“To be clear, Butterfield and I agree that lust is a sin,” Sprinkle wrote. “But if we’re talking about the unchosen experience of sexual attraction or sexual temptation, Butterfield is correct that I believe these things are not inherently sinful and only become sinful if they are acted on.”
“Butterfield, apparently, not only believes that sexual temptation is inherently sinful, but also believes that disagreeing with her about this point makes a person a heretic,” he went on to write.
Sprinkle further clarified that he has never claimed that “people who experience same-sex attraction are…called to lifelong celibacy.” Instead, he said that he has always affirmed the traditional view of marriage as being a lifelong union between one woman and one man and that sex is reserved exclusively for that union.
“The Center and I believe and teach that marriage and singleness are both beautiful and necessary vocations, and a person’s experience of sexual attraction doesn’t necessarily dictate which of these two vocations God will lead them into,” explained Sprinkle.
Sprinkle further expressed that he would never rule out the possibility that a person who experiences same-sex attraction could go on to have a thriving opposite-sex marriage.
Addressing the claim that he believes “God doesn’t care about whether men live as men and women live as women,” Sprinkle said that he would appreciate greater clarity on how Butterfield defines living as a man or woman.
“Some Christians believe that ‘biblical womanhood’ means getting married, doing all the cooking, homeschooling your kids, and not taking a job outside the home,” Sprinkle wrote. “If this is what Butterfield has in mind when she talks about ‘women liv[ing] as women,’ then she’s right—I don’t think God places a moral mandate on women to live this way.”
He continued, “But if Butterfield means that I believe ‘God doesn’t care if men’ embrace their identity as males, and women embrace their identity as females, then her statement is not an accurate representation of my beliefs.”
Also this week, Sprinkle invited Tennessee pastor Dr. Jared Moore onto his “Theology in the Raw” podcast after Moore parroted Butterfield’s accusations of heresy in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Throughout the nearly two-hour conversation, Sprinkle repeatedly asked Moore to repent of misrepresenting his views on sexuality. Moore refused.
