Life

Marriage and Family Existed before All Time

April 14, 2019 by wagraham 1 Comment

Christians often maintain that marriage and family constitute foundations for society. From a biblical point of view, the argument goes like this. God created humanity. He instituted marriage through Adam and Eve. And through marriage, God founds the institution of the family that make up the backbone of society.

While true, this summary omits key realities that lie behind the two institutions. It tells us of the history of marriage and family but not the thing to which these institutions point nor their origin. Marriage and family are not originally human institutions. They belong to God by essence (family) and by promise (marriage) from before all time.

Families have their origin in the Father. Since he is Father, we have families (Eph 3:15). And the idea of marriage existed before the world’s founding because God promised to marry divinity to humanity in Christ and by the Spirit before the world’s foundation (Eph 5).

Here is what I mean.

[Read more…]

When Does Temptation Become Sin?

April 13, 2019 by wagraham 1 Comment

In John Owen’s well-known work on sin and temptation, he defines two kinds of temptation: ones that come from without and others that come from within (Works, 6:194). The first kind of temptation works like this. I am hungry. And someone offers me stolen food. This temptation comes from without and is morally neutral.

The second kind of temptation works like this. From within me, I propose a desire to steal food for the pleasure of eating. According to Owen, “the very proposal from within, it being the soul’s own act, is its sin” (Works, 6:194).

Although this taxonomy of temptation may seem overly detailed, it becomes important when we ask the question: when does temptation become sinful? Or more specifically, when does sexual or romantic desire become sinful?

[Read more…]

What Is The Disagreement on Same-Sex Attraction about?

April 11, 2019 by wagraham 3 Comments

Evangelical Christians are currently debating how to think about same-sex orientation. Within this debate, one particular subject has come to the front: same-sex attraction (SSA). There are at least four different positions:

First, some define SSA as sexual desire and therefore always sinful (Burk, Lambert, Strachan).
Second, others see SSA as a pattern of temptation, which should be resisted (Allberry, Shaw, Butterfield with some nuance).
Third, another group defines SSA as a condition that can be transformed into something good (Hill, Collins).
Fourth and lastly, one group affirms the goodness of gay identity (Vines).

Of these four views, the first three views overlap so much that it would be helpful to define each of these positions to understand where and why they differ.

[Read more…]

3 Clarifications on Desire and Same-sex Attraction

March 28, 2019 by wagraham 2 Comments

Recently, I wrote an article concerning both desire and same-sex attraction. The idea for the article came by way of reading Maximos the Confessor (d. 7th ce) on the topic of desire. In the article, I also discussed the NT’s use of the nouns desire and passion. What I did not realize was that a number of articles had been released recently online on similar topics.

In light of this, my article was (likely) understood to be engaging with this online debate. It was not. So I want to clarify three of the phrases and ideas that I had used to avoid further misunderstanding.

[Read more…]

The End of Discernment?

March 18, 2019 by wagraham 12 Comments

Discernment bloggers have contributed to the end of discernment because they have damaged the reputation of the idea itself. In today’s climate, we almost cannot engage in true discernment without being associated with cynical and pugnacious modes of argument.

[Read more…]

Should I Start a Blog Or Write for Edited Websites?

March 15, 2019 by wagraham 6 Comments

Are personal blogs dead? And are edited ministry websites like Desiring God or The Gospel Coalition the only way forward? We might be tempted to the issue an either-or matter when in reality it’s not. Personal blogs and edited websites have different and complementary purposes.

I have a column at TGC Canada and a personal blog. I do different things on each platform for different reasons. If you are asking the question of whether you should start a blog or write for an edited site, I’d recommend doing both if possible. If not possible, then consider the following purposes for each kind of platform to figure out which fits best for you.

[Read more…]