Working Out the Anabaptist View on Same Sex Marriage

Recently Tim Keller has clarified (here) something he said recently regarding the Anabaptist view of legalizing same sex marriage. Scot McKnight agreed with TIm but also took issue with some of Keller’s clarification of the Anabaptist position here. Of course I have been working out what I have been calling an evangelical Anabaptist posture toward the issue of alternative sexualities on this blog for over two years (begin here ). Over against a “Welcoming and Not Affirming” stance or a “Welcoming and Affirming” stance,  I have been proposing a “Welcoming and Mutually Transforming” stance. I have been focused more on missional engagement of the issue as opposed to the church-state relation regarding same sex marriage. I have no doubt that my brothers and sisters in the mainstream Anabaptist traditions are utterly and totally confused by this whole discussion (evangelicals talking anabaptism?). Ahhhh the beauty of God working out theology in space and time when traditions./churches mix. Holsclaw and I sketched out/systematized and expanded my blog posts on the issue plus some course lectures on this issue in chapter 8 of Prodigal Christianity. We give a summary in the video below. Grab the book if you’re looking for a summary your church leadership can examine together.

David Fitch

David Fitch (Ph.D) is a longtime pastor in Chicago, and the B. R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary. He teaches on the issues the local church must face in mission including cultural engagement, leadership, and theology. He's written multiple books, including Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission (2016), and the forthcoming 2024 release, entitled Reckoning With Power: Why the Church Fails When it's on the Wrong Side of Power (Brazos, Jan 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Substack.