On the afternoon of Sunday, June 11, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Helminiak will offer two lectures at First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge on human sexuality and the ongoing sexual revolution.
The first lecture, “Science-Based Ethics of Human Sexuality” will begin at 12:30 pm. This lecture will offer a summary of Dr. Helminiak’s international bestseller “What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality,” offering a “scientific” analysis—an explanation grounded in evidence—which links the “abomination” of Leviticus 18:22 with the “impurity” of Romans 1:24. He will then examine both in light of the revelation of Christ Jesus.
The second lecture, “Galileo All Over Again: The Sexual Revolution” will begin at 3 pm. This lecture will explore how today’s sexual revolution is the continuation of the 16th-century scientific revolution. As Galileo displaced the earth from the center of the universe, so are LGBTQ issues undoing the standard model of “sex + heterosexual marriage.” Since this revolution is grounded in solid science, a new pluralistic normal is inevitable.
Dr. Helminiak was ordained as a Catholic priest in Rome and served a large suburban parish in Pittsburgh for four years. Daniel earned a Ph.D. in theology at Boston College and Andover Newton Theological School, where he was a teaching assistant to Professor Bernard Lonergan, SJ, whom Newsweek (April 20, 1970) styled the Thomas Aquinas of the twentieth century. Daniel taught seminarians at the graduate Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio for four years and later earned a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. His specialization is the psychology of spirituality as a number of his books exemplify: Spirituality for Our Global Community and The Transcended Christian: What Do You Do When You Outgrow Your Religion? He is best known for the international best-seller, translated into seven languages, What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and of the American Association of Pastoral Councilors.