Proclaimer Blog
Why the fault line isn’t sex
This article in last week's Independent is alarming if not surprising. I was pointed towards it by a friend who was similarly alarmed. It reflects a two pronged challenge to orthodoxy:
- the challenge to the moniker evangelical which we all know is understood more broadly in the world than it deserves to be. Clearly the breadth is growing.
- the challenge to biblical standards on sexuality. Again, no surprise. Those who have been watching the scene carefully will know that Tony Campolo, once doyen of evangelicals, is leading the charge.
As I say, alarming, but not surprising. The danger of course is that people think we conservatives have become a one issue party. Evangelicals are obsessed with sex. There's a danger that might become true. But of course, that is not the fault line. The fault line is the Bible, properly understood. It so happens that in the hedonistic world in which we live, this fault line is seen most obviously in the church's position on sexuality, but it could equally be seen in a number of different areas. Preachers need to work hard in their preaching to communicate this important truth – our fault lines are drawn for us because our primary fault line is Scripture itself.
There will always be a danger of being misheard on this. But if there must be an error, let it be with those who mishear rather than with those of us who speak.