The Weekly Speak: God and Sexuality, Moleskines, and Parenting Stress
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For a long time, Richard Hays was a go-to biblical scholar on same-sex marriage. His chapter in Moral Vision of the New Testament was one of the most academically rigorous, compassionate, and clear statements for biblical orthodoxy on sexuality and biblical practice for those who identified as same-sex attracted.
But now things have changed. Hays and his son Christopher, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, have released a book titled The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality within the Biblical Story, in which they argue that God has changed his mind on sexuality.
McLaughlin offers a staggering critique; “Readers might expect to find that Hays has changed his mind about the meaning of the verses that apparently prohibit same-sex sex. But he hasn’t. Instead, he and his son, Christopher (an Old Testament professor at Fuller Theological Seminary), suggest God has changed his mind. If we read the Bible carefully, they argue, we’ll find that ‘God repeatedly changes his mind in ways that expand the sphere of his love’ (2). In light of this, the Hayses ‘conclude that many religious conservatives, however well-intentioned, are wrong about the most essential point of theology: the character of God’ (2).”
Instead of putting forward an exegetical argument - as you might expect from someone with Hays’s track record - or even a novel take on the topic - as might come from someone at Fuller Seminary - the two Hays offer an old and often defeated version of process theology, with a dose of chronological snobbery.
The argument goes like this. God changes his mind. If you look at the Old Testament, a pattern emerges of God developing with the times. He tries things and learns from his mistakes. He develops as time goes on, growing alongside his creation. He decides that Adam and Eve won’t really die when they eat the fruit. He regrets his decision to flood the world. He remembers his people in Egypt. And so on.
One of the big arguments that always accompanies process theology is about the Gentiles. God changed his mind during Jesus’s ministry and shortly after to include the Gentiles. And if he could do that, then, why not LGBTQ people now?
The timing is awfully convenient for all of this. It’s not that people were arguing this in the Middle Ages when it would have cut against the grain. No one was arguing this before the sexual revolution. It’s only now, when the historic biblical position on gender and sexuality has become so out of fashion that scholars are making these arguments.
McLaughlin goes through the biblical arguments line by line. What’s even more interesting - and unexpected - about their argument is that they do not renounce the arguments Richard Hays made in Moral Vision. They simply move past them. At least the older Hays does believe that the New Testament prohibits sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage, but they believe God has changed his mind.
This argument differs from those who have attempted to reinterpret these texts to say something other than what they seem to say. For example, Paul is only referring to pederasty when he condemns homosexuality, or the New Testament is not referring to lifelong, loving same-sex unions, or the like. But these are the very arguments Hays defeated thirty years ago.
Instead, they’ve taken the route that scholars like Luke Timothy Johnson pioneered; the Bible is clear about sexuality, but we now know better.
McLaughlin rightly argues that this is not simply a book about ethics; it’s about the very center of the gospel. “The authors write, ‘We believe that welcoming people of different sexualities is an act of faithfulness to God’s merciful promises. Let’s not make God’s offer of grace a lie’ (221). But while God’s grace is universally available to any who repent and trust in Jesus, we must repent. Ultimately, it’s the Hayses who are deceiving people when it comes to God’s offer.”
Preston Sprinkle, often more inclusive than the Gospel Coalition crowd, comes to a similar conclusion; “I have to admit, the scholarly side of me was excited when this book was first announced. Some Christians immediately trashed the book on social media—something no thoughtful Christian should ever do with books they haven’t read—but I was genuinely excited to read it. Richard is a brilliant scholar (I wasn’t familiar with Christopher’s work), and his article on Romans 1 in particular, was one of the most thorough and exegetically responsible treatments of this tough passage. I was deeply curious how he was going to refute his previous argument. I also wondered if The Widening of God’s Mercy would tease out a fresh argument for same-sex marriage that hadn’t yet been made.
To my surprise, the book did neither. Instead, it simply repackaged an old trajectory argument to make a questionable logical leap: since God welcomes foreigners, eunuchs, tax collectors, and sinners, therefore sex difference is no longer part of what marriage is.”
