Last week Redeemer Church in Manhattan sponsored a training event for all their New York City churches which featured Tim Keller and Rebecca McLaughlin. Tim Keller is the founding pastor of the highly influential Redeemer enterprise and co-founder of The Gospel Coalition (TGC), a political organization which aims to move Evangelicals away from their Biblical and conservative moorings.
Watch the video here:
(*Editor’s note: If you have trouble viewing this video, it is posted in a different format at the bottom of this article.)
As the emcee for the event stated at the meeting’s beginning, one of Redeemer’s core values is to “welcome those we excluded, including those who don’t share our beliefs.” To live up to this Unitarian goal, Redeemer slated their guest speaker well. The thesis of Rebecca McLaughlin’s recently published book Confronting Christianity is that, historically, true Christianity has in fact always bowed down to the very idols that happen to be most popular among Leftists in America in 2019.
Rebecca McLaughlin’s favorite idols include feminism, identity politics, repenting of racial ‘privilege’, and LGBTQ+ rights. McLaughlin is an authority on this last topic, as she claims to have been sexually attracted to women since her earliest days. She gives no mention of repentance, sin, or even change. In fact, McLaughlin regularly boasts before large audiences of the desires that God calls vile affections (Rom. 1:26), while rigorously avoiding God’s words. You will not hear her speak of evil desire, sinful passion, impure lust, dishonorable passion, or a debased mind (Col. 3:5, Rom. 7:5, Rom. 1:24–26, Rom. 1:28). McLaughlin prefers the terms “Same Sex Attraction” and “messy”.
Rebecca McLaughlin is one of the many “SSA” (Same Sex Attracted) spokespersons that represent The Gospel Coalition. They push the message that the inclination to “Same Sex Attractions” is very possibly inborn and come upon a person unsought from their early years. They tell us SSA attractions are a “cross” God gives some believers to carry, and not in and of themselves sinful. These “attractions” afflict a group that has been deeply oppressed by the Evangelical church until now. Moreover, the gospel does not necessarily call anyone to become heterosexual—because “reparative therapy is the prosperity gospel.”
For similar summaries of these talking points from varying TGC SSA spokespersons see this from TGC, this from Living Out, this from Desiring God, and this from the ERLC. The trend is as pervasive as it is perverse.
Rebecca McLaughlin’s presentation at this event was identical to the one she gave at TGC’s conference last spring. Her book can be purchased at Albert Mohler’s Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Bookstore—platformed on a top shelf.
During the question and answer session of the event, not surprisingly, the majority of the questions centered on LGBTQ concerns. Rebecca spilled many words (none of them from the Bible). Here are some of the highlights.
Vile Affections or a Unique Victim Group?
Emcee: “What are some of the ways you’ve shared the gospel with the LGBTQ community that have been helpful?”
McLaughlin: “The LGBTQ community is concerned, rightly, about those on the margins, and those that are being marginalized by society. Why do we care about people on the margins? Because Jesus told us to. Why do we care about racial diversity? Because Jesus told us to.”
Notice how quickly McLaughlin establishes a victim mentality for those who engage in this pattern of depravity and irrationally connects their plight to race.
McLaughlin: “We need to find those in our midst who have the credibility to speak on these questions, so friends who have really made some big sacrifices because of their faith on these issues and who can’t be dismissed as homophobic bigots because this is their lived experience.”
Note: If the above criteria is true, neither Jesus nor any prophet or apostle can credibly speak on this issue. And yet the Bible speaks, quite directly. Why does McLaughlin not mention what it says? Maybe it has something to do with how McLaughlin ended her speech:
“We must repent of the actual homophobia we have allowed to thrive in our churches for years.”
The New Normal
Emcee: “What are some of ways church can support our brothers and sisters who have same sex or bisexual attraction?”
Rebecca McLaughlin: “Rather than assuming everyone in the room is straightforwardly straight, assume that is not the case… research seems to suggest that, say 14% of women experience same sex attraction-and you have 100 people in the room… 7 of those women experience same sex attraction. So I think we need to say that this is something that is a part of my community.”
Able to Leap Categories at a Single Bound
Next Rebecca McLaughlin expounded on her belief that the Bible “Commands same-sex intimacy at a level seldom reached.”
McLaughlin: “I think we need to live into the biblical ideals of Christian community, which as I said earlier are embarrassingly intimate. I mean, imagine if Tim talked about being among you guys as a breast-feeding mother, you’d be like ugh, that’s a bit weird, like… breastfeeding is a very, like, intimate thing. But that is how Paul describes being with his people.”
“I think I probably have far more love for my close female friends than the average woman in a lesbian relationship, quite frankly. We need to do all the love stuff the Bible calls us to do.”
If you take time to watch the video, you will see the Emcee’s speechless embarrassment at these confused statements. After moments of stunned silence the emcee says “Okaaaaaaay…”, the audience nervously laughs, and Rebecca offers to give the emcee a hug. These offers are prudently declined.
Of Course She Was Going to Go There
Emcee: “How would you approach a friend who believes they can choose their own gender, male, female, or whatever else they prefer?
Rebecca McLaughlin: “I am just starting to get very interested in trans-gender thinking… Recognize that for some people this is a deep part of their human experience, and It’s easy for us who have never experienced gender dysphoria to be dismissive. I think that’s a very unchristian approach.”
Sometimes it helps to see things in black and white. It is shocking to realize how low TGC has sunk. Yet, far from this being an extreme event with no impact on other Bible-believing churches, it must be noted again that Rebecca McLaughlin is a spokesperson for a “Same Sex Attracted” movement with many tentacles. Being a TGC and ERLC spokesperson, she speaks for Albert Mohler, Ligon Duncan, Russell Moore (who promotes her frequently), her fellow Same Sex Atteacted authorities at The Gospel Coalition, and any church that encourages the sheep to wander into these poisoned pastures.
Here’s a good question to evaluate how deep the SSA movement has made inroads into your own church: What would cause more offense in your church-Using the term “vile affections” or saying someone is a “sacrificing, godly, Same Sex Attracted Christian.”
“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 1:7).”
“And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 1:23).
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11).
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