Lauren Daigle and homosexuality: Why we should all be prepared to answer the question

Christian Post ^ | 12/14/2018 | By John Stonestreet and G. Shane Morris

[SeekAndFind]

When yet another Christian celebrity fails to give a straight answer on a hot-button moral issue, it reveals a deeper problem.

Back in September, an article in Rolling Stone announced, “A Christian Singer is Bigger than Drake and Arianna Grande this Week.” That singer is Lauren Daigle, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter whose brilliant voice, soulful style, and hope-filled lyrics has won fans well beyond the Contemporary Christian genre. She’s becoming a regular on talk shows and in national publications, and has officially earned the coveted status of “crossover artist” at just 27 years old.

But with broader appeal comes a challenge: maintaining one’s identity, not as a “Christian singer,” but as a Christian. Sadly, it’s a challenge many Christian celebrities have struggled to handle.

Last week during an interview with iHeart radio, Daigle was asked, given her recent appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show, whether she believes homosexuality is a sin.

“I can’t honestly answer that,” Daigle replied. “I have too many people that I love, and they are homosexuals.”

She went on to explain that since she’s not God, she can’t say one way or another. Instead, people should just “read the Bible and find out” for themselves.

Now let me say from the beginning here I understand how hard this high-pressure situation can be. For a young woman like Daigle with a skyrocketing career, calling homosexuality a sin in a public forum could mean closing a lot of doors and alienating a lot of fans. There’s a real cost that comes with taking a stand for the Christian view of sex and marriage. Deciding to pay that price in a split second with a microphone shoved in your face is something better-trained theologians and pastors have failed to do.

But this whole story reveals something else—the deep crisis of authority plaguing evangelicalism right now. First, we should be past the point of answering this question, because the Christian view of sex and marriage should be so clear and our commitment to it should be so well-known by now that there should be no longer any point in asking the question!

The reason it still comes up is that too many evangelicals, like mainline Protestant liberals before them, have sounded an uncertain note on this topic. I’m not just talking about those very few pastors and writers who’ve reinvented their faith to accommodate LGBT theology. I’m talking about the epidemic fear to even broach the topic in so many evangelical churches and ministries, and how we’ve avoided the topic especially with our young people, instead wrongly catechizing them to look to their emotions for truth instead.

Neither the Bible nor nearly two millennia of Christian teaching are at any level ambiguous about homosexual behavior. Numerous passages in the Old and New Testaments condemn it, along with any sexual behavior outside of God’s good design for marriage between a man and a woman. No one in Christian history ever doubted this until about five minutes ago. There is no room for disagreement on the point.

For Daigle or any other Christian for that matter to publicly say, “I don’t know whether homosexuality is a sin” is like saying “I don’t know whether stealing or worshipping false gods are sins.”

And that brings up a second angle on the church-wide authority problem we face. When theological training is de-prioritized and even avoided, then our celebrities become our experts. Yes, Daigle should know better. But we should know better than to hold celebrities up as theological authorities.

And finally, we need to ask ourselves: How would we respond in Lauren Daigle’s situation? You might think, well, I’m not a celebrity. But it’s not just celebrities that will be faced with this question in awkward situations.

What will you say when someone with the power to seriously damage your career asks you what you think about a culturally popular sin? For that matter, what will you say at Christmas dinner when that one relative—maybe a relative who identifies as gay—asks you the same question?

There are no easy answers in that moment. But that doesn’t mean there are no right answers.

Come to BreakPoint.org and click on this commentary, and we’ll link you to some resources that will help you answer this tough question boldly and lovingly, no matter who’s asking.

