Being Gay, Being Christian is a valuable resource for a broad range of people.

In the often volatile, convergence of Christianity and sexuality what is often lacking is sound, rational debate and information. Not only do Christian gay and lesbian people have to sort through the maze of internal struggles, others opinions, prejudices and theology but so do their straight Christian family and friends.

Then of course there are the straight Christian pastors, church leaders and congregants who don’t know any gay people (they do, they just don’t know it) who are questioning previously held beliefs about homosexuality. From my experience there are more in the latter space then are letting on.

Whichever group you belong to it is hard to get clarity when you have angry gay activists yelling ‘GAY RIGHTS!’ in one ear and in the other, right wing Christian activists screaming ‘IT’S AN ABOMINATION!’

Enter Being Gay, Being Christian by Dr Stuart Edser.

With this book you can sit quietly, read and digest information at your own pace with only two calm voices; educated Edser’s and your rational mind weighing up and balancing the information with your own assumptions and experience.

Not only does Edser have his own personal experience to contribute but also covers scientific research on sexual orientation, psychology and theology. All these are covered adequately for the average reader thus saving them hours ploughing through academic publications in these areas or several books. Edser’s writing style is natural and accessible.

Coming from a Pentecostal/Evangelical background, I found the chapters on Catholicism of particular interest and value. These are insightful, well researched and documented.

Considering the audience I assume will read Being Gay, Being Christian I did wonder if the final chapter was a bit redundant. But I am only one reader in the broad audience. I am sure some will love it.

If you are looking for answers to the question ‘can you be gay and a Christian?’ Edser’s work is a great place to start. Who knows, you may never have to read another thing on the subject again.

Anthony Venn-Brown

Co-founder of Freedom2b.org

Founder and Director of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International

Author of ‘A Life of Unlearning – A Journey to Find the Truth’

Twice voted one of the 25 Most Influential Gay & Lesbian Australians

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Another:

Stuart Edser, Being Gay, Being Christian. Exisle Publishing. NSW.

RRP $34.99.

Review by David Merritt

May 6, 2012

http://crosslight.org.au/2012/05/06/being-gay-being-christian/

This is a well-written, easy to read book that will inform and challenge Christians whatever their views about sexuality. Parts of it will be disturbing to those who think that Christianity is always about compassion and justice.

In a compelling Foreword, Michael Kirby (former Justice of the High Court) recounts the shameful history of the way churches have dealt with diverse sexualities and the painful consequences of that history of ignorance and mistreatment for many men and women. He ascribes the errors he sees “to the small-mindedness of those who are presently in charge of our religion. We have no doubt that, in the end, the loving kindness of the God of our beliefs and the spirit of reconciliation of the New Covenant will see the Christian church, or most of it, through to a new resolution.

It will be a resolution informed by science and enlivened by love for one another, not misinformation, hatred and disdain.”

The author, Dr Stuart Edser, is a Counselling and Health Psychologist in private practice in Australia. He has degrees in psychology and education, including a Ph D in psychology. He grew up as a devoted Catholic, then as an enthusiastic evangelical in Pentecostal, Anglican and Uniting churches where he concealed his sexual orientation.

After a painful journey he has found a faith in which human nature is affirmed and God ‘wants and desires us to enter into our humanity in the most complete way we can. And that includes our sexuality’. (Page 26)

Part of the book tells his own story of the intolerable tension between what he was taught about homosexuality as sinful and his personal experience of same-sex attraction. Addressing people who are gay or lesbian he writes:  “What a journey it’s been. It took me a long time to find out I was okay. So there you have it: an ex-Catholic, ex-Protestant, Christian gay psychologist telling you that you’re okay too.” (Page 230)

The larger part of the book provides detailed guidance to contemporary research and the current state of scientific knowledge about homosexuality in men and women. This is the heart of the case argued throughout the book.

The evidence is clear that gay and lesbian sexual orientation is not a choice. “A visiting Martian studying human sexuality would conclude that there are two major forms of sexuality in the human race, straight and gay, the former far outnumbering the latter, but the latter forming a consistent and normal variation.” (Page 57)

Dr Edser also considers in considerable detail interpretations of the six claimed significant references to homosexuality in the Bible (that is all there are – three in the Old Testament and three in the New Testament). He notes that the term “homosexual” is a comparatively recent word, probably coined in Europe in the mid 19^th century, and is of dubious applicability to the biblical references.

A table of eight translation variations of the three New Testament references is instructive (Page 147). For contemporary use Dr Edser prefers the terms ‘gay and lesbian sexual orientation’ or more briefly ‘gay and lesbian orientation’.

“We are in a position today to better explain, discuss and theorise intelligently about homosexuality. We do not know it all but we are on a lot surer ground than we were in earlier times, even just 50 years ago. To say that everything we need to know about human sexuality, of all kinds, is found in a book written over a 1000-year period between c 960 BCE and 100 CE is totally laughable.” (Page 43)

For anyone tempted to quote any of the six biblical passages (in most cases, single verses) out of context, to condemn gays and lesbians, the part of the book considering the Bible references will be confronting reading.

There is also a morally hair-raising description of the disastrous impact of the beliefs and practices of two saints of the church, Augustine and Jerome, in the 4^th and 5^th centuries. A substantial description of recent Catholic documents about homosexuality is informative and horrifying. (Pages 157 to 198)

For gay and lesbian people involved in a church, this book will provide knowledge and advice that will affirm them. For conservative Christians who condemn homosexuals, this book will take them on a challenging journey to rethink their biblical claims and moral conclusions.

For progressive Christians, part of a world-wide approach to Christianity in which inclusion of gays and lesbians has been a characteristic, the book will provide reasons for affirming this approach and will encourage action to support gay and lesbian people. For pastors and others engaged in ministry in the churches, the book will guide reflection on the extent to which their ministry is based on truth, justice and compassion.

The book is available from www.exislepublishing.com.au or in all good book stores.