God and the Gay Christian

213 pages

English language

Published Nov. 15, 2014

ISBN:: 978-1-60142-516-4
OCLC Number:: 869801284

(6 reviews)

As a young Christian man, Matthew Vines harbored the same basic hopes of most young people: to some-day share his life with someone, to build a family of his own, to give and receive love. But when he realized he was gay, those hopes were called into question. The Bible, he’d been taught, condemned gay relationships.

Feeling the tension between his understanding of the Bible and the reality of his same-sex orientation, Vines devoted years of intensive research into what the Bible says about homosexuality. With care and precision, Vines asked questions such as:

• Do biblical teachings on the marriage covenant preclude same-sex marriage or not? • How should we apply the teachings of Jesus to the gay debate? • Can celibacy be a calling when it is mandated, not chosen? • What did Paul have in mind when he warned against same-sex relations?

Unique in its affirmation of …

As a young Christian man, Matthew Vines harbored the same basic hopes of most young people: to some-day share his life with someone, to build a family of his own, to give and receive love. But when he realized he was gay, those hopes were called into question. The Bible, he’d been taught, condemned gay relationships.

Feeling the tension between his understanding of the Bible and the reality of his same-sex orientation, Vines devoted years of intensive research into what the Bible says about homosexuality. With care and precision, Vines asked questions such as:

• Do biblical teachings on the marriage covenant preclude same-sex marriage or not? • How should we apply the teachings of Jesus to the gay debate? • Can celibacy be a calling when it is mandated, not chosen? • What did Paul have in mind when he warned against same-sex relations?

Unique in its affirmation of both an orthodox faith and sexual diversity, God and the Gay Christian has sparked heated debate, sincere soul searching, and widespread cultural change on the issue of what it means to be a faithful gay Christian.

2 editions

Matthew Royal reviewed God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines

Review of 'God and the Gay Christian' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Interesting read. His thesis is if gays do not have a choice in who they're attracted to, then Biblical Christianity must change either its views on voluntary celibacy or same-sex marriage.

Two lynchpins of his argument are that homosexuals do not choose their orientation and they cannot change their orientation, although they may change their behavior. The most compelling evidence for this is the failure of the so-called ex-gay movement. Exodus International was a leading organization offering this "therapy" and recently closed its doors and issued an apology to all the people and families it harmed while trying to change the unchangeable. Christians have held strong beliefs about interracial marriage, slavery, divorce and remarriage, which have changed completely as a result of new information and modern culture. Vines believes a similar reinterpretation is happening now as a result of people realizing gays don't become gay by choice or as a …

Interesting read. His thesis is if gays do not have a choice in who they're attracted to, then Biblical Christianity must change either its views on voluntary celibacy or same-sex marriage.

Two lynchpins of his argument are that homosexuals do not choose their orientation and they cannot change their orientation, although they may change their behavior. The most compelling evidence for this is the failure of the so-called ex-gay movement. Exodus International was a leading organization offering this "therapy" and recently closed its doors and issued an apology to all the people and families it harmed while trying to change the unchangeable. Christians have held strong beliefs about interracial marriage, slavery, divorce and remarriage, which have changed completely as a result of new information and modern culture. Vines believes a similar reinterpretation is happening now as a result of people realizing gays don't become gay by choice or as a result of a moral or spiritual failing.

Although he may not convince everyone -- this book comes pretty heavily from a fundamentalist perspective, and may not be entirely satisfying to someone from a Catholic background -- he makes some excellent historical and Biblical observations about views on same-sex relationships, and makes the case for God giving His blessing on faithful, monogamous same-sex marriages.