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Once you destroy the male-female boundary for marriage that has stood since the beginning of time, all boundaries are open to question. Ditto for male, female and “gender identities.” — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
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Why Can’t I Marry the Robot I Love? The Rise of Robosexuals
Do people have the right to marry the one they love, even if the one they love is a robot? If not, why not? After all, in the words of Lilly from France, who has fallen in love with her robot, “We don’t hurt anybody; we are just happy.”
Isn’t that what matters in the end, that people are happy?
Lilly calls herself a “proud robosexual,” and she fully plans on marrying her robot, whom she named InMoovator.
As explained in the Daily Mail, “Lilly is reportedly engaged to the robot and says they will marry when human-robot marriage is legalized in France.”
But why should this surprise us? People have not only married their same-sex spouses (which has the merit of joining together fellow-humans, albeit completely opposite to the God-ordained male-female pattern), but they have married animals and inanimate objects and, with increasing frequency, married themselves.
Indeed, it was just a few days ago that Good Housekeeping—not some radical, far-out, tabloid—ran the story, “WHY I MARRIED MYSELF. Self-marriage is a small but growing movement around the world.”
Two-day conference ‘will equip you to explain why God’s design for sexuality is the only good design’
Real Christianity vs. ‘Gay Christianity’: Sign up for the TruthXChange conference in Escondido, CA, Oct. 7-9 HERE. The theme is “Two Loves: A Biblical Response to ‘Gay Christianity.'” Among the speakers are: Dr. Michael Brown, Stephen Black, Rosaria Butterfield, Rev. Ted Hamilton, Rev. Dr. Gabriel N.E. Fluhrer and TruthXChange founder, Dr. Peter Jones.
Take Action:sign up HERE for the “Two Loves: Biblical Response to ‘Gay Christianity'” conference beginning this Friday (Oct. 7-9, 2016), in Escondido, CA. If you cannot attend, send a gift to help TruthXChange, a wonderful Christian organization, or order one of Peter Jones’ books or his worldview curriculum. More info at TruthXChange.com.
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Folks, I just can’t say enough good things about Dr. Peter Jones and his annual TruthXChange conferences–which combine intellectual rigor with a fearless commitment to upholding biblical truth — of the sort that is increasingly lacking in evangelical circles (at least on the homosexual issue). I wish I could attend this conference beginning Friday and hosted by New Life Presbyterian Church in Escondido, California.
Among the speakers are: Dr. Mike Brown, whose presentation alone would make attending worthwhile; my friend Stephen Black, who overcame homosexuality in his own life and who is one of the most godly and committed Christian men I’ve ever met; and ex-lesbian former professor Rosaria Butterfield.
Dr. Jones himself is a national treasure and one of the reasons I do NOT support shutting down immigration (he came here from the U.K.: Britain’s loss, America’s gain!). Peter writes ably and prolifically about the pagan roots of what the Left considers “enlightened” and “progressive” LGBTQueer sex- and gender ideology.
If you’re looking for simplistic and shallow analyses of America’s moral and spiritual crisis and the worldly descent of Christianity in the West, don’t attend this conference or follow Peter’s work. But if you are a truth-lover who fears God, not man, and wants to learn about how our once-Christian culture degenerated to this point, this is an event for you. Having attended one of Peter’s conferences a few years ago, I can assure you that you will be blessed by this gathering of Christian thinkers. –Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH.org; @PeterLaBarbera
“The average mom and dad probably have no clue that their little 7-year-old daughter just learned to distinguish between Genderqueer and Gender Non-Conforming in school today.” — Dr. Michael Brown
Engendering Classroom Confusion: Sex and gender activism has penetrated the classroom, as newfangled ideas like separating one’s biological sex from their “gender identity” are mainstreamed to impressionable minds. The above graphic is just one that has been used to teach children radical “gender” ideology–but even this “teaching tool” has come under criticism from the LGBTQ Left as not being sufficiently “inclusive.” Click to enlarge.
By Dr. Michael Brown, 9-29-16
Do you need to lock your doors and windows at night because a homosexual predator is coming after your kids? That is absolutely not what I mean when I say that LGBT activists are coming for your children.
I’m talking about educators and government leaders; I’m talking about celebrities and judges; I’m talking about people of influence who want to indoctrinate your children even before they get to school. I’m talking about an all-out war for the minds and hearts of your kids.
Are you equipped and ready to do what is best for these little ones?
