Rosaria Butterfield | |
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| Born | Rosaria Champagne Butterfield 20 April 1962 |
| Occupation | Writer, speaker |
| Education | PhD in English Literature |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Notable works | The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert |
| Spouse | Kent Butterfield |
| Website | |
| rosariabutterfield | |
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield (born 1962) is an American activist and former tenured professor of English at Syracuse University.
Growing up, Butterfield attended predominantly liberal Catholic schools. [1] In her autobiography The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey into the Christian Faith, she details her transformation from a postmodernist into a Bible-believing Christian. For nearly a decade, she lived as an openly lesbian activist. While researching the Religious Right and their "politics of hatred" [2] against the queer community, [3] she wrote an article criticizing the evangelical organization Promise Keepers. Ken Smith, the then-pastor of the Syracuse Reformed Presbyterian Church, wrote to her regarding this article [4] and invited her to dinner. [5] Her subsequent friendship with the Smiths led to her re-evaluation of her presuppositions. [6] Two years later, Butterfield converted to evangelical Christianity. Following her conversion, she developed a ministry to college students. She now frequently speaks at churches and universities about her experience. She has taught and ministered at Geneva College. She now lives in Durham, North Carolina with her husband, Kent Butterfield, a pastor, and their children.
Butterfield, who earned her Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in English Literature, worked in the English Department and Women's Studies Program at Syracuse University from 1992 to 2002. During her academic career, she published the book The Politics of Survivorship: Incest, Women's Literature, and Feminist Theory as well as many scholarly articles. [7] Her academic interest was focused on feminist theory, queer theory and 19th-century British literature. She was awarded tenure in 1999, the same year that she converted to Christianity. She married in 2001.
In many of her books and interviews, Butterfield highlights what she calls "radically ordinary" Christian hospitality. [8] Having been a beneficiary of the practice herself, she writes, "To me, hospitality is the ground zero of the Christian faith." [9] She differentiates this from entertaining guests, saying that "In counterfeit hospitality, there is a very fixed relationship between host and guest. In Christian hospitality, it's a very fluid relationship." [10] In an interview, she has stated that "In the past, [Christians] have set [their boundaries] according to [their] checkbook and according to [their] calendar. In a post-Christian world, we are called to set them according to the blood of Christ." [11] Butterfield encourages Christians "to get close enough to put the hand of the stranger into the hand of the Savior,” [12] and that "it hurts, and it's good. And the Lord equips." [13] In her book The Gospel Comes with a House Key, she indicates that her hospitality is "not showy or fancy" [14] and that parting with the idols of consumerism and sexual autonomy is essential [15] to making room for other people.
One of the hallmarks of Butterfield's writing is the emphasis on repentance. She points to those of exemplary faith, especially Puritans like Thomas Watson [16] and John Owen, [17] [18] observing that the Puritans "knew how to hate their sin without hating themselves because they understood that Christ's grace is an ever-present Person, a Person who understands our situation and our needs better than we do." [19] Her writing often delves into her personal journey with repentance, and the nature of sin as she has come to understand it. [20] She devotes much time elaborating on the theology of original sin, describing it as a distorting influence on people that blinds them from seeing their true identities, which she deems are "image bearers of the holy God." [21] [22]
Butterfield also speaks of the necessity of daily repentance in the Christian life: "Our call is not to despair, but to hope in Christ and to drive a fresh nail into our choice sin every day." [23] In her autobiography The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, she writes,
". . .repentance requires greater intimacy with God than with our sin. How much greater? About the size of a mustard seed. Repentance requires that we draw near to Jesus, no matter what. And sometimes we all have to crawl there on our hands and knees." [24]
Butterfield identifies repentance as "the threshold to God" [25] and states that "good neighbors never put a stumbling block between a fellow image bearer and the God who made her." [26] "If you love your neighbors," she writes, "you would never deny them this threshold." [27]
Sometimes Butterfield describes repentance as "bittersweet business," [28] seeing the Christian walk as a dying to self. [29] She encourages Christians to embrace repentance, as it "proves only the obvious: that God was right all along.” [30] In particular, she warns that "God calls any heart that is not submitted to Jesus sinful," [31] and that sexual sin often transforms into a sin of identity. [32]
