by Al Mohler
Western society is currently
experiencing what can only be described as a moral revolution. Our
society’s moral code and collective ethical evaluation on a particular
issue has undergone not small adjustments but a complete reversal. That
which was once condemned is now celebrated, and the refusal to celebrate
is now condemned.
What makes the current moral and sexual revolution so different from
previous moral revolutions is that it is taking place at an utterly
unprecedented velocity. Previous generations experienced moral
revolutions over decades, even centuries. This current revolution is
happening at warp speed.
As the church responds to this revolution, we must remember that
current debates on sexuality present to the church a crisis that is
irreducibly and inescapably theological. This crisis is tantamount to
the type of theological crisis that Gnosticism presented to the early
church or that Pelagianism presented to the church in the time of
Augustine. In other words, the crisis of sexuality challenges the
church’s understanding of the gospel, sin, salvation, and
sanctification. Advocates of the new sexuality demand a complete
rewriting of Scripture’s metanarrative, a complete reordering of
theology, and a fundamental change to how we think about the church’s
ministry.
IS “TRANSGENDER” IN THE CONCORDANCE?
Proof-texting is the first reflex of conservative Protestants seeking
a strategy of theological retrieval and restatement. This hermeneutical
reflex comes naturally to evangelical Christians because we believe the
Bible to be the inerrant and infallible word of God. We understand
that, as B.B. Warfield said, “When Scripture speaks, God speaks.” I
should make clear that this reflex is not entirely wrong, but it’s not
entirely right either. It’s not entirely wrong because certain
Scriptures (that is, “proof texts”) speak to specific issues in a direct
and identifiable way.