The sanctity of same-sex relations is one of the most pressing ethical questions facing the church today. (9)
So contends Preston Sprinkle in his new edited volume Two Views of Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church. And rightly so. For, as he continues, “Unlike other topics that Christians debate—the rapture, the millennium, speaking in tongues, etc.—homosexuality affects the very core of human persons.” (9)
Bringing together four voices to discuss two dominant views on the Bible and sexuality, this unique volume in the Counterpoints series offers fresh perspective on a well-worn topic in three distinct ways:
- This first-of-its-kind book published by an evangelical publisher encourages dialogue within the body of Christ about homosexuality, the Bible, and the church
- Though most discussions have been dominated by biblical exegesis, this volume consciously enlists a theologian and a biblical scholar to articulate and defend each of the two views
- While offering a dialogue between people who disagree on important biblical, theological, and ethical matters, the tone is respectful and humanizing
Below we’ve briefly outlined the four voices articulating the two views on homosexuality, the Bible, and the church. Each voice is an accomplished scholar in their field and understands how their views impact real people. Likewise, Sprinkle notes, “Each of our contributors exhibit a high view of Scripture, a commitment to the gospel and the church, and a love for people—especially the people who are most affected by this topic.” (14)
Affirming View No. 1: William Loader
One of the foremost authorities on sexuality in ancient Judaism and Christianity, William Loader argues for an affirming view of same-sex relations. Uniquely, he also “fervently believes that we must take the Bible seriously and that the Bible prohibits all forms of same-sex relations.” (13)
Where Loader parts from traditional understandings of biblical sexual ethics, however, is in “the need to engage both Scripture and experience, including setting some parts of the former aside or overriding some parts of Scripture” (46) based on new understandings. Therefore, twenty-first-century understandings of biology, anthropology, sociology, and other fields should supplement first-century biblical understandings of reality—including the reality of same-sex identities and relations.
Affirming View No. 2: Megan K. DeFranza
Megan DeFranza challenged the assumption that all people are born clearly or exclusively male or female in her pioneering book Sex Differences in Christian Theology. Sprinkle writes, “Studying the complexity of biological sex development and the challenge of interpreting the Bible for contemporary theology and ethics opened the door for her to reconsider the non-affirming view of homosexuality that she grew up with.” (13)
In light of her biblical interpretive arguments, DeFranz concludes, “No biblical passage indisputably condemns loving, same-sex marriages of equal-status partners; therefore, it is reasonable to consider whether Christians can once again add to the growing tradition of Christian marriage in order to include our gay, lesbian, and bisexual neighbors seeking to solemnize their union in holy matrimony.” (93)
Traditional View No. 1: Wesley Hill
Wesley Hill provides a unique perspective: not only is he an accomplished biblical theologian who has written extensively on this subject, he himself identifies as a gay Christian. At the start of his essay Hill asks, “How should a gay man or woman live, how should a same-sex attracted person like me express his sexuality, rather than merely repress or try to deny its existence?” (125)
Hill argues for a traditional view of same-sex relations by revisiting the prohibition passages within a broad theology of marriage, sex, and procreation, and in dialogue with Augustine. Then he makes a pastoral pivot toward “spiritual friendship,” indicating Scripture doesn’t prohibit bonds of fidelity and love between members of the same sex—a lead taken by C.S. Lewis, and one he suggests we follow.
Traditional View No. 2: Stephen R. Holmes
The prolific theologian Stephen R. Holmes also focuses on a robust theology of sex and marriage and revisits the traditional prohibition passages. His main argument, however, extends from the need for the Western church “to recover a Christian understanding of human sexuality as primarily oriented towards procreation, not towards pleasure, and to restate an ethic that takes this orientation seriously.” (167–168)
First, he outlines the remarkably unified historical position of the church, then posits three options in which this understanding might accommodate modern same-sex couples. Examining the cultural context that has pressured the modern church’s revisionism leads to some final conclusions about how to pastorally accommodate such relations, while also maintaining a rigorous biblical, theological, and historical understanding of the institution of marriage.
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When it comes to engaging his edited volume in order to understand homosexuality, the Bible, and the church, Sprinkle invites us to do two things:
Read all the essays with an open mind and an open Bible. Have the courage to go where the text leads and explore how it applies to the twenty-first-century church. (16)
Grab a copy of this book
and begin the journey today.