EMBRACING TRUTH
Homosexuality and the Word of God
Edited by David W. Torrance and Jock Stein . Handsel Press. 252 pages. £6.95
ISBN 978 1 871 828 740
This is a timely and important book on an issue whose reverberations are currently seismic, not least in Scotland where the editors and many of the contributors hail from.
Its purpose is to uphold the traditional Christian sexual ethic while inviting all churches to listen again to the Bible. The editors see God calling evangelical churches to repent for ‘their lack of love and sympathy towards those of a homosexual orientation’, causing great suffering. However, its main thrust is to reassert the traditional teaching which it does helpfully, while adding important pastoral dimensions.
The book has four parts: first, ‘Clearing the ground’ has a fine introductory essay which takes head on a number of objections to a traditional position on sexual ethics, insisting that Christians are concerned for ‘goods’, not anti-homosexuality in a purely negative sense. This is followed by a chapter on ‘Same sex science’, summarising and analysing the latest research. Chapter three examines the statistical data on the longevity of same-sex relationships.
Part two consists of five theological essays, laying the foundations for the traditional position: biblical authority, the biblical affirmation of sex, a summary of the traditional view, a chapter on marriage, and some theological reflection on same-sex relations. Some of the argumentation and references are distinctive to the broadly evangelical Scottish situation.
Part three, ‘The Bible and Homosexual practice’, focuses on the work of Robert Gagnon, whose book of that title has provided such a definitive examination of its theme. There is a summary and review of the book followed by two new essays by Gagnon. The first shows that accusations that the traditional position is per se ‘unpastoral’ are unsustainable when the pastoral practice of Paul and Jesus is understood properly. The second examines the nature of homosexual practice and argues that, biblically, it is something especially disruptive to God’s purposes in human life. That is a controversial claim and one worth reading and pondering.
Part four includes, inter alia, a deeply moving chapter by a Church of Scotland elder who is a celibate homosexual; and an analysis of the work of James Loder, a Princeton Theological Seminary Professor of Counselling who counselled many Christians with same-sex attractions. I found this fascinating.
I suspect that, like me, most readers will find some chapters more helpful than others. For anyone who has read Schmidt and Gagnon, this book is still worth buying because it adds more. For anyone who hasn’t, it will be a good starting point, not least for the summary of Gagnon’s indispensable work.
Julian Hardyman,
Senior Pastor, Eden Baptist Church, Cambridge
