The Bible And Same-Sex Marriage

Christianity Today Book Review:  What Believers Can and Can’t Affirm in Those Who Affirm Same-Sex Marriage, by Darrin W. Snyder Belousek (Ohio Northern; Google Scholar; Author, Marriage, Scripture, and the Church: Theological Discernment on the Question of Same-Sex Union (2021) (reviewing Rebecca McLaughlin, Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships? Examining 10 Claims about Scripture and Sexuality (2024)):

Maybe you believe that the Bible opposes same-sex sexual relationships. Where in the Bible would you begin to explain your view? Maybe you doubt that the Bible opposes same-sex sexual relationships. Where in the Bible would you begin to build an argument for affirmation? Or maybe you are unsure whether the Bible affirms or opposes same-sex sexual relationships. Where in the Bible would you begin to inquire about the matter?

Whichever position you might find yourself in, Rebecca McLaughlin’s new book will point you to precisely the place in the Bible where you should begin—with the gospel and Jesus. ...

The book, Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships? Examining 10 Claims about Scripture and Sexuality (2024), brings together two recent trends of books by evangelical writers.

One trend is believers who experience same-sex sexual attraction, or self-identify as “gay,” writing first-person accounts about their journeys of faith and sexuality. ... These writers, each in their own style, recount their calling to be followers of Jesus and consider how to live and love faithfully and fruitfully according to the gospel. Together, they set forth a spiritual vision of holiness and righteousness that is relevant for every believer and the whole church.

Another trend is scholars and pastors writing popular-level books in an apologetic mode about marriage and sexuality. ... These writers, each with their own approach, answer many of the main arguments marshaled in support of an affirming position on same-sex sexual relationships. Together, they elaborate and defend a theological vision of marriage and sexuality that is true to Scripture and good for the whole church.

McLaughlin writes at the confluence of these two trends. Alongside the stories of several friends, she relates vignettes from her personal story of faith and sexuality as a believer who experiences same-sex attraction. Along the way, she weaves these stories with critical examination of claims commonly made in support of same-sex relationships. ...

McLaughlin has composed her short book in ten chapters, each running about ten pages and addressing one claim commonly made in support of same-sex sexual relationships. Each chapter follows the same format: McLaughlin introduces the chapter with a story that illustrates how and why the claim in question matters to the ordinary lives of real people; she then carefully lays out the affirming argument, considers reasons one might think it a good argument, and explains why she thinks the argument falls short; and finally, she concludes the chapter by tying the theological argument back to the personal story. ...

The book’s major strength is that McLaughlin concludes every chapter by bringing the question, and the reader, back to Jesus. She reminds us again and again how the Bible affirms, centrally, that God’s love for us in Jesus is enough for our salvation and abundant life, now and for eternity. Whether we are married or single, our heart’s deepest desire will be fully and finally satisfied in our relationship to Jesus. ...

McLaughlin’s book is commendable, not only for her capable defense of biblical teaching but also for her winsome presentation of that defense. She acknowledges the truths she finds in affirming arguments while avoiding fallacious arguments to make her own case. She refuses to either overstate arguments that favor her own view or to qualify conclusions that she knows will be unpopular with some readers. ...

Regardless of your starting position on questions of sexuality, McLaughlin’s book is a good place to begin examining it in light of Scripture. Every believer and seeker will find something to learn.

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