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Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?: 21 Conversations from a Historically Christian View
- GenresTheology
237 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2023
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October 13, 2023Highly recommend.
May 29, 2024
Preston Sprinkle has written a very helpful unhelpful book.
This book is helpful in that it lays out 21 common arguments used to support same-sex "marriage." It also lays out a defense for the traditional, biblical view of marriage as requiring one man and one woman. Sprinkle repeatedly reminds the reader that we are always dealing with people made in God's image who are worthy of respect and compassion as fallen human beings.
The unhelpfulness seems largely due to three factors: (1) Sprinkle wants to be liked and accepted by all people, which causes him to him to be more of a progressive in his writings and podcast. (2) He refuses to acknowledge that there is any possibility of same-sex attraction being sinful. He repeatedly contrasts same-sex behavior (always sinful) with same-sex attraction (never sinful). (3) He is one of many celebrity evangelicals who often shows disdain for his conservative upbringing and lets that seep into all of his perspectives. Thus, conservative Christians or churches are often treated in a bad light without nuance, whereas the opposing view is rarely if ever painted with this same broad brush of negativity and criticism. None of this will surprise anyone who has listened to his podcast.
One way Sprinkle's book is, ironically, very helpful.
Preston (based on his podcast and social media presence) appears to be an egalitarian who has yet to come out about where he actually stands on the gender debate. But if you read through this book and take all of his arguments regarding a traditional defense of marriage being between one man and one woman (sex distinction) and apply it to complementarity in gender roles (role distinction), you will have a very effective defense of the complementary position.
In other words, the very same arguments (and often passages) that Sprinkle uses to defend the traditional view of marriage as requiring two sexes in distinction are the same arguments (and often passages) complementarians (and the Apostle Paul) use to defend two roles in distinction.
In this sense, Sprinkle, not only defends the traditional view of marriage as having two sexes. He also unwittingly defends marriage having two distinct roles if you trace this out through the canonical evidence!
The major way this book is unhelpful is that even though Sprinkle defends a traditional view of marriage by rooting it in the theological meaning of marriage as taught in the Bible, he limits the issue to same-sex behavior and does not view same-sex attraction as ever involving any sort of sinful desire.
See this video: https://youtu.be/lfiqf-96d5U?si=cqh-_...
He also bends over backwards to consistently condemn the church often without any nuance but never seems to have the same negative view of those who hold unbiblical positions on this issue.
This book is a helpful unhelpful book and not one to be handed out to those who have not been trained in discernment. But for mature believers with settled biblical convictions, this book can provide some wisdom and strong support for traditional view of marriage, while unwittingly providing insight on how complementarity is defended in the same way.
This book is helpful in that it lays out 21 common arguments used to support same-sex "marriage." It also lays out a defense for the traditional, biblical view of marriage as requiring one man and one woman. Sprinkle repeatedly reminds the reader that we are always dealing with people made in God's image who are worthy of respect and compassion as fallen human beings.
The unhelpfulness seems largely due to three factors: (1) Sprinkle wants to be liked and accepted by all people, which causes him to him to be more of a progressive in his writings and podcast. (2) He refuses to acknowledge that there is any possibility of same-sex attraction being sinful. He repeatedly contrasts same-sex behavior (always sinful) with same-sex attraction (never sinful). (3) He is one of many celebrity evangelicals who often shows disdain for his conservative upbringing and lets that seep into all of his perspectives. Thus, conservative Christians or churches are often treated in a bad light without nuance, whereas the opposing view is rarely if ever painted with this same broad brush of negativity and criticism. None of this will surprise anyone who has listened to his podcast.
One way Sprinkle's book is, ironically, very helpful.
Preston (based on his podcast and social media presence) appears to be an egalitarian who has yet to come out about where he actually stands on the gender debate. But if you read through this book and take all of his arguments regarding a traditional defense of marriage being between one man and one woman (sex distinction) and apply it to complementarity in gender roles (role distinction), you will have a very effective defense of the complementary position.
In other words, the very same arguments (and often passages) that Sprinkle uses to defend the traditional view of marriage as requiring two sexes in distinction are the same arguments (and often passages) complementarians (and the Apostle Paul) use to defend two roles in distinction.
In this sense, Sprinkle, not only defends the traditional view of marriage as having two sexes. He also unwittingly defends marriage having two distinct roles if you trace this out through the canonical evidence!
The major way this book is unhelpful is that even though Sprinkle defends a traditional view of marriage by rooting it in the theological meaning of marriage as taught in the Bible, he limits the issue to same-sex behavior and does not view same-sex attraction as ever involving any sort of sinful desire.
See this video: https://youtu.be/lfiqf-96d5U?si=cqh-_...
He also bends over backwards to consistently condemn the church often without any nuance but never seems to have the same negative view of those who hold unbiblical positions on this issue.
This book is a helpful unhelpful book and not one to be handed out to those who have not been trained in discernment. But for mature believers with settled biblical convictions, this book can provide some wisdom and strong support for traditional view of marriage, while unwittingly providing insight on how complementarity is defended in the same way.
February 16, 2024
Fantastic book for referencing a vast array of arguments both for and against the affirming view. Sprinkle is incredibly generous when dealing with each argument and finds agreements with every single one, while also giving a robust rebuttal to each of them. This is a must-have reference book for any spiritual leader.
November 16, 2025
Author seemed humble and curious - even citing times in his past that he thought differently than he does now. I appreciate his approach. The Adam Grant of apologists?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews