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177 reviews for:
God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships
Matthew Vines
4.15 AVERAGE
177 reviews for:
God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships
Matthew Vines
4.15 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Having studied theology, I appreciate his unwavering desire to understand the context of biblical passages. Many Christians who read the Bible regularly read into it what we have always been taught we should see. I’ll use this as an example: one man, one woman marriage as the OT establishment of marriage. This is far from the actual scriptural reality we see throughout the OT. Take for the prime example of this oversight, God’s chosen people come from Abraham who had two wives and two concubines, a marriage which we never see condemned. For such Christians, this book will not be well received. This does not mean however that the author does not respect scripture but rather that he meets it with honesty and with a clear attempt to understand the time period in which it was written. Having read my fair share of essays, articles and books in the subject, this is one of the best. He adheres very closely to what the scriptures actually say as opposed to the cultural mask many have placed over it. With a book as old and revered as scripture, we have to understand that massive shifts in understanding and culture are par for the course.
That being said, though I cannot out my finger on it, the Romans analysis left something to be desired to me. It seemed a bit flimsy. I think there he relied solely on culture and the outside context. This is a shame to me. All of the other references are easily refuted/ differently understood by a closer and more directed reading of scripture (the sins of sodom are listed in another book, homosexual acts is not one of them.) but his analysis of Romans was not internally sufficient. In my opinion, the cultural context is very enlightening, but the argument must be able to stand on the Bible alone. This is not a breaking issue for me though. Never in Scripture have we seen a monogamous, consensual homosexual relationship. What we do see is rape, fornication, promiscuity, lust based sex, and idol worship by way of orgies. None of these things would have been in any way condoned in heterosexual relationships either (although to read scripture honestly, rape was condoned in several examples).
All in all, I’ve heard these arguments before, but I have not heard the cultural context that makes them more compelling and clear. I would recommend this to family on the fence.
That being said, though I cannot out my finger on it, the Romans analysis left something to be desired to me. It seemed a bit flimsy. I think there he relied solely on culture and the outside context. This is a shame to me. All of the other references are easily refuted/ differently understood by a closer and more directed reading of scripture (the sins of sodom are listed in another book, homosexual acts is not one of them.) but his analysis of Romans was not internally sufficient. In my opinion, the cultural context is very enlightening, but the argument must be able to stand on the Bible alone. This is not a breaking issue for me though. Never in Scripture have we seen a monogamous, consensual homosexual relationship. What we do see is rape, fornication, promiscuity, lust based sex, and idol worship by way of orgies. None of these things would have been in any way condoned in heterosexual relationships either (although to read scripture honestly, rape was condoned in several examples).
All in all, I’ve heard these arguments before, but I have not heard the cultural context that makes them more compelling and clear. I would recommend this to family on the fence.
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I really wanted to like this book but I feel like a lot of his arguments when flushed out could easily be used by the other side. The premise is great and I think the information is there but not sufficiently developed. There are great points but I would highly recommend Justin Lee's "Torn" over this book if you are seeking to begin reconciling homosexuality and Christianity.
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
inspiring
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Regardless of your own personal feelings about gay marriage, you can't help but agree that the Church's position on homosexuality has alienated droves of people, gay and straight alike. Having been raised in a conservative area of Florida, this is something I have struggled with since high school. When I was in college, I met both gay and straight people that were driven completely away from Christianity and anything to do with God, out of hurt and/or anger. I also met people that were gay Christians. One even said to me, "I know that this is a sin, but it's not worse than anyone else's sin."
The fact that so many churches have said, "You can be gay OR Christian but not both" has never sat well with me. We all have sins we struggle with, whether its pride or greed or whatever. So why was homosexuality singled out? That was my first red flag. My next red flag was that I could understand Biblical prohibitions against other sins (such as greed, adultery, etc.), but didn't understand why God would prohibit a loving relationship between two consenting adults just because they happened to be the same sex.
This is where Matthew Vines comes in and explains the historical reasoning for the Bible's apparent condemnation of same-sex behavior. For example, the practice of pederastry, a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pre-pubescent boy, is inherently wrong for obvious reasons. Men raping other men to assert dominance -- clearly wrong. The verses in the Bible speak to specific things that were happening in the culture at the time. Additionally, the idea of sexual orientation didn't even exist back then. No one was "gay" or "straight." People were just people that happened to engage in sexual activity.
I know this book has received a lot of backlash and criticism, but you must go where the Holy Spirit leads you. If he leads you to love the gay community, no man can stop you. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE, but especially those in the LGBT community that have been hurt by the church, and to straight Christians that consider themselves LGBT allies.
The fact that so many churches have said, "You can be gay OR Christian but not both" has never sat well with me. We all have sins we struggle with, whether its pride or greed or whatever. So why was homosexuality singled out? That was my first red flag. My next red flag was that I could understand Biblical prohibitions against other sins (such as greed, adultery, etc.), but didn't understand why God would prohibit a loving relationship between two consenting adults just because they happened to be the same sex.
This is where Matthew Vines comes in and explains the historical reasoning for the Bible's apparent condemnation of same-sex behavior. For example, the practice of pederastry, a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pre-pubescent boy, is inherently wrong for obvious reasons. Men raping other men to assert dominance -- clearly wrong. The verses in the Bible speak to specific things that were happening in the culture at the time. Additionally, the idea of sexual orientation didn't even exist back then. No one was "gay" or "straight." People were just people that happened to engage in sexual activity.
I know this book has received a lot of backlash and criticism, but you must go where the Holy Spirit leads you. If he leads you to love the gay community, no man can stop you. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE, but especially those in the LGBT community that have been hurt by the church, and to straight Christians that consider themselves LGBT allies.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced