If we cancel Josh Butler, we may have to do the same for St Augustine

Pastor and author Joshua Ryan Butler may not have formulated his ideas about sex as carefully as he might have done, but he is certainly on to something profoundly Christian that has a long and rich heritage, says Tony Wilson

Anyone connected to Christian social media in the last week will have read about the storm surrounding a new book, Beautiful Union, by Joshua Ryan Butler. In essence, it explores the idea that the sexual union between a husband and wife is an icon of our salvation through Jesus.

Extracts published online by The Gospel Coalition (TGC) were hastily taken down following outrage on Twitter. TGC later apologised for the “hurt” caused and Butler stepped down as a Keller Center fellow. In other words he has been ‘cancelled’.

The language Butler used left some readers with the impression that sex incorporates male domination over women and, if this was his intended meaning, it is right we call him out. However, the book’s blurb suggests the work is in harmony with Christian orthodoxy right back to the Early Church Fathers – and I have to say I agree.