Pastor & Sex Advice Book Author Mark Driscoll's Upcoming Liberty University Speech Sparks Protest

Earlier this year, The Blaze told you about the intense controversy surrounding Mark Driscoll, a pastor at Mars Hill Church in the Seattle, Washington, area.

His new book about love and marriage, co-authored with his wife, Grace, has sparked a great deal of debate among Christians. The project, entitled, “Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship and Life Together,” has some critics questioning its Biblical merits.

Now, there's an alleged debate going on at Liberty University, a conservative, Christian college in Lynchburg, Virginia, surrounding Driscoll's upcoming visit to the school. According to the Associated Baptist Press, some believe that Driscoll's take on bedroom activities between married individuals won't go over well with the university's donors, alumni and leaders:

Baptist blogger Peter Lumpkins reported April 4 that sources told him Liberty University trustees voted unanimously objecting to Driscoll’s invitation to speak in chapel April 20 and lead a seminar on campus April 21. Liberty posted a website message labeling the blog false and defamatory and demanded a retraction. As of April 9 the demand no longer appeared on Liberty’s website and Lumpkins added that he spoke to a longtime university trustee who told him nothing in his post was inaccurate.

Meanwhile, an online petition titled “Hey Liberty University, Drop Driscoll” closed in on its goal of 300 signatures to be delivered to Jonathan Falwell, Liberty’s vice chancellor for spiritual affairs. Started by a blogger who moderates a forum for former members of Driscoll’s church recovering from what many call spiritual abuse, the petition demands that the university cancel the upcoming event, and warns failure to do so “may result in a public protest on the Liberty University campus.”

Bottom line: There's quite a bit of drama purportedly surrounding Driscoll's scheduled appearance at Liberty. According to the petition, the new goal is 400 signatures; currently, 311 people have signed on to the initiative. Despite this minor uproar, Liberty is still advertising Driscoll's appearance on the school's web site.

And while ABP reported that the demand was down as of yesterday from the university's web site, it is still viewable here. A portion of the text reads:

The Board of Trustees of Liberty University did not vote unanimously that Mark Driscoll is not welcome on campus, as the blog states, and, in fact, Mark Driscoll is still scheduled to speak in Convocation at Liberty University on April 20, 2012.

Liberty University's legal counsel has demanded the immediate removal of the post. Liberty University is also posting this notification so that our community is informed as to the inaccuracy of the post, and advised that Lumpkins' blog is clearly being used to disseminate misinformation about Liberty University and to cause strife and harm to the university.

Below, watch a recent segment of "The View," during which the Driscolls discussed their book and permissible sex acts based on Biblical teaching:

While some believe the Driscoll and his wife have taken the subject of sex too far, others, like Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, have endorsed the book. Here's what he wrote about the project earlier this year:

"Real Marriage is brutally and sometimes painfully honest. Further, it is frank and direct in addressing a number of important marital issues. Sometimes you probably will feel uncomfortable. And, you may not agree with everything Grace and Mark Driscoll say. We didn't. However, this is a book we will gladly use and recommend to others who care about healthy, biblical marriages. We believe both husbands and wives will be blessed by and benefit from its content. Grace and Mark are to be commended for writing a book that bares their souls and, more importantly, points to the redeeming power of the gospel in the sacred covenant called marriage."

It's interesting that Akin was able to disagree with some elements, while still embracing the book as a whole. In the end, he contends that readers will "be blessed by" "Real Marriage."

(H/T: Associated Baptist Press)