Wheaton College is featuring a pro-homosexual activist as a featured speaker at its Center for Applied Christian Ethics.
Wheaton first came under fire for inviting self-proclaimed "gay Christian" activist Harry Knox to participate in a panel discussion during which he repeated the claim that his sexual preference is a "gift from God." This evening Wheaton will feature Jim Wallis, editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine and author of the new book The Great Awakening, in which Wallis claims the effort to legitimize homosexual relationships in the law is "a justice issue."
I don't agree with Wallis at all. We have had him on the show. In fact, many of the people who endorse his book (Bill Hybels, Joel Hunter & E.J. Dionne) have been or will be on the show soon.
While I believe both sides need to be respectfully represented, running away from the conversation solves nothing. We as Christians need to be able to enter the arena of ideas, articulate what we believe and why we believe it. We also need to learn how to listen to others and compassionately defend our faith. The best way to prove a person wrong is to let them do it themselves.
We live in country filled with a mix of ideas, beliefs and life choices. If everyone agreed with me life would be boring. It is the challenges to our faith and understanding that either solidify our foundation or causes us to reconsider.
Do you know why I am stronger in my Roman Catholic belief today then at any other point in my life? It's not because of a priest or a nun. It wasn't the years of CCD. It was not some magical conversion. It was challenges by protestant evangelicals that reject the Catholic Church teachings.
For a long time I could not defend my faith or my Church. It took a period of serious reflection and study and understanding before I chose to defend what has been revealed as truth to me.
I'm not defending Jim Wallis or his ideas. However, I will defend his right to have the conversation and present his views.
Many us fear that ideas, music, movies, anything outside our comfort zone will somehow infect us and change us. At the same time we hope the gospel will have a similar effect on others. If you think you can change my mind, go for it. I'd rather be challenged then live life with my fingers in my ears.
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