Three women are making names for themselves as prophetesses for the idols of sodomy and lesbianism. Their names are Rachel Held Evans, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and Eve Tushnet.
First, Bolz-Weber and Held Evans. Both claim to be Protestant Christians and both aim their smashmouths at the church. If they were to speak to the world they'd have no market, but sadly, the church is listening. Both women's market niche is other women who get a kick from brash and defiant, but want to experience their thrills vicariously. Beyond that, the two are different.
Held Evans markets herself to women who attend Bible-believing churches but have not yet mustered the courage to tell their elders and pastors of their rebellion. So, from the secrecy of their computers, they take glee in watching Held Evans attack the Bible and the God Who wrote it—which is really all she ever does. Held Evans spent a year publicly mocking God's ceremonial laws and now she's busy shrieking that if God ever commanded her to sacrifice her son as He commanded Abraham, she'd refuse. Of course her real focus isn't Abraham and Isaac, but God the Father and God the Son. It's been trendy for children of Evangelicals to ridicule the substitutionary atonement the past ten or twenty years. They call the Father sending His Son to the cross "divine child abuse." Held Evans attacking Abraham's faith is simply an attack upon God the Father's love that sent His Son to the cross. It's an attack upon the Substitutionary Atonement. It's an attack upon the Gospel.
Bolz-Weber's smashmouth is also brash and defiant, but she sells herself to liberals. She is mainline Lutheran but she could as well be mainline Episcopalian, Anglican, Methodist, or Presbyterian. Like all liberals, Bolz-Weber doesn't bother attacking Scripture or Scripture's God; she just lies about Him, but with no fear of contradiction because the people who listen to her don't read the Bible. Bolz-Weber is a religious freak show. Mark Twain said he once had the misfortune of taking a train ride seated next to a woman who had not one unuttered thought on her brain. Picture Twain's seatmate wearing a wife-beater without a bra, a man's haircut, tattoos large enough to make a biker proud, and braided armpits, You begin to get the idea.
The third prophetess for lesbianism and sodomy is Eve Tushnet. She is a Roman Catholic and a week from now Richard John Neuhaus's First Things will host a lecture and book-signing upon the occasion of the release of her book, Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith. Along with Peter Leithart...
Ms. Tushnet is a frequent contributor to First Things, which is publicizing her lecture and book-signing, hosting it in their editorial offices in Manhattan. Let it be said that First Things is the very conservative faction of the divided Roman Catholic church with which Dr. Leithart wants his fellow Reformed shepherds to make peace, joining together in Lord's Table fellowship.
Being a forum for the very conservative faction of Roman Catholicism, you may wonder how First Things could possibly be promoting gayness?
The answer is that Ms. Tushnet has carved out a market niche that's perfectly pitched toward those who are ashamed of the Gospel of faith and repentance while continuing to believe in Christendom and the seven (or two) sacraments. To summarize Ms. Tushman's marketing: "I'm gay and proud of it, but because the church hasn't gotten its act on gayness together yet, I'm staying celibate. For now."
For my lifetime, Bible-believing Protestants have depended on Roman Catholicism to do most of the heavy lifting at the gaps in the wall where our culture is focusing its rebellion against God. Popes and their Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith have stood valiantly against Communism, birth control, abortion, capitalistic profiteering, euthanasia, infanticide, and feminism, and we have been so relieved to have some help.
Now though, we're looking at a seachange in the Roman Catholic church. Everyone knows it and this betrayal of souls by the editors of First Things shows where even conservative Roman Catholics are heading.
How will God's shepherds in the Biblical Reformed church respond? Will we be faithful? Will we ourselves begin to guard the good deposit that has been passed on to us? Will we find faithful men to share the yoke of suffering and persecution with us?
Time will tell.
Meanwhile, Dr. Leithart and his fellow Trinity House writers are calling us to return to Rome.
Gay and Christian? The answer is "no." You can be sexually disordered and a Christian. You can be tempted by adultery and a Christian. You can be tempted by jealousy and envy and greed and be a Christian. But you can't write a book, Greedy and Catholic: Accepting My Love of Money, Finding Community, Living My Faith.
Tim serves Clearnote Church, Bloomington, Indiana. He and Mary Lee have five children and big lots of grandchildren.
Want to get in touch? Send Tim an email!
