The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics

by Robert A.J. Gagnon

Gagnon offers the most thorough analysis to date of the biblical texts relating to homosexuality. He demonstrates why attempts to classify the Bible’s rejection of same-sex intercourse as irrelevant for our contemporary context fail to do justice to the biblical texts and to current scientific data. Gagnon’s book powerfully challenges attempts to identify love and inclusivity with affirmation of homosexual practice.

. . . the most sophisticated and convincing examination of the biblical data for our time. —Jürgen Becker, Professor of New Testament, Christian-Albrechts University

Genres: Theology, Sexuality, Christian, Biblical Studies, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity

522 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Sagely · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gagnon's The Bible and Homosexual Practice is a book about the "anatomical fittedness of the male penis and the female vagina" (169). In unwieldy prose, Gagnon traces the all Bible's comments on same-sex behavior back to how penises and vaginas fit together better than other parts of the body.

For instance, in dealing with Paul's NT comments, Gagnon asserts, "For Paul, homosexual acts were sinful, first and foremost, because they demonstrated the rejection of God's intention that sexual intercourse be between sexual 'others,' and intention revealed by the anatomical complementarity of male and female sex organs." (270)

Unfortunately for Gagnon, the word vagina never appears in Scripture, and penis shows up only once, in Deut 23.1 (where the concern is not how the organ is used but whether it is damaged or not).

Gagnon roots his reading of Scripture primarily in the Gen 2 account of the creation of woman. He writes,

The solution [to 'adam's aloneness] that God arrived at was not the independent creation of another 'adam, a replica of the first, but rather to "build" a complementary being from a portion of 'adam's own self, a "rib" (2:21-22). That the unique complementarity of male and female is being stressed in the narrative is evident from 'adam's response when this new being was presented to him (now clearly a "him"): "This at last is bone from by bones and flesh from my flesh; to this one shall be given the name 'woman' ('issa) for from man ('ish) this one was taken" (2:23). Only a being made from 'adam can and ought to become someone with whom 'adam longs to reunite in sexual intercourse and marriage, a reunion that not only provides companionship but restores 'adam to his original wholeness. The woman is not just "like himself" but "from himself: and thereby a complementary fit to himself. She is a complemetary sexual "other." (60-61)

If you add passing obeisance to the documentary hypothesis (or its equivalent in other biblical corpora), this is typical of Gagnon's mode of interpretation. To me, it verges on pure association that convinces only the convinced. Rather than expounding the significance of this text through research into either linguistic or literary or historical backgrounds, Gagnon focuses narrowly on those aspects of the texts that serve his argument, seeking to overcome honest scholarly curiosity or doubt by force of repetition and strength of rhetoric.

Gagnon also exploits feelings of disgust throughout the book. Repeatedly Gagnon freely typifies same-sex behaviors as "disgusting" or "shameful." If he were merely reporting that ancient sources viewed these activities that way, it would be one thing. But Gagnon joins in the chorus, needlessly describing same-sex behavior as "disgusting" or eliciting a "visceral negative reaction."

This sneering, nose-upturned way of talking about LGBT sexuality is at its worst in Gagnon's discussion "research" on medical problems faced by contemporary LGBT individuals (see ch 5). While I am not an expert in social science, it's readily apparent even to me that Gagnon leaves behind any seeming attempt at biblical scholarship in this section to give full rein to his feelings disgust for LGBT sexuality. This ch is downright offensive.

Most of all, however, I'm troubled by the picture of salvation that Gagnon presents. Gagnon takes knowledge of God's design for humanity and obedience to it as God's great goal in salvation. I would argue that God's great goal is the renewal and flourishing of all creation within close, personal relationship with God--and I think I have much support from the Christian tradition on this.

Gagnon assumes that mercy is instrumental, that God shows mercy in order to obtain obedience from humans. He writes,

In sum, the stories about Jesus' encounters with women who were considered sexual sinners do not support the conclusion that Jesus was soft on sexual sin. He did allow these women to come into close contact with him. He did not fear the stigma attached to associating with such people. He advocated mercy as a means of stimulating repentance and devotion to God rather than support the death penalty. He understood that those who were forgiven the most would stand a good chance of loving the Forgiver the most. Such people made excellent candidates for receiving Jesus' message about the coming kingdom and for obeying his teaching. Jesus forgave sexual sins, like all other sins, in the expectation of transformed behavior. (217)

I would hold, instead, a view that sees mercy and compassion as basic to God's character in relation to all creation. (See Ex 34.6-7 and elsewhere.) Mercy is not instrumental, given in order to get something from us. Rather mercy (and judgment) is the necessary reaction that occurs when human hearts come into contact with God (Cf. Ro 1.16-18).

Gagnon's picture of salvation lead him to a view that same-sex behavior can steal us out of God's hand. Gagnon asserts, "Paul was clearly concerned that believers might return to former patterns of sinful practices, including same-sex intercourse, practices that could lead to loss of salvation" (288).

