Rebecca McLaughlin (1) (1980–)

McLaughlin's work claims to be a Christian response to 5 major issues faced by American Christianity:

1) "Black Lives Matter" (BLM and Racism)
2) "Love is Love" (LGBTQ+)
3) "The New Gay-Rights Movement is the New Civil-Rights Movement" (Intersectional political LGBTQ+)
4) "Women's Rights are Human Rights" (Feminism)
5) "Transgender Women are Women" (Transgenderism)

In addressing all these, McLaughlin states an orthodox opinion. However, she does so without actually dealing with the issues, but rather assumes the veracity of liberal presuppositions. She fails to think biblically. Instead of addressing the racism inherent in BLM and its victimization mentality, she puts the blame fully on "white Christians." Instead of addressing what true love actually is, she states that in Christ, there is a deeper love more than sex (true but insufficient). Instead of addressing the falsehood of intersectional leftism, she merely rejects the view that the "gay-rights" movement is in continuity with the civil-rights movement. On feminism, she pits the older feminism with the new and shows that Christianity is pro-women (which does not really address the problem of feminism). Lastly, she states the created reality of male and female, but merely mourns gender dysphoria without giving a true diagnosis of the problem.

McLaughlin's book is therefore an exercise in holding an orthodox position without holding a biblical worldview that can address the problems in the church. As such, it does not truly address the issues biblically, and her solutions should be therefore rejected.… (más)

As the title suggests, this book discusses 12 hard questions non-Christians may have against Christianity. I really enjoyed this book. It answers the questions well, and through the process brings to light the beauty of the gospel. This book won a bunch of Christian book awards and I think those awards are well-deserved. I will be handing this book to my children once they are older.

Some favorite quotes:

"If you care about diversity, don’t dismiss Christianity: it is the most diverse, multiethnic, and multicultural movement in all of history."

"When atheists reject Christianity because of the evils done in the name of religion, we must recognize that evil has also been done in the name of science. And that it is ultimately only a religious worldview that enables us to diagnose evil as evil."

“ 'Helper' sounds like a subordinate role. But in the Hebrew Scriptures, the word helper is overwhelmingly applied to God himself, so it cannot imply inferior status."

"God created sex and marriage as a telescope to give us a glimpse of his star-sized desire for intimacy with us."

"God’s love and God’s judgement cannot be pulled apart. Think of your anger at the slave trade, the Holocaust, and global sex trafficking. When you analyze that anger, its root is love. No one who regards those of other races as subhuman cares about racial exploitation. Noe one who believes that women or children are property cares about sexual abuse. And the more we love, the more easily our anger is kindled…..Imagine that this kind of love-motivated anger is so deeply entrenched in the heart of God that your own commitment to justice is like a drop in the ocean."

"Sam Harris argues that our recognition that human beings do not have free will should make us more compassionate for murderers. They were just unlucky in their circumstances, not morally culpable. Christianity also demand that we identify with the worst criminals, but on different grounds: not because they (like us) are innocent but because we (like them) are guilty."

… (más)

Rebecca McLaughlin short and accessible book on five secular creeds helps Christian’s assess what aspects to affirm and what we cannot.

(1) Black Lives Matter
(2) Love is Love
(3) The Gay-Rights Movement is the New Civil-Rights Movement
(4) Women’s Rights are Human Rights
(5) Transgender Women are Women

Her chapter on Black Lives Matter was superb especially as she demonstrates how Christianity is not a white male religion, but the most diverse belief system in the world. When white progressives dismiss Christianity and refuse to give it space in contemporary society, they are in reality silencing black women who are the most typical Christians in the world today. ‘As Yale Law professor Stephen L. Carter writes, “When you mock Christians, you’re not mocking who you think you are.”’ (p. 17)

McLaughlin writes with gentleness and grace which makes this a great book to give progressive Christians who is doubting the goodness of the Bible’s teaching on gender and sexuality.

My only quibble is I wished the author had been more specific on what hope Christianity offers those who feel alienated from their bodies and wish to transition. The two brief pages she includes would not have been enough to convince me if I were struggling with this.

Overall this is a wonderful resource for Christians as we seek to tease out what aspects of the secular creed we can and can’t embrace.… (más)

Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
By Rebecca McLaughlin
2019, Crossway Books
Hardcover, 240pp

"We are inclined to assume that we are more sophisticated than a text written thousands of years ago."

This is one of the finest offerings of Christian apologetics in this century. Expecting to find another trite attempt to square Christian theology with reality, McLaughlin brings sharp intelligence, compassion, thorough research, and hard data to the table. And she doesn't shy away from anything. Like the subtitle says, she takes on the hard questions: Why does a loving God allow so much suffering? Is Christianity homophobic? Are we better off without religion? Her take on the seven-blind-people-touching-the-elephant analogy expresses the calm, careful demeanor with which McLaughlin exposes some of the best defeaters for Christianity and levels the playing field once again.… (más)