Can God Bless a ‘Gay’ Relationship? ‘Conservative’ Christian Prof and Wife Lead ‘Gay’ Activist John Corvino Astray

By Peter LaBarbera

Can a holy God “bless” a homosexual relationship? I don’t think so, but that’s what the wife of a self-styled “theologically conservative” Christian professor asked God to do for homosexual activist (and Wayne State philosophy professor) John Corvino and his male partner, below. Here’s the comment I posted today to Corvino’s article, “Amazing Grace,” on the website Independent Gay Forum, which is geared toward less radical homosexual advocates (their motto is “Forging a Gay Mainstream”).

Please note that I mistakenly ascribed the Christian professor’s wife’s prayer to him, which I corrected in a subsequent comment:

John, this professor friend may call himself a “theological conservative,” but apparently he is not. (Maybe he is only by today’s liberal academic standards.) Embracing “civil” same-sex “marriage,” gay adoption, and asking God to bless your homosexual relationship [which the professor’s wife actually did] puts him outside the “theologically conservative” (i.e., orthodox Biblical) camp. He was kind to you, yes, but erred in asking a holy God to bless a relationship based on sexual misbehavior clearly condemned by the same “God-breathed” Scripture that he surely regards as inerrant. He may and probably did have some secret prayer regarding your relationship — say, that it become non-sexual — but by asking God, before you, to “bless” it wrongly implied God’s acceptance, and thereby misled you about the Christian faith. It might have been more difficult, but the professor could have extended the same kindness to you without compromising the Biblical position.

The essence of evangelical, Bible-believing outreach to people (“non-believers”) is to warn them about the grave consequences of their sin, especially eternal separation from God — and then offer them the substitutionary redemption of Christ, who took the penalty for all sin on the Cross before conquering sin and death by rising again (Easter!). That’s true compassion. I’d be happy to discuss it with you if you’re ever in my part of the world (Chicago) and want to talk over a cup of coffee. I wouldn’t expect such an upbeat recounting of our conversation as this, but I believe you’d get a more accurate representation of the “theologically conservative” [Christian] position.

Sincerely

Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth, www.americansfortruth.org

CORRECTION POST:

I’m sorry: I have ascribed the Christian professor’s wife’s prayer to him. Nevertheless, the same concern applies: can God bless a homosexual union? Not unless He is prepared to bless other sins that are condemned in the Bible. Best–pl

The following is the original post by homosexual activist John Corvino on Independent Gay Forum’s website:

Amazing Grace

by John Corvino

First published in Between the Lines [a Detroit homosexual newspaper] on March 22, 2007

The gentleman stood up during a lull in the Q&A session, and I was grateful for anyone to break the silence. In recent years I’d become used to this routine: I’d go to a small liberal-arts college to speak on homosexuality. The students, who were increasingly pro-gay, would respond with “friendly fire” or genial shrugs. I’d wait for the opposition to speak up, often to no avail.

Then John spoke. “Since there seems to be a lull,” he began, “I suppose that this might be as good a time as any for me to come out…as a religious conservative.”

There were no audible gasps, but there was palpable silence. John identified himself as a faculty member in the music department. He spoke for several long minutes, describing himself as theologically conservative but socially and politically liberal, opposed to same-sex marriage within his church but supportive of civil marriage (and adoption) for gays, skeptical of reconciling biblical faith with homosexual relationships but open to arguments for doing so. He also lamented what he perceived as my hostility toward religious believers (some of it deserved, he admitted) and my too-easy dismissal of opponents.

When John finally sat down, I thanked him for his candor and then launched into what was probably an overly defensive clarification of my position. I could tell that neither of us was entirely satisfied by the exchange (the audience for their part seemed quietly fascinated by it). But our time was soon up and that was that.

“I am not a Christian, and I don’t believe that one needs to be religious to show warmth and hospitality. But that day kindness came with a Christian flavor.”Until the next day, when John e-mailed me to thank me for my visit. We corresponded for a bit, and then he invited me to get together for coffee when I returned to town for some additional talks the following week.

And so I did. I picked John up at his office in my rented Ford Crown Victoria (“My students are going to think I’m being interrogated by a federal agent,” he quipped). I did not quite know what to expect. Thoughtful academic? Stealthy religious nutcase? I had been reading Sam Harris lately (The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation), and as a result I’d become increasingly dubious about “moderate” or “tolerant” religion. (Harris, an outspoken atheist, argues that liberal religion tends to sugarcoat the still-problematic belief in scriptural authority.)

But John defied simple categories, except one that we both shared: college professor. Our common academic training and temperament made it easy to spend several hours together, discussing a paper of mine I had sent him on homosexuality and the bible (he read it within a day, despite being swamped with midterms), analyzing political rhetoric on various sides of the debate, and delving into deeper epistemological questions (What is the proper relationship between faith and reason?). It was a delightful and productive afternoon.

Later that day, John and his wife Sarah invited me to dinner at their home. His wife, I now knew, worked for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, an organization that used to provide me with regular opposition during the early days of my campus speaking. This fact made me slightly apprehensive. But I was delighted by the opportunity to eat somewhere other than the Applebee’s next to my hotel, and pleased to spend more time with John and to meet Sarah, so I accepted.

As we chatted over appetizers, Sarah asked me about my life, my family, my work, and my relationship with my partner Mark. At one point I mentioned that Mark and I would be going to Mexico in April for his sister’s wedding. We were anxious about it, I explained, since Mark’s parents generally refuse to be in the same room with me (they refer to me, not by name, but as “that man”–the one who corrupted their son). Sarah and John seemed genuinely sympathetic.

Then came dinner–a hearty yet delightfully simple meal of soup, salad, and bread. As we sat down, Sarah asked if she could say grace. I nodded and politely folded my hands and bowed my head (what else should polite atheists do during grace? Read the newspaper?). She invoked many blessings, but the one that stuck out most for me was the following:

“Bless John, whom we are delighted to have as our guest. Bless John and Mark, and their relationship. And in particular, bless the family gathering in April…”

I am not a Christian, and I don’t believe that one needs to be religious to show warmth and hospitality. But that day kindness came with a Christian flavor, and I was deeply touched by it.