Via World magazine comes this story about the evangelical Biola University changing its statement on “human sexuality” after the emergence of an unofficial student group that calls itself The Biola Queer Underground:
Less than a week after President Barack Obama announced his support for gay marriage, a small group of gay Biola University students came out on the La Miranda, Calif., campus. Flyers posted around the campus lawn announced the presence of the previously underground group, which does not have official recognition at the Christian school.
School officials had the flyers removed almost immediately. But the next day, they issued a statement clarifying the school’s stance on human sexuality and assuring students struggling with same-sex attraction that they are welcome in the Biola community.
This is Biola’s version of “welcome:”
Biola students are required to sign a contract affirming their agreement with the university’s belief that “sexual relationships are designed by God to be expressed solely within a marriage between husband and wife.” The new statement goes into more detail, looking at God’s design for marriage, offering help for those struggling with issues of sexuality, and encouraging discussion on campus.
“Our marriages on earth model the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church (Eph 5:31-33),” the statement reads. “God’s design for marriage and sexuality is the foundational reason for viewing acts of sexual intimacy between a man and a woman outside of marriage, and any act of sexual intimacy between two persons of the same sex, as illegitimate moral options for the confessing Christian.”
That’s very welcoming, isn’t it? Chris Grace, the vice president for student development, told World that gay students “struggle” because of “brokenness” but that the school would “help them grow closer to what God intended in their lives.” Something tells me that’s not exactly what The Biola Queer Underground is looking for.