[SeekAndFind]

Lauren Daigle made her The Ellen Show debut and took the stage with her song, "Still Rolling Stones" from her album, "Look Up Child," Oct 24, 2018

Resources

Lauren Daigle on homosexuality: I can't say one way or the other if it’s a sin, ‘I’m not God’, Charity Gibson | Christian Post | December 1, 2018

BreakPoint: When LGBT Families Come to Church, John Stonestreet | BreakPoint.org | September 10, 2018

Why Some Christians Embrace LGBT Theology, John Stonestreet | BreakPoint.org | July 25, 2018

Are Sex and Marriage Issues of Orthodoxy? John Stonestreet | BreakPoint.org | August 21, 2017

Sometimes A Question is Better than an Answer Winsome Conversations about Tough Topics, John Stonestreet | BreakPoint.org | May 17, 2016

Same-Sex Marriage: A Thoughtful Approach to God's Design for Marriage, John Stonestreet and Sean McDowell | Baker Books | 2014

Originally posted at Breakpoint.

From BreakPoint. Reprinted with the permission of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. "BreakPoint®" and "The Colson Center for Christian Worldview®" are registered trademarks of The Colson Center for Christian Worldview.

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[G Larry]

Most homosexuals were sexually molested as children.

They seek to normalize their behavior to achieve easier access to MOLEST YOUR CHILDREN!

>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/warrenthrockmorton/2009/06/05/a-major-study-of-child-abuse-and-homosexuality-revisited/<

On page 37, the other relevant result relates to men.

The 13th research question addressed, of homosexual men who have been molested, what percentage were molested before self-identification as homosexual men, and what percentage were molested after self-identification as homosexual? Of homosexual men who were molested, 68% were molested before self-identification as homosexual, and 32% were molested after self-identification as homosexual.

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q6pDGNQw3I<

The Left's Push For Pedophile Acceptance

[JudyinCanada]

That question is only asked of Christians so that they can immediately be called bigots and haters. There’s no other reason to ask it. My response is:

It makes no difference what either of us thinks. God made the call years ago - your argument is with Him. Good luck with that.

[Alberta's Child]

What a waste of time. Unless a so-called “Christian” is willing to tell Ellen Degenerate to her face that she’s a depraved mutant freak, there’s absolutely no reason to be on her show at all.

[CptnObvious]

"No unrighteous person will enter the Kingdom of God" is what we need to say. No sin is allowed by God to enter into heaven. Unless we forsake our sin and put our faith alone upon Jesus Christ's work on the cross, paying for all our sins, there is no hope.

Anyone practicing their sins are on the wrong path.

[bk1000]

Silly question. It is not for us to determine what is or isn’t sinful. It is spelled out in The Bible. Might as well ask if she believes the Bible.

[ConservativeDude]

I don’t disagree with the author generally.

however, I think her answer (read the Bible and find out) is a good one, given the context. She doesn’t owe Ellen any more than that. She was doing the best she can as a person in show business surrounded by gays. I think it’s a mistake for us to demand that she answer ANY of these questions, she’s there (on Ellen) to sing, not to be a Celebrity Authority on Multiple Matters.

Would that other celebrities had the restraint that she had.

All things considered, I think we should applaud her courage for pointing the audience to the Bible. Let God do the heavy lifting through His Word. That’s good advice.

Lauren Daigle’s difficult journey through the world of show business as a Christian is going to be difficult enough without us demanding that she give answers to inappropriate questions to people who are not asking the question in good faith with a view to discussion. They are just trying to trap her, and she has no moral obligation to answer these people like Ellen.

Not to push the comparison too far, but Jesus Himself did not ever (that I can recall) answer pointed questions to Him directly. He always spoke to a greater and deeper truth. Really for OUR benefit. Why did he do that? Lots of reasons, but among them, has to be included the truth that the bad faith questioners had no authority to even ask Him these questions. They were lucky to be in His presence. If they asked Him questions in good faith, He would have given them straight answers. But they didn’t, so He didn’t.

And at the end of the day....”Read the Bible” is a darn good answer.

All things considered, she did the right thing. (In my opinion :)).

[Dilbert San Diego]

I think we all know, that the only acceptable answer to question such as this, is to Proclaim that you are liberal on homosexuality, that you believe in homosexual marriage Etc.

These sorts of questions are traps. Unless you Proclaim how liberal you are you’re going to be condemned.

[SeekAndFind]

If she read the Bible, she would not have said she doesn’t know if the homosexual act is a sin.

