Book Review: God and the Gay Christian

Reviewed by Mark Johnston, Executive Director of GLAD’s Open & Affirming Ministry Program

I have always sought a way to communicate with evangelical Christians that the Bible does not condemn relationships between two people of the same gender. It has always frustrated me that evangelicals, focused so carefully on living lives full of response to God’s love, are often so unwilling to consider that the loving God described in the Bible might also love LGBT people without condemning our relationships.

Matthew Vines, in his book God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships, reads the Bible with an Evangelical mindset and carefully and clearly works through the Biblical issues regarding same gender relationships.

Although conversations with people who disagree with us must be entered carefully, with love and grace, and only after relationships have been established, once the conversation has begun God and the Gay Christian is an excellent resource for continuing this dialog.

In his book, Matthew Vines describes the dilemma he faced. Growing up in a conservative evangelical church, his family and community believed that it was wrong for him to be gay. But knowing Jesus’ teaching that a good tree produces good fruit, he couldn’t reconcile the pain caused by this non-affirming teaching with the love he knew in the church.

In God and the Gay Christian Matthew uses careful Bible study, looking closely at the scriptures, their context, and their history, and explains his case from an evangelical perspective that the Bible does not condemn loving relationships be they mixed or same gender.

Matthew presents his study in a personal manner framed by his conversations with his father. His presentation is careful, loving, and personal.

I recommend this book highly to anyone who seeks a close understanding of the Biblical texts regarding same gender relationships.