LGBTQ+
Harm Should Be the Metric for Inclusion
LGBTQ-inclusion is not relativism
When I was growing up in America in the 1990s, living together before marriage was severely frowned upon by most Christians. I’m talking conservative, progressive, catholic, protestant, all stripes. Then rent got really expensive, and surprisingly fast, most Christians around me accepted their young adult children shacking up.
According to sociologist David Ayers, a 2019 Pew Research Study found that 58% of white Evangelicals approve of cohabitating if a couple plans to marry, and 59% of Evangelicals aged 18–29 agree with the morality of cohabitation even if the couple expresses no intention of marrying.
My former pastor’s daughter and her boyfriend lived together without being married while he pastored our church. A pastor who did that a couple of generations ago would’ve been accused of condoning sin and ran out of town. Now, he pastors a different church and, I’ve heard, opposes LGBTQ inclusion.
The son of our VBS coordinator recently moved across the country to live with his girlfriend. They’re in their late 30s. You do the math. But the event coordinator isn’t upset about them living together unmarried and having sex; she’s angry her son moved so far away. She’s also leaving our church because it might…