Citing scripture such as Genesis 1:27, [33] Butterfield argues that understanding that people are made in the image of God as male and female is key to understanding humanity correctly, especially during a time when there is a widespread acceptance of homosexual and transgender identities. [34]
As a former scholar of Freud and Marx, Butterfield repudiates the theological anthropology that she associates with the intersectionality framework, expressing that its implications clash with a biblical worldview. Consequently, Butterfield rejects sexual orientation as a valid category of personhood, considering it a "19th-century invention" [35] and a "category mistake" [36] that goes against biblical anthropology. Due to such positions, Butterfield sees categories like "gay Christian" and "trans Christian" as false constructs. She also does not identify herself as "ex-gay" and believes that Christians who struggle against same-sex attraction should not identify as gay Christians. [37]
Because Butterfield believes that Christian neighboring means not putting a stumbling block between a neighbor and God, [38] she calls Christians to love their neighbors enough to speak the truth about sin. [39] She also asserts that to support policies that codify sinful behavior into law is to believe that one is more merciful than God. [40] [41]
Likewise, she has chided the Side B movement, gay Christianity, and broader evangelicalism for treating labels like "LGBTQ+ person" and "trans person" as reliable descriptors and affirming sexual orientation as an ontologically accurate category. [42] [43] [44] [45] [46]
Butterfield stresses the importance of Christians' becoming a true family [47] and providing belonging to one another, especially to those who renounce their former way of life in the LGBT community to convert to Christianity. [48] She has pointed out that the Church ought to abandon the idea that singles need to be fixed up. [49] In her book The Gospel Comes with a House Key, Butterfield writes,
"Take, for example, our Christian brothers and sisters who struggle with unchosen homosexual desires and longings, sensibilities and affections, temptations and capacities. Our brothers and sisters need the church to function as the Lord has called it to—as a family. Because Christian conversion always comes in exchange for the life you once loved, not in addition to it, people have much to lose in coming to Christ—and some people have more to lose than others. Some people have one cross, and others have ten to carry. People who live daily with unchosen homosexual desires also live with a host of unanswered questions and unfulfilled life dreams. What is your responsibility to those brothers and sisters who are in this position in life?" [50]
She refers to Mark 10:28-31 [51] to demonstrate that the Church must become the new family promised by Christ for those who forsake their former loyalties and allegiances to follow him. [52] According to Butterfield, Christians belong to one another and to one Father, and thereby get their identity and calling "from God's image radiating in and through [them]." [53]
Butterfield received the 2020 Boniface Award from the Association of Classical Christian Schools, given to recognize "a public figure who has stood faithfully for Christian truth, beauty, and goodness with grace." [54]
To be born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelical Christianity, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and separately caused by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and it occurs when one surrenders their life to Christ. While all Christians are familiar with the concept from the Bible, it is a core doctrine of the denominations of the Anabaptist, Moravian, Methodist, Baptist, Plymouth Brethren and Pentecostal churches along with evangelical Christian denominations. These Churches stress Jesus's words in the Gospels: "Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’". Their doctrines also hold that to be "born again" and thus "saved", one must have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
Confession, in many religions, is the acknowledgment of sinful thoughts and actions. This may occur directly to a deity or to fellow people.
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part in confession among Anglicans and Methodists, in which it is a rite, as well as among other Protestants.
Antinomianism is any view which rejects laws or legalism and argues against moral, religious or social norms, or is at least considered to do so. The term has both religious and secular meanings.
John Stephen Piper is an American theologian and pastor in the Reformed Baptist tradition. He is also chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Piper taught biblical studies at Bethel University for six years (1974–1980), before serving as pastor for preaching and vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church (Converge) in Minneapolis for 33 years (1980–2013).
In Christianity, sanctification literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit. The term can be used to refer to objects which are set apart for special purposes, but the most common use within Christian theology is in reference to the change brought about by God in a believer, begun at the point of salvation and continuing throughout the life of the believer. Many forms of Christianity believe that this process will only be completed in Heaven, but some believe that entire sanctification is possible in this life.
