Same-sex attraction and friendship in church, with Ed Shaw

How and why the Billy Graham rule fails

This week we speak with church pastor and author Ed Shaw about John’s book on friendship, and in particular how it intersects with those who are same-sex attracted like him. How has the church unintentionally colluded with the sexual revolution in prioritising and idealising marriage, relegating friendship in the process? Why is it so important for celibate, single leaders like Ed to cultivate and sustain an array of deep friendships in church? And how can we ensure this is being done sensibly and accountably, avoiding the potential for abuse and harm that we’ve seen in so many recent evangelical scandals?

Ed is also ministry director of Living Out

Listen to other episodes of Matters of Life and Death or find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Castbox or whatever app you use to subscribe and receive new episodes sent straight to your device.

Tags
Most read posts
What can we learn from how the early church lived out their faith during their own pandemics?
How are young people different to those who came before, and what can we learn from them?
Navigating the transitions of later life
This Bill is the wrong approach - there is a better way to give individuals and their families dignity at the end of life
Living faithfully as we approach retirement, dependence, dementia and death
Recent posts
Expressive individualism meets simulated personhood
These verses act for many pro-life Christians as the cornerstone of their theology
There's been a rash of reports that people who spend too long with ChatGPT are ending up mentally ill, or even suicidal
The ethics of why some religious groups (let alone swathes of Americans) cut their sons' foreskins off are surprisingly complicated
Theological and medical responses to assisted dying