Update: Capitol Hill Baptist Church has been removed as one of the partnering churches. At this point, we are not sure why the change has been made and if Mark Dever has pulled his support for the event.
Sam Allberry, who still personally wallows in Same-Sex Attraction (SSA), is the founder of an organization that is fully devoted to the false teaching of so-called, “Gay Christianity.” Unfortunately, many evangelicals support Allberry and his ministry, including The Gospel Coalition and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The most prominent supporter of Allberry’s gay ministry is Dr. Tim Keller, who has been promoting this false gospel that cannot sanctify the homosexual. Unfortunately, it now seems the Mark Dever of 9Marks and Capital Hill Baptist Church can be added to the list of those who support Allberry’s “Gay Christian” ministry.
We recently posted an article, originally by Toni Brown at Bible Thumping Wingnut, on the sinister and gay-affirming teachings of Allberry and Living Out, which you can find here. To be clear, Allberry does not teach that practicing sodomy is acceptable, but rather he teaches that Same-Sex Attraction is not a sin, that homosexuals cannot expect to be changed by the Holy Spirit and given a nature not desirous of sodomy, and that there are elements of “gay culture” that are redeemable and should be celebrated. In Allberry’s view, virtually everything about homosexuality can be embraced except for the act of bodily penetration.
Common in the Living Out subculture, are testimonies of professing Christians who learned to love and embrace, rather than be freed from their homosexuality. Also common are accusations toward the Christian church of “homophobia” and demands that the church soften its views on the sin of sodomy. The organization is an increasingly important factor in re-branding SSA as an itself neutral, non-sinful impulse, and it heavily promotes the idea that it’s okay to be gay so long as one is celibate, going so far as to encourage churches to ordain those who are Same-Sex attracted.
According to the website for Living Out – subtitled, “Christian and Gay” – they are having an event on November 14 in partnership with Dever and his Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C.
The website then says…
Living Out wants to help churches understand how we can better help those who experience same-sex attraction to stay faithful to Biblical teaching on sexual ethics and flourish at the same time. On our LOCAL (Living Out Churches And Leaders) course we will show you why many churches fail – but how the Bible wonderfully meets the challenges we all face.
As stated above, Living Out teaches that homosexuality – so long as it’s not acted upon in the course of sexual relationship – is not inherently sinful, that homosexuals should not expect to be changed by the Holy Spirit, that the church should encourage their singleness rather than lift up heterosexual marriage as an ambition, and that the church should be an “affirming place” for homosexuals.
[Editor’s Note: The original title said the event would be held at Capitol Heights Baptist Church. Instead, the event is done in partnership with and official sponsorship by Capitol Hill Baptist Church]