[ConservativeDude]

Problem is, that’s basically equivalent to saying that she shouldn’t be in show business.

Maybe that really does have to be the unified answer that Christendom is going to have to ultimately give.

I just don’t think we are there yet, and I think to the extent that over the past 80 years we withdrew from culture (which in America, alas, is really just entertainment) we helped propel the downward spiral.

Just a slightly different take .... :)

[Sgt_Schultze]

The answer is, homosexuality is not a sin. Homosexual ACTS are.

[ConservativeDude]

I agree that the part about she doesn’t know was not good.

[Alberta's Child]

Christians withdrawing from culture did not help propel the downward spiral. I’d suggest that Christians presenting a public face of half-assed “Christianity” just so they can EMBRACE a sh!tty culture has been the real problem here.

[lgjhn23]

“...there’s absolutely no reason to be on her show at all....”
Exactly. She had no business there IF she’s calling herself a Christian.
I liked her music, but now, probably not so much anymore....sad. It appears that she’s in it just for the fame...and the money, of course. I think there was a Judas kinda like that.
We all probably know, or have, friends/family that are homos. Do we still love and care about em? Yeah, we do. Do we think it’s sinful? Yeah, we do. However, It’s THEIR choice to be that way for whatever reasons THEY come up with....not ours. THEY’RE the ones that have to answer to God for their behavior, not us. Our responsibility is to share the Truth. Whether THEY accept it or not, is up to THEM, not us. What I don’t care for is having it forced down my throat as “acceptable”. IF that’s what THEY want to be/do, fine. But don’t expect me to approve, or like, it. It just ain’t gonna happen.

[Bulwyf]

Nice reply Judy, I will use that too, though even then I’m sure liberal heads will explode. My delivery methods are usually done with a touch of max aggression too. The infantry way heh.

[lurk]

The Christian can simply go to the authority of God to make the call. God designed all of this, and we don’t have the right to question Him.

That may make the Christian the target, but really the target is God, whom we won’t ever get to apologize to the offended.

[Alberta's Child]

Put a bunch of random people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds on that show, and have Ellen Degenerate ask them all the same question about whether homosexuality is sinful. The person in the group most likely to give an answer that reflects Christian moral principles would be a Muslim in the group. That's all you need to know about the pathetic state of Christianity today.

[bigbob]

She should have said “I’ve been taught, and I believe that while it’s not my place to judge others, that homosexuality is a sin”.

I.e.- the truth.

[Theo]

It’s really simple. Scripture shows that any sexual activity outside of marriage is sinful. Whether that’s between people of different sexes or the same sex.

[ConservativeDude]

I think 20th century dispensationalism (and even more so, though not as numerically significant, fundamentalism) did urge withdrawal from the culture, quite explicitly and intentionally and I don’t see how that could be helpful.

I think the re-entry of Christians into culture does expose the difficulty that you bring up...doing the half-assed job. But that is where real clarity is needed on the part of every Christian, in every vocation.

And it’s not just show business. Pull up any corporate code of ethics of any meaningfully sized public company, and in it you will find non-discriminatory language for sexual orientation (etc. etc. etc.).

Is it the duty of every Christian to protest the extension of extra-legal (currently...won’t be that way forever) protections to every perversion? In an ideal world, that answer would be “yes, absolutely!”. But I just don’t see how that is workable in today’s world.

But back to your point: an analysis of the cause of the downward spiral is difficult, because causation in history is always difficult, and is open to interpretation.

But I do think that when you have a very significant movement like 20th century dispensationalism (and again, fundamentalism) openly advocating withdrawal and saying, “man the lifeboats!” because it’s all about to end, then I think some blame for the moral vacuum and subsequent decline is appropriate.

It makes me wonder if somehow we could’ve stayed in the days when people like Rock Hudson just did what they did in private and didn’t try to hector the rest of us to applaud. I remember reading how the Reagans, like everyone else, of course “knew”. But they were not called upon to approve, or even disapprove. Rock did his job. RR did his, and so on. And some of the Hollywood luminaries back in the day were Christians, both Protestant and Catholic.

In any event.....