You Tube Theology

Throwback to 2013, when Dr. James Brownson spoke at the very first Reformation Project conference in Kansas City.

Here, he addresses the common argument that same-sex relationships are wrong because they violate divinely intended "gender complementarity" between male and female.

Of course, male and female exist and are different from one another, but as Brownson explains in this lecture, non-affirming Christians frequently disagree about which differences between men and women should be seen as normative for marital relationships: Is it hierarchy? Procreation? Anatomical complementarity? These forms of complementarity are not the same and, in fact, many non-affirming Christians disagree about them. By appealing to complementarity as a broad category, however, non-affirming Christians often create the impression of greater unanimity than actually exists.

As Brownson explains, it isn't enough to simply state that men and women are complementarity. To make a compelling argument against same-sex relationships, one would need to identify which specific type of complementarity is in view—and then demonstrate how the Bible presents that particular form of complementarity to be universally and exclusively normative for romantic relationships. In his groundbreaking book "Bible, Gender, Sexuality," Brownson argues that Scripture does not, in fact, teach that any particular form of gender complementarity is universally and exclusively normative.

His book has had a significant impact in the church over the past decade, and if you haven't yet seen his lectures from our first conference, you won't want to miss them.

🎥 Watch the full talk on YouTube: youtu.be/k1f0KD-B0Z8
📅 Register for the 2025 conference: reformationproject.org/conference-2025

#ReconcileAndReform #TheReformationProject #OrthodoxAndAffirming #LGBTQChristian #FaithfullyInclusive #AffirmingChurch