology.
- Gay Celibate theology.
Affirming Theology
Affirming theology is an attempt to reconcile the Christian faith with homosexual behavior and relationships, all by watering down the biblical imperatives against homosexuality. To do this, biblical texts must be reinterpreted and/or the sufficiency of Scripture must be rejected. Regarding the former, proof texts used to condemn homosexuality are reinterpreted to condemn not all facets of homosexuality but certain aspects of said behavior. Some of these foundational texts Perkins outlines are Genesis 1:2; Genesis 18:19; Leviticus 18; 1 Samuel 1:20; and Romans 1:26-27. These and others, like Matthew 19 regarding eunuchs and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 regarding effeminacy, are addressed to show a full-orbed biblical theology that deals seriously with sodomy and not merely a handful of cherry-picked, obscured teachings which imply that homosexuality is a tangential topic hinted at in the Scriptures (pp. 39-91).
However, the Affirming proponents attempt to reinterpret Scripture to make space for certain aspects of homosexuality. Cases in point, the things condemned about homosexuality are deviant aspects of homosexuality: homosexual rape, pederasty, and idolatry (temple prostitution). This aspectual approach to homosexual behavior distinguishes and contrasts the concomitant vice with an attendant virtue: that is, monogamous love in a committed relationship between same-sex couples (p. 12). Regarding the latter, the sufficiency of Scripture is called into question. The argument is not that the Bible is wrong about sodomy; it’s just that the Scriptures are insufficient because “homosexual orientation” is a 19th century phenomenon unknown to ancient man. Ergo, Scripture must be supplemented with notions from modern science.
Queer Theology
If Affirming theology is a mean between the extremes on the theological spectrum, then the far left of this spectrum is Queer theology. Perkins notes that Queer theology is more politically active and iconoclastic. That is, Queer theology is “a total destruction of orthodoxy” (p. 21). Unlike Affirming theology, Perkins says Queer theology does not attempt to articulate the truth because “… truth is basically irrelevant” (p. 21). There is no pretense to clarity; “… doubts, ambiguities, pluralities, and complexities” are weaponized against Scripture (p. 22).
Gay Celibate Theology
On the far right of the spectrum is Gay Celibate theology, aka Side B. For many proponents, Gay Celibate Christianity is a middle-ground in the culture wars (p. 152).
Gay Celibate theology’s basic tenet is that though homosexual behavior is sinful, homosexual desires and attraction are not. Sodomy of the heart is not something the Christian needs to repent of or feel shame about. The point is to cultivate a homosexual identity, one that is innate, inborn, and natural (pp. 127-128). Some will go so far to say that homosexual passions are not dishonorable passions, but an aspect of being “fearfully and wonderfully made” (p. 153).
Cultivating this same-sex identity along with one’s personal faith is what it means to be a “gay Christian.” The burden of unfulfilled same-sex desires is a “unique burden,” a thorn in the flesh (so to speak) that one must personally steward along with assistance from the church. One’s sexual orientation is immutable, an important aspect of who they are. One’s homosexual desires do not need to be fixed or cured or redeemed in this age, just as physical disabilities do not need to be fixed or cured in this age for a Christian to live a faithful and full life of authenticity. Same-sex attraction is not a concern. The primary concern is same-sex behavior. What the gay Christian needs is pastoral care and support from the church. Proponents say, “Christians should stop expecting gay people to change …” (p. 26).
Redefining the Mission; Redefining the Church
The purpose of these theologies is to redefine the visible church so as to normalize “queerness” within the church (p. 106). One of the ways to redefine the church is to redefine her mission. A “queer goal” requires a “queer mission.” That goal is greater homosexual representation within the church (p. 95).
The method is multipronged. First, there is representation and visibility. Representation is including more homosexuals in the church, giving them a safe space to feel normal and accepted. Visibility is making “straight people” feel more comfortable with the homosexual lifestyle (p. 96). The second method is changing the language from being exclusive to inclusive of homosexuality, to make homosexuality seem normal (p. 101). The third is to recast the language of Scripture by “queer reading” (p. 106). This recasting reads homosexuality into Scripture, a sort of erotic eisegesis. The last method is to simply slander Bible-believing Christians for being mean spirited and homophobic (p. 111). This is all an attempt to replace the shame of homosexuality with the status of victimhood — all an attempt to change the church and create LGBT activists within the church (p. 179).
In conclusion, Perkins does a fine job explaining this movement. He offers a summary critique each time before he moves on to the next chapter or topic. This I find to be one of his strengths — along with simple and straightforward explanations. His writing is easy to understand and very clear. He offers concise critiques as he moves forward, not waiting until the end but evaluating while the material is still fresh in his reader’s mind.
Perkins notes that the purpose of theology is to know God and to conform our thoughts and experiences, etc., to the standards of God’s Word. He argues that “gay Christianity” gets this backward. Gay Affirming theology revises the canon of Scriptural truth to conform to the canon of human experience. Queer theology deconstructs the canon of Scripture by dashing it to pieces on the anvil of “defiant transgression” (p. 35). The Side B of Gay Celibate theology essentializes sodomy and sodomite lust as a work left “untouched by the Holy Spirit” (p. 35). Identity markers — such as “sexual minority,” “gay Christian,” or “same-sex attracted Christian” —are morally and psychologically valid. Anyone (including conservative Christians) resisting this is seen as “homophobic.”
In this reviewer’s judgment, this is a work of great value for pastors, and especially for the laity. Perkins exhorts us to stay alert and remain faithful, not to shrink back and be destroyed by such dangerous affirmation.
Dangerous Affirmation was published the American Family Association (Tupelo, Miss.) in 2022. Perkins is research fellow of church and culture for the American Family Association.
Carl Moore
TE, Presbytery of the Alleghenies
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