What is an interlude? 

Some define it as an “intervening period of time” or “something done during an interval.”  I would call it a recess, a pause, a respite or a halt.  In Preston Sprinkle’s book People to be Loved:  Why Homosexuality is Not Just an Issue, he has a section titled “Interlude” that occurs before his final three chapters and his afterword. 

Sprinkle is getting to the point in his book where he is summarizing why homosexuals deserve to be loved as people, not scorned because they are “merciless sinners”. 

As a writer, commenting on what are called “affirming positions” regarding homosexuality and the church, I have tried to explain all the reasons why Christians should accept homosexuals in the church without reservations.*  As a writer commenting on what are called “non-affirming positions” regarding homosexuality and the church I have tried to explain all the reasons why Christians should not accept homosexuals in the church.** As I get near the end of my comments on these positions and conclude with an author who tries to bridge the gap between affirming and non-affirming, maybe I need an interlude too.

Sprinkle begins his “Interlude” with his damnation of people who misuse wealth.  That’s unusual because I thought his topic was homosexuality but he is trying to make a point.  The Bible has lots to say about the role of wealth in the Christian’s life but it has a lot less to say about homosexuality.  Yet today the “sins” of the LGBTQ+ community are at the forefront as we turn our heads away from considering other sins [e.g. misuse of wealth].  “When overfed and overpaid straight Christians condemn gay people while they neglect the poor, stockpile wealth, and indulge in luxurious living, they stand on the wrong side of Jesus’s debates with the Pharisees…let’s make sure we are on the hunt to slaughter all types of sins, especially those in our own lives” [121]. 

He begins his “Interlude” with a challenge akin to the Matthew 7: 3-5; should we attend to the speck in someone else’s eye while ignoring the larger issue in your own?  Let us not be hypocrites.

He then summarizes the arguments for the non-affirming position, from Genesis and Eve’s female nature being a prerequisite for her marriage to Adam to the more technical discussion of malakoi and arsenokoites [see St. John Studies, November 3, 2024].  There are eight arguments in all that he mentioned.  Not only has he discussed these positions but Kevin DeYoung has also spent time on them.  He adds a ninth argument that has not been previously mentioned but it is very important.  “For two thousand years, orthodox Christianity has believed that marriage is between a man and a woman and that such sexual difference is necessary” [123].  Sprinkle is not opposed to overturning tradition but he states “it would take a rather earth-shattering series of arguments to overturn such well-established tradition” [123].

Have there been “earth shattering arguments” to overturn the traditional view?  Non-affirming Christians don’t even want to acknowledge the strength of affirming arguments but not to do this is “intellectually naïve and biblically anemic.”

Sprinkle lists three.  First when the Bible lays out a position on heterosexual marriage, it does not even mention homosexual relations.  Maybe that means that God designed marriage to be between a man and a woman but maybe not.  Sprinkle acknowledges that this Scripture needs to be used “with caution” before it becomes a foundation for Christians who are non-affirming.

Secondly, Paul’s comments in Romans 1 are using big ideas and broad concepts.  Do his condemning thoughts about excessive lust apply to all same-sex relations?  Maybe, maybe not.  Too often non-affirming Christians cite Romans 1 and think Paul’s language is clear when it is not. 

Lastly, same-sex relations did exist in the time of Jesus Christ but Jesus did not comment directly on this behavior.  Maybe Jesus did not feel compelled to comment and after all, history tells us that same-sex behavior in Jesus’ time was “extramarital, exploitative, pederastic or exhibited unhealthy power differences that are deemed immoral by all Christians today” [124].  Affirming Christians find themselves arguing today for the opposite of the same-sex behavior in Jesus’ day:  consensual, monogamous, same-sex unions.

Non-affirming Christians find themselves having to examine arguments they would rather ignore.  That is evident in the ways some non-affirming Christians describe the opposing views.  “Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve” is a poor response to affirming arguments.  “Gay pride is why Sodom fried” is insulting.  Comments like that seem to say that non-affirming Christians could care less about what the Bible really says.  They would rather cast aspersions and say they won the argument.

Finally, the way Jesus behaved is the biggest stumbling block to non-affirming Christians.  Jesus provided a role model of acceptance for all people.  He did not open discussion with people by pointing out their sin; he accepted them and worked to get them to come to the conclusion that there was a better way.  Sprinkle writes of Jesus that He certainly desired for people to live holy lives but He began His relationships with others with love rather than condemnation.

After Sprinkle’s “Interlude” he is ready to conclude his book with three chapters addressing key ideas about homosexuality and the church.  Does God make people gay?  Can a person be gay and Christian at the same time?  With this affirming, non-affirming argument as a background, what does Christian faithfulness look like today? 

Sprinkle is a Bible scholar and pastor.  He admits he is not an expert on all the different fields of study that would help him understand homosexuality but like me and maybe you, he is searching for answers.  He knows that Jesus exhibited love in His life on earth and today, too many Christians fall short in their love for the LGBTQ+ community.  That’s why he titles his book People to Be Loved.  He knows it is “not just an issue.”

*Peter Gomes,  The Good Book

**Kevin DeYoung,  What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?