Welcome to the Ex-Gay Watch Bookshelf, a new feature and an opportunity for the XGW staff to share books we’ve been reading that may be of interest to our readers.
First up, Gay Christian 101 by Rick Brentlinger. A former Baptist minister, Brentlinger is more theologically conservative than most pro-gay apologists. Although no book, no matter how persuasively written, is likely to sway those whose opinions on this topic have already been set in stone, Brentlinger’s conservative approach may gain him an audience among some who have dismissed other pro-gay authors as “too liberal.”
Brentlinger addresses all of the biblical passages commonly cited in this debate (Gen. 1-2; Gen. 19; Lev. 18:22 & 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10), examining the cultural and linguistic contexts of each one in depth. He also addresses – and dismantles – the complementarian theory that has become popular in some evangelical circles.
Having addressed the standard anti-gay arguments, Brentlinger turns his attention to arguing for a gay-positive interpretation of several biblical passages: the story of Jonathan and David (1 Sam. 17 and following), the story of the Roman Centurion (Matt. 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10) and Jesus’ mention of eunuchs (Matt. 19:12). Though Brentlinger, by his own admission, cannot make as solid an argument for his interpretations of these passages as he can for the others, he does present a stronger case than any I’ve previously seen for the idea that the Bible contains gay-positive stories.
Gay Christian 101 was self-published by Brentlinger, which possibly explains the lack of an index. Readers who want to refer back to a specific argument or citation will have to skim through the book to find it, a task lengthened even further by the lack of page numbers in the table of contents. Brentlinger’s habit of repeating key points (not counting summaries) may also be distracting to some readers.
Aside from those minor complaints, Gay Christian 101 is a useful resource for those in the process of examining what the Bible says about homosexuality, and a well-researched counterpoint to the books and articles promoted by groups like Exodus and Focus on the Family. Whatever conclusions one ultimately reaches, Brentlinger’s case is worth considering.
thank you for posting this … i want to read it for sure … i’ll look for it on amazon but if it is not available there, where can one purchase a copy?
Go to:
https://www.gaychristian101.com/Gay-Christian-101.html
You can purchase it through PayPal.
I dunno Paul seemed pretty worked up about those men deviating from “the natural” and “lusting after one-another”. (Paul was also worked up about man’s greed, murder, malice, disobedience and such.)
Yeah, I agree. He seemed pretty worked up on opposing women’s rights as well. : )
Charles,
Indeed Paul was worked up. But lets look at the men he was referring to specifically. It’s not happenstance that this diatribe was in his letter to the Romans. He was talking about the older married men who were visiting the Roman baths and paying for the services of young male prostitutes, a form of birth control in that day. Even the Roman senate condemned this behavior later when it realized that the low birth rates that resulted among the elite were having an adverse effect on society.
In the same way, Leviticus talks about men giving up their natural affection for women, i.e. their wives, to satisfy themselves with other men instead, resulting in fewer children being born at a time when Israel would need as many soldiers as possible to fight the battles ahead.
In neither case is there a reference to those who have no “natural affection” for women in the first place, those who are born with same sex attractions instead.
So it is heterosexual men having relations with other men which makes it “unnatural” and therefore “sinful.”
Yet we see today that this is true of homosexuals too! The Mormon Church tried to cure young gay men by marrying them off to naive young women. Within five years, 96% of these unions ended in divorce.
So for gay men and lesbians to enter into sham marriages with someone of the opposite sex for religious or other reasons is “unnatural” and “sinful” in the very same way! When these relationships fall apart as they almost always do, the effect can be devastating, the more so for any children that ensue.
So what is “unnatural” and “sinful” is for a person to have relations with someone who is not appropriate to their sexual orientation. This applies to straights and gays alike.
We need to interpret the Bible in light of the knowledge our scientists provide about the world God created for us and our place in it, or we are likely to misunderstand what it says.
In any case, as Christians, we place Jesus’ teachings and example above what others may say, and he told us quite plainly to love our neighbors, gay, straight and other, no exceptions allowed.
Paul was pretty worked up about those heterosexual men who wanted to get married. Total waste of time and a distraction from the necessity of spreading the gospel. Shouldn’t do it!! No, no, no.
But if you just can’t help yourself and you’re going to burn, well I guess. But let’s not pretend it’s what God really wants.
God’s plan is to be single!
Or at least that’s what Paul taught.
Ya see, that’s the problem of thinking that everything that Paul ever said to any member of any church anywhere applies to everyone today.
Bill Ware:
I totally agree; however, there are many who claim literal interpretation, and who do so using only an English version of the Scriptures. And to make matters worse, they use very unreliable translations. Orthodoxy calls Christians to know, understand, and practice the truth faith, and those truths are found in almost all branches of the Christian faith – Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, some more than others. But there are those who will forever refute the Scriptures by their own misinterpretations of those very same Scriptures.
Again, I totally agree; however, again, there are those who flatline the Scriptures by saying the Gospels are equal with the Old Testament Scriptures, and in many cases the Epistles of St. Paul are put on such a high level as to make Christ’s words meaningless.
If we as Gay Christians are to have any sort of dialogue with those who do not consider us to be worthy to be included in God’s plan for humanity, a change in their way of understanding Scripture is a must, and Fundamentalists, be they Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant, normally concern themselves with their intrepretation of “doctrine purity” rather than practicing the very doctrines they so dearly guard.
It’s off topic but Timothy I think you’re being awfully cynical. Obviously the point of Paul saying that was to affirm the calling some people have to be celibates. He framed it in such a way as to show those called to celibacy are unique. “each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.” vs. 7
I just got the book yesterday and I am half way through. What has impressed me the most so far is the author’s love of the Scriptures, so much so that he wants them to be interpreted in the correct way. It is obvious he has done his homework. I am purchasing a second copy for my church’s library and I recomend everyone do the same.
Brentlinger covers the same topics as Boswell did (Boswell was the Catholic writer whose works helped opened the door for research into understanding homosexuality in the life of the Church), but Brentlinger expands and goes beyond what Boswell established by presenting new arguments that refute the anti-gay position.
All branches of Christianity can appreciate Brentlinger’s approach to the Scriptures. In my opinion he takes a very “orthodox” approach to the Sacred Texts meaning he understands the main message of the Scriptures as a whole. He understands the importance of cultural norms and how God works through the limitations of his messengers and their audiences to reveal his message.
Fundamental literalists who piece-meal biblical passages and fuse unrelated passages together will not enjoy this book so long as they remain with a closed heart. But for those who are open to the Spirit, I highly recomend this book.