By all means, as parents, we should teach our kids to be kind to all, especially to those who seem different and are ostracized by their peers. And we should teach by word and example that bullying is always wrong. In other words, we don’t need to teach gay is good in order to teach that bullying is bad. In the same way, we don’t need to push every boy to be a football player and every girl to be a ballerina to combat transgender activism.
But you better believe that we need to take a stand for our kids — in the schools; in the world of entertainment and social media; in the courts; in the churches — if we want to keep them safe from this destructive and deceptive indoctrination.
Shoebat slams LaBarbera as “filthy pig” for denouncing his holy-war approach toward homosexualism
Ted Shoebat
“[W]e do not have the right to take the law into our hands and attack homosexual men and women. And if you have God’s heart of love and you want to see them saved and transformed, why would you want to beat them up?”–Dr. Michael Brown
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Dear AFTAH Readers,
I support my friend and Christian leader Dr. Mike Brown in exposing the reckless rhetoric of Christian Ted Shoebatfor condoning anti-homosexual violence. For my entire professional career in the pro-family and conservative movements, I have eschewed violence and real hatred against people caught up in homosexuality–and I’m not going to change now.
Recently, Shoebat viciously attacked yours truly as as a “filthy pig” because I–like Dr. Brown, Matt Barber and Linda Harvey and many other pro-family leaders–criticized his “holy war” approach toward the homosexual agenda. (See video below captured by the pro-homosexual organization People For the American Way’s “Right Wing Watch.“) [See the new Shoebat video criticized by Brown HERE; more on this controversy will follow.]
Some of my friends in the movement opposed to Big Gay Inc have opined that Shoebat sounds more like a fundamentalist Muslim than a Christian with his irresponsible rhetoric. Jihadist, Sharia-loving Islamists–not faithful Christians–advocate stoning homosexuals and pushing them off of tall buildings. Shouldn’t we emulate our Savior, Jesus Christ, who said to the Pharisees who were about to stone a woman they caught in adultery:
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8; see Matthew Henry commentary HERE)
And to the woman shown mercy the Lord said:
“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
We must, as Dr. Brown often says, Resist the homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda, while Reaching Out to homosexuals with the Gospel and love of Christ. Having said that, I am not like one of those namby-pamby evangelicals or “cafeteria Catholics” who seeks an accommodation with homosexualism. Shoebat below derisively references “Chick-fil-A Christians”–but AFTAH was almost alone in challenging Chick-fil-A C.O.O. Dan Cathy’s regrettable 2014 capitulation to Political Correctness when he decided to “step back from the gay marriage debate.” This effectively sold out the many thousands of Christians who stood in line at CfA restaurants on “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” in 2012 to defend Cathy’s right to speak out for Truth in the Public Square. But more importantly, Cathy sold out his God. Not coincidentally, one of the people who advised Cathy to retreat on marriage was Shane Windmeyer, a homosexual activist (the founder of Campus Pride) whom Cathy had befriended.
Loving sinners biblically should not abet a sin movement, and going silent on homosexualism does just that.
In contrast, Mike Brown is not seeking the world’s favor. He ably works to achieve the right balance of loving homosexual and gender-confused strugglers while bravely challenging the LGBTQ-IAAM (“It’s All About Me”) sin lobby. Shoebat’s rhetoric not only justifies thuggery against homosexuals and does harm to the Gospel, as Mike states. It also makes it easier for “gay” radicals and their allies to advance legislation like the Criminalizing Christianity Act (aka LGBT “Equality Act”)–thus inadvertently helping them to extinguish the voice of believers in the culture. All in the name of “stopping anti-gay violence and hate.” — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; @PeterLaBarbera
Mike Brown writes:
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No, Theodore Shoebat, Jesus Would Not Have Killed Gays
In a very troubling video, Theodore Shoebat, son of former Muslim Walid Shoebat, has claimed that if “sodomites” had walked into the temple of Jerusalem, Jesus would have killed them.
This is absolutely outrageous, totally unscriptural and downright dangerous.
Mr. Shoebat, I urge you to repent.
To be perfectly clear, I agree with Theodore that homosexual practice is detestable in God’s sight (as stated plainly in the Scriptures); I totally oppose same-sex “marriage”; and I firmly believe that homosexual activism is the principle threat to our freedoms of religion, speech, and conscience.
I also share Theodore’s abhorrence of the abusive acts of homosexual predators, just as I abhor the abusive acts of heterosexual predators.
At the same time, I categorically reject his encouragement of violent acts against homosexual men and women, and I renounce his statement that Jesus would have killed homosexuals who walked into the temple.
