The Eschatology of Desire: David Bennett on Celibacy, Same-Sex Attraction, and the Church’s Calling

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2018

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

How the choice to live celibately as a gay Christian can reflect the radical love of Jesus and reframe the church’s understanding of desire, identity, and human flourishing. Oxford PhD candidate and author David Bennett joins Mike Erre for an unflinchingly honest and theologically rich conversation on sexuality, worship, and the need for a deeper anthropology rooted in the kingdom of God.

David shares his journey from an atheist, ardent critic of Christianity to a transformed follower of Jesus who made the costly decision to live celibately—not out of repression, but as an act of worship. Together, he and Mike explore how the idolization of romantic love has malformed both church and culture, and how Christians can reimagine friendship, community, and single life as central to God's good design.

Key Takeaways:
• Reframing Celibacy – Celibacy isn’t about repression but about choosing a greater love over a lesser one, embodying the cross-shaped life Jesus calls us into.
• Desire and Eschatology – How the Bible’s vision of human desire, eschatology, and resurrection influence a Christian sexual ethic rooted in transformation, not legalism.
• Idolizing Marriage – Exploring how both evangelical churches and LGBTQ+ culture have idolized romantic love—and how this shapes our view of fulfillment and identity.
• Recovering the Fear of the Lord – Why the biblical concept of “fear of God” is key to experiencing a joyful, empowered life of obedience.
• The Power of Story and the Holy Spirit – How David’s testimony led others, including skeptical atheists, to reconsider Jesus—not through argument, but through honesty, humility, and joy.
• A New Moral Imagination – The path forward for the church includes developing a robust theology of singleness, friendship, and communal life beyond romantic pairings.

Guest Highlights:
David Bennett – Author of A War of Loves and DPhil candidate in Christian Ethics at Oxford University. David shares his lived experience navigating same-sex attraction, identity, and a call to celibacy with theological clarity and pastoral compassion. His story challenges both traditional and progressive assumptions, offering a Christ-centered vision of intimacy, friendship, and holiness that transcends culture wars.

Resources Mentioned:
• A War of Loves by David Bennett – Link
• N.T. Wright – Contributions to David’s academic work and endorsement of the book
• Isaiah 11 – The spirit of the fear of the Lord
• Scripture on Desire & Transformation – Romans 1, Genesis 1-3, Revelation imagery
• @davidacbennett on Twitter and Social Media

Join the conversation—let’s reshape our understanding of discipleship, sexuality, and community with the gospel at the center. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and follow the Voxology Podcast on your favorite podcast platform.

As always, we encourage and welcome discussion as we pursue the mission of Jesus. Email us at [email protected] and connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

We’re on YouTube too: VOXOLOGY TV

Check out our Merch Store: ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Support Voxology on Patreon

Explore curated playlists on the Voxology Spotify Channel: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikeerre

Music by Timothy John Stafford
Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey everybody. Mike here.
0:22.7	Welcome to the Vox podcast.
0:24.3	So glad you are tuning in.
0:35.5	And we've scored just an absolute coup to have joining with us via Skype from the great state of Florida.
0:45.9	My new friend David Bennett, he has just written a book called A War of Loves that I've been tracking on Twitter for a while. It comes out tomorrow by the time a lot of you will listen to this.
0:51.0	And I want to encourage you to check it out.
0:53.5	I've read it and took a bunch of notes and have a lot of this. And I want to encourage you to check it out. I've read it and took a bunch of notes
0:56.5	and have a lot of questions. And so, David, welcome to the show. Thank you for joining us.
1:02.0	Thank you so much for having me, Mike. It's a pleasure to be with you. Now, have you found
1:08.0	the following to be true, that having an accent when you're speaking to an American audience gives you credibility regardless?
1:19.2	I mean, do you, have you seen that yet?
1:21.9	Because I think it's very true.
1:23.7	Well, I actually think it's quite funny, Mike you also, because there's always this sense when you're doing work in the US, especially with your different organizations.
1:32.8	Oh, you're not American.
1:34.1	Like, the American audience won't be interested in you.
1:38.1	And I just think that's just not true.
1:40.6	Like, I have had many compliments about my strange blend of an Australian, British accent,
1:48.0	but I have an American R. I don't know how that happened, you know? How do you get an American
1:53.0	R? It's just happened. You become a pirate. Exactly. Well, I'm an Australian, it's just
1:58.1	close enough, a convict, right? So, you know, only step away.
2:03.5	But you've been living in Europe for quite a while now, correct?
2:08.4	Yeah, I've actually been in the UK now for a total of six, going on over six years.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Voxology, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Voxology and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.