No Gag Order
August 22, 2013
Ron Belgau has a very thoughtful post in response to an article over at the Gospel Coalition which argues for the importance of the 'gag reflex' when it comes to debates about sexuality. Belgau's point is sound: taste is no safe basis for arguing for truth.
The normalisation of homosexuality is sad and thus I really do appreciate the Rev. Anyabwile's desire to make sure that we understand its seriousness. The problem with doing that via aesthetics, however, is that aesthetic arguments are often highly subjective; and they can also lead to the trivialisation of some very serious sins (pride, for example) which do not have a gag factor but which are just as abhorrent to God.
French kisses disgust some people, given the germs they can transmit. Sleeping in the same bed is thought by others to be unhygienic. I know one fine Christian who finds the mere idea of any inter-personal genital contact, even between a man and a woman, to be completely nauseating. As I pointed out a few months ago, appeals to 'yuckiness' cloud thinking and should generally be avoided, however much they might appeal in the heat of society's current transformation. It is the world that plays the taste card, and has done so with remarkable success; Christians can and should do better.
The normalisation of homosexuality is sad and thus I really do appreciate the Rev. Anyabwile's desire to make sure that we understand its seriousness. The problem with doing that via aesthetics, however, is that aesthetic arguments are often highly subjective; and they can also lead to the trivialisation of some very serious sins (pride, for example) which do not have a gag factor but which are just as abhorrent to God.
French kisses disgust some people, given the germs they can transmit. Sleeping in the same bed is thought by others to be unhygienic. I know one fine Christian who finds the mere idea of any inter-personal genital contact, even between a man and a woman, to be completely nauseating. As I pointed out a few months ago, appeals to 'yuckiness' cloud thinking and should generally be avoided, however much they might appeal in the heat of society's current transformation. It is the world that plays the taste card, and has done so with remarkable success; Christians can and should do better.