The Answer Is No: …if “gay” means positively and proudly homosexual. Dr. Michael Brown ably answers the lies of “gay Christianity” in his book, “Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding with Love & Truth to Questions About Homosexuality.” He similarly responds with “love & truth” to homosexual activist Matthew Vines’ self-serving “40 Questions” below. Buy the book: Readers can purchase Brown’s book–while supporting AFTAH’s ministry–by purchasing ” for $17 postpaid. Two-Book Discount: You can also add Michael Brown’s in-depth book, “Something Queer Happened to America”–and receive both books postpaid for $29. Pay securely online or send your check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.
“I cannot see our [Heavenly] Father responding positively to the threat of, ‘Unless you let me have a relationship that satisfies me, I will kill myself.’ [Answer # 9]
“What is explicitly affirmed over and again in the Bible is that God requires holiness of all His people and that the only outlet for sexual intimacy is in the confines of marriage, which…can only be the union of a man and woman. This is as explicit as anything in the Word. [#25]
“…the Word never says that an inherently sinful act somehow becomes sanctified by repeating it with the same person. [#27)]
“…your [Matthew Vines’] emphasis is all wrong. In fact, it’s the common theme through your questions, namely, ‘Surely God wouldn’t want me to live without sex and intimacy, therefore I must reinterpret the Bible in that light.'” [#39] — Dr. Michael Brown, author of Can You Be Gay and Christian?
My prolific author friend Dr. Michael Brown–whose book, “Can You Be Gay and Christian?” is available for purchase from AFTAH at right–does a terrific job below answering homosexual “Christian” activist Matthew Vines’ 40 tendentious questions. As Brown notes, Vines’ line of questioning is built on false premises and spurious analogies. For example, Vines repeats the tired homosexual talking point comparing infertile straight couples to same-sex partners (see Brown’s response to Questions 30 and 31).
I would like Michael to try a “do-over” on #12: it is bizarre and, indeed, blasphemous for young Vines (misapplying Galatians 5–which mentions “sexual immorality”) to associate unnatural, sexual-sin-based “relationships” with Holy Spirit-led “goodness” and “self-control,” etc. I understand what Michael is saying, but I would not compare these disordered relationships with normal unions between husband and wife–including marriages that are not Christian.
Vines’ questions themselves are a study in the error of homosexuality-positive “Christianity”: can you see the intense self-focus in them, as Vines does his biblical “exegesis” backwards:–starting with his politically correct premise (committed homosexual relationship are fine) and trying to rationalize it as somehow being compatible with Scripture? He utterly fails. It is no wonder that Vines will not publicly appear in the same debate forum with Dr. Brown or Prof. Rob Gagnon. By the way, Dr. Brown received AFTAH’s “American Truth-Teller Award” in 2014; we commend him for his diligence and faithfulness in defending Truth. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera; Like the AFTAH Facebook Page
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Dr. Michael Brown Has 40 Answers and 2 Questions for ‘Gay’ Christian Matthew Vines
I am answering the 40 questions put forward by “gay Christian” advocate Matthew Vines, after which I will put two simple questions to Matthew (and his allies). What is absolutely stunning, though, is that in these 40 questions, he failed to ask the only one that really matters, namely, “What does the Bible say about homosexual practice?” The reason for that is self-evident, namely, it is impossible to make a case for homosexual relationships using the Word of God alone.
That’s why, for the last decade (and until this moment), I have offered to debate the issue of the Bible and homosexual practice with any qualified representative of the “gay Christian” position, yet I have had no takers. (Matthew and I did engage in a brief debate hosted by Moody radio, but as is well known, Matthew agreed to do the broadcast before realizing he would be debating me, after which he felt it would be worse publicity to drop out rather than do the show. Those interested can watch the debate here. (For a relevant follow-up article, go here.) I also address many of the questions Matthew raises in my book Can You Be Gay and Christian?, but for the benefit of those who don’t have the book, and so as to answer all the questions conveniently in one place, I’ve responded to each of them here.
Before addressing the questions, it’s important to address Matthew’s premise, namely, those of us who uphold Scripture “oppose marriage equality.” Actually, we oppose redefining marriage; as for so-called “marriage equality,” as I have pointed out, advocates of “same-sex marriage” represent just one group clamoring for changes in marriage laws, including polygamists, polyamorists, and adult incestuous couples. That’s why the Marriage Equality Blogspot calls for “Full Marriage Equality,” specifically, “for the right of consenting adults to share and enjoy love, sex, residence and marriage without limits on the gender, number or relation of participants.” So, from that point of view, Matthew also opposes “marriage equality.”
