In God and The Gay Christian Vines makes the case that it's possible to be gay and a Bible affirming Christian. Although he is clearly making a case that he believes in, Vines makes clear as the book starts that his main goal is to foster conversation.

Vines approaches the question of gays in the church in several ways. The first is by looking at the effects of current teachings about gays by non-affirming churches and individuals. These teachings have caused and continue to cause a lot of harm. This, Vines says, should make non-affirming Christians question whether or not they are going about things the right way. Next, Vines discusses whether or not forced celibacy is consistent with Biblical teachings and concludes that it is not.

The third area Vines covers is looking at Biblical verses that are used to condemn gays. This is a large part of the book. What Vines presents here is not a watertight case that these verses should not be read as condemning homosexual orientation as we understand it today. Rather, what he shows is that because of the historical context and the difficulties of translation, there is a lot more ambiguity than many of the common English translations allow. The "clear" Biblical case about homosexuality is, at best, murky.

The final angle Vines examines is whether or not gay marriage can reflect the Christian covenant of marriage. In same ways, this is the weakest part of the book because it first requires accepting at least some degree of egalitarianism. That is, to come to the conclusion that gay marriage can reflect Jesus's relationship with the church, you have to accept that the key part of that relationship is the mutual sacrificial nature of it, not the strict hierarchy of one partner over the other. However, if you accept that, then Vines makes a strong argument that gay marriage can fulfill God's vision for marriage.

Overall, this book provides a good overview for a popular audience on how the debate about gay marriage for Christians can be expanded beyond overly simplistic readings of questionable translations of a half dozen Bible verses. Although I haven't read it, Vines frequently cites [b: Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church's Debate on Same-Sex Relationships|15937028|Bible, Gender, Sexuality Reframing the Church's Debate on Same-Sex Relationships|James V. Brownson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367777944s/15937028.jpg|21687901], which sounds like a good resource if you want a more in depth discussion.

Finally, for a more detailed overview of this book, check out Rachel Held Evans's multi-part discussion. ( )

On sale now at the Kindle store!

This book is geared more for evangelicals and other sola scriptura folks than for Catholics, but it looks like it will answer the first question I had when I became aware of the need to advocate for full inclusion of LGBT Christians in the church: namely, how do I respond to people who want any change in church teaching to be fully justified (ahem) on the basis of scripture, and ask what to do about the texts that have traditionally been used to condemn homosexuality.

The author takes a high view of scripture and scriptural authority, similar to that held by most conservative Christians, and engages those texts specifically.

I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but it looks like a very valuable and accessible contribution to the conversation.

This is an intelligent, thoughtful, relatable, and articulate book written with open-minded Christian Conservatives in mind. If you are open to persuasion or sincerely believe that orientation is not a "choice," then you will find rich insights here. If you still believe that orientation is a "choice" and that every word of the English Bible should be followed literally to its interpretation without understanding history and context, then you will likely do nothing but find faults with Vines' argument. ( )

Great starting point if you come to questions of Christian sexual ethics from a conservative Biblical hermeneutical tradition and want to see what LGBTQIA-affirming arguments are being made about the big six Biblical passages. I admire Vines for how hard he works to engage with people who disagree with (and in some cases have dismissed or condemned) him on their territory, claiming it as his own home turf and refusing to cede it. ( )

Excellent book written by a gay author. The theology is well explained, and inclusion of part of the author's own story growing up in a conservative, Evangelical background provides nice context. There is not need to throw out portions of the Bible to affirm same-sex marriage, as Vines nicely shows. ( )