A day after saying in an interview that he would perform a same-sex marriage if asked, Eugene Peterson, writer of The Message paraphrased Bible, reaffirmed a biblical view of marriage and retracted his earlier comments.
The 84-year-old author and retired pastor said in a statement on Thursday, “I affirm a biblical view of marriage: one man to one woman. I affirm a biblical view of everything,” Christianity Today reported.
Peterson also said he regrets the confusion his comments caused within the evangelical Christian community. For better or worse, many said his comments were further evidence that Christianity is becoming more accepting of same-sex and LGBT lifestyles.
Publisher LifeWay said it would stop selling Peterson’s books, including The Message Bible, if he had indeed embraced same-sex marriage officially, CT reported.
Peterson’s former pastoral denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), has recently begun to allow same-sex marriage and openly gay clergy, but evangelicals are still deeply divided about gay marriage, with a higher number of young evangelicals accepting it.
Acknowledging that he was put on the spot by the reporter’s initial question, Peterson said that after more time for reflection and prayer, he would “love such a couple as their pastor,” but that he would not perform a marriage for a same-sex couple, according to The Washington Post.
He also affirmed his statement that he knows gay and lesbian people who “seem to have as good a spiritual life as I do,” but clarified that having a good spiritual life is “functionally irrelevant in the grand scheme of things” and that it is God’s grace that saves people and “does not tire of turning us toward both grace and truth,” he said, the Post reported.
Twitter followers were skeptical about what he really thinks after Lifeway’s threat.
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