To answer the 40 questions:
1. Do you accept that sexual orientation is not a choice? Sexual orientation is a relatively modern construct, but if you mean is it true that, generally speaking, homosexual men and women did not choose to be attracted to the same sex, the answer would be yes, it is not a conscious choice they made, any more than someone who struggles with angry desires, violent desires, or adulterous desires consciously chose to have those desires.
2. Do you accept that sexual orientation is highly resistant to attempts to change it? Again, using your definition, in the majority of cases, certainly. However, we must not downplay the many successful stories of change through counseling and, more importantly, the possibility of change through the gospel. Cannot Almighty God change a homosexual into a heterosexual if it so pleases Him? Has the church really devoted itself to seeking God to help men and women who struggle with same-sex attractions?
3. How many meaningful relationships with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people do you have? My first organ teacher, when I was barely 7-years old, was openly gay, and he and his partner would come to our home and have dinner with our family. Over the years, I’ve had good friends who came out of homosexuality (including someone very close to my family), and I interact as often I can in as much depth as I can with those who identify as LGBT.
4. How many openly LGBT people would say you are one of their closest friends? None that I know of, but that is not because of my rejection of them. I have never turned away from a person because of their sexual brokenness or sexual desires. If, however, they openly scorned God’s Word and God’s ways, I’m afraid it would be hard for us to be close friends. That being said, I have close friends who are very religious Jews, yet they still believe my faith in Jesus is wrong and I still believe they are lost without Him. In other words, friendship with people (or lack thereof) has absolutely nothing to do with determining the truth of God’s Word.
Dodging Debates: Self-described “gay Christian” Matthew Vines refuses to debate Bible scholars and apologists with expert knowledge on Scripture and homosexuality, like Dr. Michael Brown and Prof. Robert Gagnon.
5. How much time have you spent in one-on-one conversation with LGBT Christians about their faith and sexuality? Many hours, and many more hours reading their stories prayerfully, sometimes having to put down the book I’m reading and get on my knees in prayer, even with tears and a heavy burden. I hurt deeply over the pain they have experienced and I long to see them find wholeness in the Lord.
6. Do you accept that heterosexual marriage is not a realistic option for most gay people? Probably so—again, with God, all things are possible—but this too has nothing to do with what God has to say about homosexual practice. It calls for great compassion from the church, but not for rewriting the Bible. Also, unless we get caught up with the spirit of the age, it’s important to realize that “heterosexual marriage” is the only marriage God acknowledges.
7. Do you accept that lifelong celibacy is the only valid option for most gay people if all same-sex relationships are sinful? I accept that our Father knows best, that His ways are ways of life, and that if He does not enable someone to enter into a heterosexual relationship then He will give grace to that person to be celibate, just as He gives grace to a believer suffering decades of imprisonment and torture, just as He gives grace to a drug addict to get free from addictions, and just as He gives grace to many heterosexuals to live in lifelong, non-chosen celibacy.
8. How many gay brothers and sisters in Christ have you walked with on the path of mandatory celibacy, and for how long? Less than 10, and not more than 10 years so far, but the term “mandatory celibacy” is misleading, since I’ve walked with heterosexual believers for decades who did not choose celibacy but never met their mate, and they found Jesus to be more than enough to carry them through. Plus, Jesus requires all of us to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Him, and He does not promise any of us a spouse. I also have close friends whose spouses divorced them and who believe they cannot remarry as long as their spouse is alive, and they too have survived and even thrived by God’s grace despite years of singleness imposed on them by their convictions.
9. What is your answer for gay Christians who struggled for years to live out a celibacy mandate but were driven to suicidal despair in the process? This is a heartrending issue that I do not take lightly, but my answer is that anyone who says, “I will kill myself unless I can have sex and be intimate with another human being” is not taking hold of what God has for them. Generally speaking, it’s also true that people who commit suicide are struggling with other emotional issues; otherwise, no matter how acute their problems, they would not take their own lives. Ultimately, though, I cannot see our Father responding positively to the threat of, “Unless you let me have a relationship that satisfies me, I will kill myself.”
10. Has mandatory celibacy produced good fruit in the lives of most gay Christians you know? Again, I object to the term “mandatory celibacy,” and I believe the term “gay Christian” is misleading and unhelpful, but yes, the single Christians I know who are still same-sex attracted are enjoying the Lord, enjoying healthy friendships, and are really quite vibrant. Others have seen a shift (or complete change) in their attractions, and they are happily married to their heterosexual partner. I’ve been quite close with some of them over the years.
