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A review by cocoonofbooks
Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill
2.0
I've read a lot of books in this vein (I was in a book club about faith and sexuality for about 6 months), and while I knew going in that I wouldn't agree with Hill's conclusions, this is cited often enough as a classic in this genre that I thought I should eventually read this. Specifically I had heard that just as Justin Lee had a gentle, story-based approach to the "Side A" position in [b:Torn|13529091|Torn Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate|Justin Lee|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340228841s/13529091.jpg|19086701], Wesley Hill did the same in this book for the "Side B" position.
It was clear immediately that the book's language is quite dated; I'm not sure if that's because the terminology has changed so rapidly in the past decade, or because Hill runs in circles where referring to being gay as "experiencing homo-erotic desire" is still typical. He also references several times the now widely debunked orientation change therapy.
In any case, I was hoping for a thoughtful explanation of the case for celibacy, an explanation of how the author has embraced this part of his identity, and an encouragement for churches to better support their single and celibate members. I've read more of this sort of thing in recent years and was open to hearing the positive case for a Side B life.
I was disappointed to find that Hill ran through the "clobber passages" using the very questionable face-value English translations and extrapolating them to broader applications, with no mention of alternate interpretations. He then concluded that it was obvious that "homosexuals" had to be celibate, and proceeded to talk about the soul-rending difficulties of living that out. He talked about being so lonely all the time that, like Henri Nouwen (another gay celibate), he would often call friends in the middle of the night to process his feelings and extract promises that they would always let him call them at any time, even when they got married.
There isn't a happy ending where Hill talks about embracing his orientation and the call to celibacy. His main consolations, it seems, are that 1) being a Christian means "taking up your cross" and that his struggles therefore make him more like Christ and 2) in heaven all will be made whole and he won't be gay anymore. The contrast to me was clear between the people I know who feel called to celibacy and those like Hill who feel like they have no choice, no matter how painful it is, because faith means trusting that God knows best. I just don't agree with Hill that it's that obvious what God wants.
It was clear immediately that the book's language is quite dated; I'm not sure if that's because the terminology has changed so rapidly in the past decade, or because Hill runs in circles where referring to being gay as "experiencing homo-erotic desire" is still typical. He also references several times the now widely debunked orientation change therapy.
In any case, I was hoping for a thoughtful explanation of the case for celibacy, an explanation of how the author has embraced this part of his identity, and an encouragement for churches to better support their single and celibate members. I've read more of this sort of thing in recent years and was open to hearing the positive case for a Side B life.
I was disappointed to find that Hill ran through the "clobber passages" using the very questionable face-value English translations and extrapolating them to broader applications, with no mention of alternate interpretations. He then concluded that it was obvious that "homosexuals" had to be celibate, and proceeded to talk about the soul-rending difficulties of living that out. He talked about being so lonely all the time that, like Henri Nouwen (another gay celibate), he would often call friends in the middle of the night to process his feelings and extract promises that they would always let him call them at any time, even when they got married.
There isn't a happy ending where Hill talks about embracing his orientation and the call to celibacy. His main consolations, it seems, are that 1) being a Christian means "taking up your cross" and that his struggles therefore make him more like Christ and 2) in heaven all will be made whole and he won't be gay anymore. The contrast to me was clear between the people I know who feel called to celibacy and those like Hill who feel like they have no choice, no matter how painful it is, because faith means trusting that God knows best. I just don't agree with Hill that it's that obvious what God wants.