The LGBTQ conversation is a widespread topic, and Sean McDowell talks about it many places with many people. In an interview streamed on his Youtube channel, McDowell talks to Rachel Gilson about her book “Born Again This Way”. She talks about her journey to Jesus and her struggles with same sex attraction, as well as gives some insights into the LGBTQ community in relation to Christian teachings.

Summary

Below is my brief summary of the video. I didn’t include everything they discussed, but summarized the parts that stood out to me.

The prohibition of same sex relationships

She describes the story of Adam and Eve, focusing on the prohibition of the fruit. If the prohibition was something more obvious, like murder, it would have been a no brainer to follow, as we know it is wrong. But, because it was something that seemed so harmless, it makes us as humans wonder why we weren’t allowed to eat it. The point she comes to is that we have to trust in God. We have every reason to believe that He is for us, and says this is the same faith we need for the prohibition of same sex relationships.

The Church and same sex attraction

She says the conversation with those struggling with same sex attraction has to start with who God is, and the fact that marriage shows the relationship between God and his people. Next, she elaborates on ways the church can do better to help these people. In giving her testimony, she clarifies that she has no power to not be attracted to the same sex. However, she explains that it is her job not to indulge those temptations. As with straight people, we are all called to be either faithfully single or faithfully married. The church needs to do better to help single people, regardless of their sexual attraction.

Division within the Church

Another difficulty she mentions is that these points are often more complicated to debate with affirming Christians, as they tend to disagree on what the Gospel says. In the affirming view, they believe they should be free to follow their desires, but Gilson says that true freedom is found in Jesus. She asks what joy really means, and points out the obsession with American culture on romantic relationships as the paramount way to find connection with others. She ends by encouraging people to ask about their friends struggles. Instead of shying away from them, help those who struggle with these confusing and challenging issues as best as you can.

Reflection

I thoroughly enjoyed this interview, as it was insightful and succinct, and brought a lot of great points to light from a same sex attracted person’s point of view. Sean McDowell has a lot of these sorts of discussions on his channel, where people who have experienced or researched a topic in depth come on and give a brief insight to the subject they’ve studied.

What I took away most from this interview was the reality that we are all called to be faithfully married or faithfully single, regardless of our sexual attraction. Her point of view on how to help those who struggle with this was insightful to me. I’ve realized it is this same caring attitude that can help friends who struggle with other things, as well. Overall, I learned quite a few things from this video, and I plan to (eventually) read her book and find out more on what she has to say.