Sadly, this is another round of a tired argument. And unfortunately, some will latch onto it simply because someone with the pedigree of Richard Hays chose to make it. But of course, it’s not who makes the argument, it’s what Scripture says. Both McLaughlin and Sprinkle have shown that the Scripture teaches something very different than what can be found in The Widening of God’s Mercy. God’s mercy is as wide as it can be; open to all who will repent and trust in his Son. On that, he will never change his mind.
Parenting is difficult; nothing new there. But why is it so difficult? Erica Komistar packs a lot of wisdom into this short article. Many outside factors make parenting difficult in 2024, but we should focus on the self-imposed difficulties. Certain lifestyle factors, expectations, and attitudes add stress to the home and can be eliminated. Small shifts in our mindsets can make a huge difference, for us and our kids.
“Children do not need perfect parents, perfect scores, or a perfect path to a perfect future. They don’t need fancy schools, expensive vacations, or a larger house. What they need are parents who are physically and emotionally present, relaxed, and unconflicted about where they should be. They need parents who feel joy in being with them rather than obligation and fatigue. Even when many parents are with their children today, they are not fully present due to technology, concerns over work commitments, or exhaustion from trying to do it all.”
“We have bought into the myth that we don’t have to sacrifice anything to raise healthy children and to be healthy ourselves. To flourish, children need healthy parents, and, as the saying goes, a parent is only as happy as their least happy child. So maybe it’s time to take a step back and take a good long look at what we are doing to ourselves with our do-everything, have-everything parenting styles. Instead, we should focus on being with those we love, even if we must live a smaller life when raising small children.”
“Why had Chatwin become so attached to this particular model that he would order a hundred rather than risk running out? How could such a utilitarian object assume such importance? Then it struck her that she might have hit upon a solution to Franceschi’s challenge—a simple product, easy to manufacture, appealing to creatives and imparting promises of travel, of glamour, of discovery.”
Some analog products have weathered the digital age; few have conquered it. Moleskine notebooks are among the rare victors. Moleskine notebooks and Palm Pilots launched in the same year. Who’s the dinosaur? A rep from Barnes and Noble said there are some people who buy a new one every time they come into the store. What do they do with them?
For many, Moleskines offer a promise of a different way of life. A work of astonishing marketing genius, these simple notebooks offer a vision of the tactile, thoughtful, observant way the world used to be - or at least ought to be. “Discreetly minimal it may seem, but the whole package is as shot through with brand messaging as anything labelled Nike, Mercedes, or Apple—and, like the best cues, the messaging works on a subconscious level.”
A lover of Moleskines myself, I take them as a parable for our time. Marketed as replicas of the notebooks used by Chatwin, Hemingway, and Matisse, they draw out the life of contemplation, a return to simplicity. Become a flaneur. Write what you see. Slow down and be present. That’s one reason why Moleskines outsell notebooks made in the same factories in China that sell for half the price.
The opening run of notebooks sold like wildfire. “Modo & Modo ordered the initial production run of 3,000 notebooks in 1997, and the new Moleskine first went on sale in Milan, in a small bookshop on the Corso Buenos Aires. It sold through its consignment in days. Avoiding traditional stationers, the company targeted design retailers and bookstores: the strategy worked, and in 1998, they sold 30,000 notebooks. From 1999, they used their existing networks to distribute around Europe and then across the Atlantic. Within ten years, the American chain bookseller Barnes & Noble had become the brand’s largest retail partner. Just as Franceschi had hoped, the high profit margins transformed Modo & Modo’s fortunes. In 2006, a private equity firm bought him out, and sales continued to grow.”
As the world grows more digital by the day, Moleskines continue to sell. More power to them; the vision they offer is good for us. Now, off to buy a new notebook.
The Church of England is considering dropping “church” from its name. “Not since Prince became Squiggle has there been such a daft revision,” Giles Fraser writes.
In a sense, this is the logical end of the “seeker-sensitive” movement in the church. If you spend enough time catering to what unbelievers want, sooner or later, you’ll find out that they really don’t want church at all.
Of course, the Church of England has been and always will be a difficult institution to maintain. Fraser argues the English church has always been an uneasy marriage between Catholicism and Protestantism, not unlike Henry and Catherine. But this new season of turmoil - attempting to find its place in the 21st Century - will be instructive to watch.
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Dr. Cole Feix is the founder and president of So We Speak and the Senior Pastor of Carlton Landing Community Church in Oklahoma.
