Book Review: The War Cry, New Zealand, 26 July 2014, 11

Matthew Vines, God and the Gay Christian (New York: Convergent Books, 2014) 213pp

The response of churches to lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender people is a hotly
debated subject, both within and without church communities. In the churches, opinion is
somewhat polarised between those accepting of people in same sex relationships and
those opposed. The dividing line between or sometimes within churches is often drawn
between those who take a conservative view of scripture and theology, and those of a
more liberal persuasion. The former usually point to certain texts in both Old and New
Testaments as prohibiting same-sex relationships, while the latter are sometimes more
likely to regard such prohibitions as irrelevant to modern life, like the Levitical rule
against eating shellfish.
What is distinctive about Matthew Vines’ defence of gay Christianity is that it is
written by a gay Christian who is also a conservative evangelical with a high view of
scripture. His claim is that “Christians who affirm the full authority of Scripture can also
affirm committed, monogamous same-sex relationships.”
There are six passages in the Bible which are taken as referring to homosexual
behaviour, three from the First Testament and three from the New: Genesis 19:5,
Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy
1:10. Vines sets each in context and brings to bear upon them the consensus of
scholarship. His conclusion is that none of them addresses the phenomenon of
“committed monogamous same-sex relationships” as understood today. He supports this
with an examination of the ways in which sexual relations were viewed over the
centuries. In fact Vines claims that the Bible does not address, or condemn, same-sex
orientation, which was not actually recognised as an issue until the twentieth century.
Naturally not everyone will be happy with Vines’ conclusions. It might be argued
that he is just selectively defending his own preference from Scripture and history. Quite
apart from the fact that the same accusation could equally well be levelled at people
taking the opposite position, it also has to be said that this writer is able to examine and
critique unsustainable claims made by some sharing his own views. Others will suggest
that regardless of the scholarship he brings to bear upon the particular Biblical passages
in question, Vines misses the whole drift of Scripture which would lead to different
conclusions. He, of course, argues precisely the opposite. The reader must judge.
Vines’ introductory chapter sets his arguments in the context of the experience of
young gay people growing up in conservative churches and trying to find their way, often
with unhappy consequences as they often lose their faith and sometimes their lives. Those
most willing to examine his arguments may be their friends and families, whose pain no-
one should minimise. Claims to love the sinner while hating the sin can sound a little
hollow when real people are involved. Vines’ own parents, who did not at first accept his

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position, came in due course to support him, even though it eventually meant leaving
their church community for another.
Vines also suggests that we learn to adopt more eirenical language in our debates.
He suggests that rather than “pro-gay” and “anti-gay” or “homophobic” or such
expressions, all parties might adopt terms like “affirming” and “non-affirming”. This
might help temper attitudes on both sides of the debate with a modicum of mutual
respect.
This is a divisive topic for many church fellowships. Salvationists have the
options of ignoring it and hoping it will go away, or of seeking to inform themselves as to
the arguments and their implications. Recently the New Zealand Moral and Social Issues
Council conducted a survey of Salvationist attitudes towards same-sex relationships, the
Tri-Territorial “Thought Matters” theological conference in August is about “a Christian
view of sexuality” and may therefore discuss the matter, and there is an unofficial ‘Salvos
for a More Inclusive Church’ Facebook group on the web [Ed—email the editor for more
information]. All of these suggest that some are paying attention to this subject.
Salvationists ought to be well-informed and it would be a good thing if we were
able to discuss the issues, about which inevitably there will be differences of opinion,
without the painful and personal divisions encountered in some other places. Matthew
Vines’ God and the Gay Christian is a book which could be recommended to
conservative Christians who want to work out a balanced view of the matter and are
prepared to consider respectfully and dispassionately views and arguments with which
they may not agree.

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