It is hopeless and joy-robbing to tell someone this is who you are, just don’t do this. To a “gay person” telling them NOT to live out who they are at the core of what they believe their existence is, is to tell them not to be human. It’s irrational. It’s hopeless. It’s incoherent to them.  That is soul crushing and joy robbing and amounts to legalism. As if Christ simply wants us to behave and doesn’t care about a heart change.   And it’s unbiblical.  The Scriptures know of no core category of personhood based on sexual desire.

Note: We as a Church need to readily admit that people who have identified as gay or admitted that they struggle with Same-Sex Attraction (SSA) have been mistreated in horrendous ways in and by the Church.  As a Christian, that grieves me. My intent in writing this article is not to add to that hurt but to provide clarity.  In that,  I write this out of a heart of love for the many people I know and am friends with who experience this struggle.  There is real hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for people with this struggle.  However, Side B Gay Christianity is not the answer. 

For most people Side-B Gay Christianity (also Side-B Christianity) is a new term, and it is one that should be shocking and concerning.  That a “brand” of Christianity would be categorized based on sexuality is antithetical to what Christianity is.[1]  But to those of us familiar with these debates it comes as no surprise at all.  Once a group creates another category of personhood and being, it is only natural to apply that grid to all of life and every other societal structure.

What is Side B Gay Christianity?

As succinctly as possible, I’ll briefly and loosely define two terms.

Side-A Gay Christianity, observing that there was very little success in people actually changing “orientation,” teaches that it is permissible and good for “gay people” to be in same-sex marriages and therefore sexual relationships because that is who they are. They view the Scripture’s prohibitions on homosexual behavior [2] not to apply to committed same-sex relationships.

Side-B Gay Christianity, recognizing that Side-A is not faithful to the Scriptures, says that while “being gay” or having a “gay orientation,” is a valid category of personhood and identity, Scripture clearly forbids the acting out of those desires. They advocate for a “gay but celibate” way of life.

So what is the Problem?

On the surface the Side-B option seems to be a good. They do after all uphold the Biblical Sexual ethic as sex being limited to 1 man and 1 woman within the bounds of marriage. That’s good, right?  Well, in a legalistic way, yes.  But that isn’t the whole story.  The Side-B position has a false view of anthropology (man) and ontology (being) and this often leads to a false eschatology (end times view of our glorification). In that, this is a Theological issue.

While there are a range of troubling and sinful beliefs that fall under the Side-B umbrella [3], one thing is consistent. Sexuality becomes a category of personhood and being.  It’s as if they have created a 3^rd type of human. There are straight natural born males and straight natural born females and then LGBTQ humans.  Or perhaps they have 2 categories of personhood straight people and LGBTQ people.  Really that doesn’t adequately express it and indeed nothing can which is why there is no end to the gender-sexuality combinations in society and psychology.

Read More

[1] Rev. Albert Mohler highlights the issues with Side-B Gay Christianity and Revoice Theology

[2] Bible Verses Prohibiting Homosexual Behavior: Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:10

[3] Here is an article highlighting in a positive light the troubling beliefs of Side B Gay Christianity, including it being a gift,  a God-given identity, aiding being able to see beauty, providing a beneficial outlook on aesthetics, culture, and worldview, its own community, and aiding in spiritual (romantic yet celibate) relationships among other things.