The Josh Butler Purity Spiral
Seven Takes about Josh Butler, Evangelicals and Sex, and How the Gospel is Offensive
There’s a lot going on in the world today, most of which is fascinating and terrible. I’m just going to remark on one episode that, in the whole scheme of things, is likely only a tempest in our cracked “evangelical” teapot. Whether or not anyone will remember it in a hundred years, it is yet another way-marker in the gradual dissolution of Christianity in the West. The moment is, for those of you who aren’t on Twitter all the time, the news that Josh Butler has resigned from his job at his church in Arizona. Here is one account of what happened:
“We have found ourselves in an impossible situation,” Joshua Butler wrote to members of Redemption Church in Tempe in announcing his resignation. A copy of the letter was posted on social media. His photo and bio no longer appear on the church’s website. Butler’s new book, “Beautiful Union,” which argues that “God’s vision for sex” explains the meaning of life, was controversial even before it was released in April.
All the news articles basically say the same thing. It’s the Twitter responses that are all over the place.
In defense of Butler, Patrick Miller said this:
When the mob comes for the light you hold, remember these four words: “I am not ashamed.”
Mostly, though, the “conversation” went the other way. Someone named Tyler Robbins said this:
Any pastor who writes what Butler did is unstable, imbalanced, and unfit for a teaching ministry. This is not spiteful gloating; it is a sober analysis. This is good news.
Laura Robinson, not surprisingly at all, rejoiced as unto the hills. Here is the sort of thing she was furiously tweeting all yesterday:
I did it, you jackals. I read it. I read every word. I read the whole thing. I read it cover to cover. I am the mob.
And finally, someone under the moniker “no eden elsewhere” tweeted this:
& if had a pastor who took the summer off to read books like ‘A Beautiful Union’ (Josh Butler), I would march out the door with my hard-earned donations
So anyway, I draw your attention to these tweets not because I’m trying to revive the ancient traditions of Buzzfeed, reporting on tweets like they’re the actual news, but because I hate the way this whole thing is shaking out. It’s Friday, so I’ll organize my thoughts in listicle form, as is fitting.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Demotivations With Anne to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.