Hyper-Calvinism is a branch of Protestant theology that places strong emphasis on supralapsarianism, or salvation from eternity, where the atonement of Christ was and is difficult for the non-elect to understand, where man has little to do with his salvation, there being nothing man can do to resist being saved, wherein evangelism was given lower emphasis as compared to traditional Calvinism, and where assurance of salvation was felt within a person, identified by introspection.
Absolution is a theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the practice of absolution vary between Christian denominations.
Robert Charles Sproul was an American Reformed theologian, Christian apologist, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, and could be heard daily on the Renewing Your Mind radio broadcast in the United States and internationally. Under Sproul's direction, Ligonier Ministries produced the Ligonier Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which would eventually grow into the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. Along with Norman Geisler, Sproul was one of the chief architects of the statement. Sproul has been described as "the greatest and most influential proponent of the recovery of Reformed theology in the last century."
Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian theology proposing that the "righteousness of Christ...is imputed to [believers]—that is, treated as if it were theirs—through faith." It is on the basis of Jesus' righteousness that God accepts humans. This acceptance is also referred to as justification.
Neonomianism in Christian theology is the doctrine that the Gospel is a new law, the requirements of which humanity fulfills by faith and repentance, often including a distinction between initial and final justification, the latter being merited through good deeds. Neonomianism is most often associated with the theology of Richard Baxter (1615–1691) and James Hadow (1667–1747). The theology of Richard Baxter has caused much controversy among Reformed theologians, because his teachings have been seen as opposing justification by faith alone. Neonomianism was significant within the Marrow Controversy.
Monergism is the view in Christian theology which holds that the Holy Spirit is the only agent that effects the regeneration of Christians. It is contrasted with synergism; the view that there is a cooperation between the divine and the human in the regeneration process. It is most often associated with Lutheranism, as well as with the Reformed tradition and its doctrine of irresistible grace, and particularly with historical doctrinal differences between Calvinism and Arminianism.
The theology of Martin Luther was instrumental in influencing the Protestant Reformation, specifically topics dealing with justification by faith, the relationship between the Law and Gospel, and various other theological ideas. Although Luther never wrote a systematic theology or a "summa" in the style of St. Thomas Aquinas, many of his ideas were systematized in the Lutheran Confessions.
Free grace theology is a Christian soteriological view which holds that the only condition of salvation is faith, excluding good works and perseverance, holding to eternal security. Free grace advocates believe that good works are not necessary to merit, to maintain or to prove salvation, but rather are part of discipleship and the basis for receiving eternal rewards. This soteriological view distinguishes between salvation and discipleship – the call to believe in Christ as Savior and to receive the gift of eternal life, and the call to follow Christ and become an obedient disciple, respectively. Free grace theologians emphasize the absolute freeness of salvation and the possibility of full assurance that is not grounded upon personal performance. Thus, Free Grace theology allows for the salvation of an individual despite moral failings, although the disobedient Christian will face divine discipline. Norman Geisler has divided this view into a moderate form and a more radical form. The moderate form being associated with Charles Ryrie and the strong form with Zane Hodges.
Jerry Bridges was an evangelical Christian author, speaker and staff member of The Navigators, a Christian organization. Born in Tyler, Texas, United States, he was the author of more than a large number of books, including The Pursuit of Holiness, which has sold more than one million copies. His devotional Holiness Day by Day garnered the 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award for the inspiration and gift category, and The Discipline of Grace received a similar award in 1995 for the Christian living category.
Repentance, in Christianity, refers to being sorrowful for having committed sin and then turning away from sin toward a life of holiness.
This is a list of all published works of John F. MacArthur, an evangelical Bible expositor, pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church, and president of The Master's Seminary, in Sun Valley, California. In addition to more than 150 individual books and monographs, MacArthur has also contributed to more than 30 multi-author works. His publications have been translated into more than two dozen languages, including ten or more titles each in French, Spanish, Romanian, German, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, and Italian.
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. is the former and founding pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the son of Renewal Ministries founders Ray and Anne Ortlund.
Matt Chandler is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor. He is the senior pastor of Village Church, based in Flower Mound, Texas and the executive director of the board of the Acts 29 Network.
Sides A, B, X and Y are names for theological positions on homosexuality, which are used by some Christian churches and communities. In general, those who affirm same-sex marriage as valid fall under "Side A," while those who do not affirm it fall under "Side B," "Side X," or "Side Y".
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