More Answers for Kevin DeYoung

It's been about two weeks since Kevin DeYoung posted his forty questions over at The Gospel Coalition, and he has not taken up the topic of LGBT Christians or same-sex marriage since (at least, not on TGC). There's no indication that he has read any of the answers provided to his list of questions, but numerous Christian authors have taken up the challenge of publicly discussing the issue.

At Approaching Justice, Dwight Welch responds to the question about convincing Christians in the Global South:

That’s a rather broad statement as there are churches in all three continents which are supportive of LGBT folks. The case I’d make is that we all relate to scripture through a cultural lens. That the scriptures come out of a cultural context. And that there is no perspective that is outside of culture. I’d make the same argument regardless of continent.

John Shore's blog on Patheos takes a more satirical approach by answering each question with his own question:

What verses would you use to show that a marriage between two persons of the same sex cannot adequately depict Christ and the church?

...followed by the more Colbert-esque quips (with DeYoung's original questions, for full context):

19. Do you think close family members should be allowed to get married? Do you think you should be a guest on The Jerry Springer Show? 

20. Should marriage be limited to only two people? Should you replace Jerry on The Jerry Springer Show?

Susan Cottrell at Freed Hearts (also on Patheos) responds to the same question about the Global South:

Surely you are aware that the understanding of homosexuality of Christians in Africa, Asia, and South America is culturally conditioned by American (missionary) Christians??

...and then she offers an answer to DeYoung's request for a definition of "love":

Love is treating others as you want to be treated. (I borrowed that from Jesus and I can think of no better definition.) It includes the idea of showing someone overabundant kindness with no regard or even knowledge of their “sin” or lack thereof. (Think Good Samaritan.)
Perfect love casts out all fear. Love is putting yourself aside for someone else. God is love.

Fellow Candler alum and yet another Patheos blogger, Kimberly Knight, doesn't take the questions on a point-by-point basis, but she does give us the following insight:

You [DeYoung] direct your questions only to open and affirming heterosexual Christians as if there are no LGBT Christians. There are in fact scores and scores of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians so to ignore that fact leaves a huge piece of this mysterious puzzle hidden. I am both a lesbian and a Christian so right from the start it seems that you and I are nearly lost to one another. But where there is love and grace, there is hope.

Buzz Dixon of Unfundamentalist Christians, differs from most other writers in that he actually took DeYoung to task on the challenge of citing Scripture (as opposed to Experience and Reason) that changed his mind:

First and foremost, the Golden Rule. The Two Great Commandments, which Jesus quoted directly from Rabbi Hillel, who was no slouch in things Talmudic. John 3:16-17. Jesus’ teachings on eunuchs, who had been banned from communion with Godunder Jewish law, and his teaching that some people are indeed born that way. The woman at the well, who was married and divorced multiple times and currently living out of wedlock with a man, and yet Jesus without judging her used her exactly the way she was to spread his gospel, nor did he demand changes in her status afterwards. Peter’s vision in which God laid aside Moses’ holiness taboos.

 Alise at Knitting Soul (which might also win the category for best blog title) refused to answer DeYoung:

Here’s the thing. I’m out of patience for this. DeYoung asks his 40 questions, but they all boil down to the same thing. Prove that you’re right. Prove that God is on your side. Prove that you deserve what I already have.
I’m tired of it. I’m tired of the assumption that my gay friends are the ones who need to be answering questions. I’m tired of the assumption that they need to justify their faith to those who fancy themselves the gatekeepers of Christianity. I’m tired of the woe are we attitude from those who have been a part of movements to bar LGBTQ people and their allies from leadership positions in the Church, from people whose words have led to legislation imposing jail time, even calling for the execution of gays.

Instead, she boiled it down to a single question:

When are you going to listen to the answers to your questions?

Tobin Grant turned the wheel over to Matthew Vines (author of God and the Gay Christian, to which DeYoung and others have responded with their own published works). Vines also responded with his own list of forty questions (of which the first eight are posted below):

Do you accept that sexual orientation is not a choice?
Do you accept that sexual orientation is highly resistant to attempts to change it?
How many meaningful relationships with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people do you have?
How many openly LGBT people would say you are one of their closest friends?
How much time have you spent in one-on-one conversation with LGBT Christians about their faith and sexuality?
Do you accept that heterosexual marriage is not a realistic option for most gay people?
Do you accept that lifelong celibacy is the only valid option for most gay people if all same-sex relationships are sinful?
How many gay brothers and sisters in Christ have you walked with on the path of mandatory celibacy, and for how long?

I must say, if DeYoung responds to any of the posts, if he actually engages in the conversation he claims to want, I hope it is to Vines.

I know there are many other authors who have written in response to DeYoung, and there are many seminarians and pastors out there who could provide a much better response but have opted not to. So instead, here's that clip from West Wing in all of its Sorkin glory.