Many Christians Really Do Prefer to Use Sexual Failures as Role Models As Opposed to Success Stories – The Tullian Tchividjian Come back
I believe I’ve blogged about Tchividjian before – he’s a preacher who has admitted to having a series of affairs (more like CSA, Clergy Sex Abuse). Here as of late, several spiritual abuse blogs have noted that Tchividjian is making a comeback – when he should be permanently retired from the pulpit.
One spiritual abuse blog quoted this from another blog, by Mark Jones (source); I think the entire blog post is worth a read, but this is the most pertinent part for this blog’s purposes:
We can also look at Zahl’s article [about restoring Tchividjian to the pulpit] and come away with an almost shocking revelation, namely, that sin is actually a resume enhancement, not a resume killer. The Scriptures go to great lengths to speak about the personal piety of pastors.
But for Zahl, Tullian is more qualified to preach the gospel, not because of his piety but because of his impiety. This sort of biblical ethic is extremely dangerous, and I would say that Zahl needs to repent for even hinting at this idea.
Let us sin that grace may abound! We will be better preachers (“qualified brilliantly”) when we’ve preyed upon married women, destroyed families, and caused pain to our flock. Think about that for a minute.
(end quote)
I don’t have much more in the way to say about this, as I’ve pointed out before how many to most Christians and churches would rather offer up known and self-professing fornicators as role models as examples for adults and teens to listen to about matters of sexual behavior than adults past the age of 25 who’ve never had sex because they chose to remain celibate until married.
You see this part by Mark Jones?-
….namely, that sin is actually a resume enhancement, not a resume killer. …
But for Zahl, Tullian [sexual sinner] is more qualified to preach the gospel, not because of his piety but because of his impiety. This sort of biblical ethic is extremely dangerous…
And that is exactly how churches treat sexual sin as opposed to adult celibates who have walked the walk. Many Christians act as though someone who slept around a lot but became celibate in their late 20s is some kind of sterling example to parade in front of adults or teen aged kids, so they hold them up as such in blog posts, or invite them to church groups to speak about sexual purity.
Christians get this stuff backwards: not sinning in the first place should be the example (note, you can find this example in Jesus who never sinned), not pointing to the guy who admits he did “x” (fornication or whatever) a billion times in a row by the time he was age 30, but is no longer doing “x.”
I refer you to some of my previous posts on this topic:
Related:
(Link): Past Sin Does Not Make You A Better Spiritual Leader by P Cooke
(Link): Celebrity Deems Herself A Born Again Virgin And Vows to Stay Celibate “For A Year” – Oh Puh-leaze
(Link): Article: Our Born-Again Virgin Bachelor – Secondary or Spiritual Virginity
(Link): “Jesus Didn’t Die to Save My Hymen” Declares An Anti-Sexual Purity Advocate – My Response
(Link): The Contemporary Church Undervalues Celibacy / Virginity
(Link): When Adult Virginity and Adult Celibacy Are Viewed As Inconvenient or As Impediments
Christian Pundit 
Well, of course. Haven’t you read the parable of the Prodigal Son? He gets the fatted calf and a big welcome home while older brother, who stayed home and kept all the rules, got nothing. Instead, he was told to rejoice and so must we.
And who did Jesus condemn the most? Not the sexual sinners but the Pharisees. There is more joy in heaven, He said, over one sinner that repents than 99 righteous people. The moral is clear: don’t waste your time denying yourself and following the rules. That gets you nowhere. Not even in God’s Kingdom. Especially not in God’s Kingdom. Go out, live like the Prodigal Son, sow your wild oats, get it out of your system, and then repent and live soberly ever after. That is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. Don’t be like the Pharisees, don’t be like the older brother; there is no reward in that. That’s for fools and losers. Can’t you see the game is rigged? Jesus as much implies it in his parables.
@ Trailer Park Lady.
I guess that’s one way of looking at it.
I just remember in the Old Testament, things were pretty strict – if you weren’t a virgin on your wedding night, so it goes, you were to be stoned to death.
I’ve talked to Christians on other web sites about all this.
I explain to them I was taught from the time I was a kid (by churches, Christian books, in sermons, etc) that if only I trusted God and sexually abstained, God would send me a great husband…
And I said, well, I’m a virgin over the age 40, I trusted God – but I’m still not married. Where is this spouse I was taught I was going to be granted?
Where-upon most Christians on other sites scream and yell at me and tell me that it’s not right for me to expect God to send me a spouse. Some of them also go on to imply that I’ve made an idol out of virginity.
I’ve asked some of these people (since I assume they believe the Bible teaches pre marital sex is a sin) how is it they expect me to continue on being celibate, when they are essentially telling me it’s pointless to stay a virgin until marriage?
I ask them, why don’t I just go out and start having sex? They don’t really have a response for that, other than the guy who told me my celibacy would be for “God’s glory.”
I told him I no longer care about “God’s glory,” that I’d rather have a spouse with whom to have companionship and sex.
Many Christians claim to uphold a belief in virginity until marriage, but from the other side of their mouths, they give you 496 reasons why you should just go ahead and have sex prior to marriage if you want to.