A homework assignment given to students at a Kentucky middle school encourages them to persuade friends against homosexuality.
Middle school students at a Bible elective class at the Christian Academy of Louisville in Kentucky were recently given an assignment that has made headlines. The essay assignment instructed students to "Write a letter to a friend of your same gender who is struggling with homosexuality." Among other instructions, the assignment asked students to assume that they've known this imaginary friend "since kindergarten" and that they went to the same church and are of the same age.
"The aim of your letter should be to lovingly and compassionately speak truth to the person you're talking to in a way that does not approve of any sin," the assignment read, as per Not the Bee. In all caps, it added, "Try to persuade them of the goodness of God's design for them."
The assignment also instructed students to reason with the imaginary gay friend by using examples from the Bible that showed "that God's design for them is good," "that homosexuality will not bring them satisfaction," and "that you love them even though you don't approve of their lifestyle."
Christian School Encourages Students to Practice How to Reach Out to LGBT Friends in a Biblical Manner
School System Superintendent of the Christian Academy of Louisville Darin Long explained that the assignment that instructed students to "lovingly and compassionately speak truth" about God's design to their gay friends was part of a unit of study that tackles what humans are and where their identity is. He added that the assignment was designed to help students determine how to approach the discussion of homosexuality with a friend "from a biblical perspective with compassion and love."
But the assignment is not sitting well with some, who believe that it has made parents and children "uncomfortable," the Courier Journal reported. JP Davis, a Kentucky-based business owner, took to social media to share screenshots of the Christian school's assignment after he was shown the homework by a close friend whose child is a student at the school. Davis said that his friend and her child were both "uncomfortable" about it and that the child was "upset."
Kylee Marcy, who graduated from the same Christian school in 2002 said she was outraged upon hearing about the assignment that asked students to talk to their gay friends and dissuade them from it. She admitted that she was angry but unsurprised at how the school handled the topic of homosexuality.
Meanwhile, Long stands by the assignment and argued that the Christian school teaches content "with a biblical worldview" and that they believe that marriage should be between a man and woman. He added that sex is a "good gift from God" that must only be "celebrated within the confines of the marriage covenant" between male and female, as God's design intended it to be.
Related Article: Sean McDowell On How Christians Should Address Their Kids With Same-Sex Attraction
