Gay people, perhaps especially gay Christians, have enough struggles in our society without having the rest of the Christian community adding to their pain.
I applaud these brave men for coming out in public as gay Christians and opening up urgently needed dialogue in both the church and the secular world.Ĭ. Since I am not gay, it is not up to me to judge a gay person's struggles and conclusions about what is sexually moral under Christian theology (in terms of whether gay people should stay celibate or find a healthy partnership). Figuring out the intended meaning behind many scriptural passages that appear to address this issue is not simple-it's complex.ī. While I found Justin's book more compelling, the ultimate conclusions I've drawn from reading both of these perspectives are:Ī. Our book group is made up of straight Christian women. Justin and Wes are both gay Christian men. I read this book as part of a church book group in which we are comparing Wes Hill's experience to that of Justin Lee in Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate. "In so doing, they may find, as I have, by grace, that being known is spiritually healthier than remaining behind closed doors, that the light is better than the darkness." "I hope this book may encourage other homosexual Christians to take the risky step of opening up their lives to others in the body of Christ," Hill writes. He advocates neither unqualified "healing" for those who struggle, nor their accommodation to temptation, but rather faithfulness in the midst of brokenness.
How can gay Christians experience God's favor and blessing in the midst of a struggle that for many brings a crippling sense of shame and guilt? Weaving together reflections from his own life and the lives of other Christians, such as Henri Nouwen and Gerard Manley Hopkins, Hill offers a fresh perspective on these questions. What does it mean for gay Christians to live faithful to God while struggling with the challenge of their homosexuality? What is God's will for believers who experience same-sex desires? Those who choose celibacy are often left to deal with loneliness and the hunger for relationships. As a celibate gay Christian, Hill gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to wrestle firsthand with God's "No" to same-sex relationships. Yet many who sit next to us in the pew at church fit that description, says author Wesley Hill. "Gay," "Christian," and “celibate” don't often appear in the same sentence.
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