While I believe we can choose to reject God's offer salvation, I also believe that all of our sin and rebellion did not stop Jesus from saving us in the first place; it won't stop him from continuing to save us either. Indeed, Paul writes nearly all of his letters to congregations mired in the worst sorts of sin, but he never merely bemoans what the salvation they might have lost. Instead the call is always to live out their salvation through repentance, to cooperate with the Spirit at work in them to make them more like Jesus.

All of this positions Gagnon to suggest that salvation for LGBT individuals must result in some sort of taming of not just action but also of desire. Speaking of Romans, Gagnon writes,

For Paul, God's goal is clear: lives transformed into living and holy sacrifices (12:1-2; 15:16) and united in praise (15:6-13). The power of the gospel is denied if it is not embodied in the moral and social life of the individual within the context of the community of faith.... If God's punishment for idolatry was to step back and allow degrading human passions to control human life (1:18-32), how can God's deliverance be anything less than liberation from the control of such passions? What kind of salvation would leave people trapped in degrading behavior and continually subject to the ongoing wrath of God? (282)

On the whole, TBHP represents a failure to reckon with the power of God's mercy and the strength of God's salvation. It preaches the Bible as a rulebook or science text rather than as a Spirit-powered message of God's commitment to set us free. The result of this failure is to contort Scripture to uphold a model of genital complementarity that Scripture itself never mentions.

I read the endorsements of this book, and I can't help but wonder: Is there something I missing? How can Bible teachers I respect so much fail to see TBHP for the shoddy work that it is? How has TBHP come to exercise so much influence in the church's discernment around sexuality? Where is the better scholarship and better theology on LGBT sexuality and the Bible?

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this was the standard work on this topic, so I expected this to be good. In saying that, I didn't expect it to be this good. Given that the Labour party has lost its mind on these issues, and the Green Party has obviously been smoking a whole bunch of that weed that they tried to legalise last year, Christians in New Zealand would do well to review this book every year. Though he has a more liberal view of scripture than I do, he persuasively makes the case that the Bible regards all forms of homosexual behaviour as inherently sinful, and thus should be repented of like any other sin. Not only this, but the chapters that incorporate statistics and scientific studies to dissect the issues around homosexuality and genetics, the dreaded 'conversion therapy,' and the appeal to monogamous homosexual relationships as the reason for dodging the Bible's teaching on this are solid. This book is empathetic and thoughtful, and well worth working through to remind ourselves of why we believe what we believe, especially as we suffer some serious societal losses as a result of doing so. Highly recommended.

[Ben Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an outstanding book that defends the historic reading of the Bible - that homosexuality in all its manifestations is sin. Thoroughly exhaustive, he addresses all the revisionist assertions and arguments. I especially appreciate his inclusion of all the pertinent studies that have been conducted - in particular those that show that homosexuality can indeed be "cured," with about the same success rate as reported by Alcoholics Anonymous or smoker cessation programs. This book is very technical, but if you want "the" book on the subject, this is it.

At the same time, I cannot give it a full 5-stars. Why? Because the author openly accepts the Documentary Hypothesis, many of the conclusions of the Jesus Seminar, and he believe Paul is wrong in certain places (see, for example p345). Because of his rejection of inerrancy and his admitted belief that the Bible contains errors, I wonder: upon what epistemological foundation he can write with such conviction that on the topic of homosexuality the Bible gets it right?

In sum: great book, but his liberal doctrine of the Bible undermines the foundation of the edifice he so masterfully builds.

[R.W. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite my one star rating, I do find a couple things that are useful here. First, I do think Gagnon has presented the traditional view seriously and forcefully. Second, I admire his apparent conviction that Jesus must receive the honour he is due in the preaching of the Gospel. Third, Gagnon tries to demonstrate the harm of pro-gay views by recourse to the social sciences. I believe he fails, but the gesture is valid and laudable—having data in hand is important for questions about harm. After all, as Paul says in Romans, Love does no harm to the neighbour.

I cannot find much more than that to like. Gagnon makes two assumptions that I strongly disagree with, and does not provide counter-argument, only counter-assertion: 1) That anatomical difference between the sexes proves heterosexism; and 2) that foundationalist hermeneutics (recovering the intentions of a writer using historical-grammatical exegesis) is the only valid way to respect the authority of Scripture.

Readers may miss the lack of counter-argument because the sheer number of pages and footnotes is exhausting. Gagnon’s writing is usually clear, but I often felt confused because I couldn’t follow his logic. The structure and rhetoric of his argument makes countering him difficult—do I engage the many times when I disagree with his reading of the sources? do I protest that the things he claims are clearly and obviously true aren’t (at least not to me and many other students of the Bible and theology)? do I count the number of times that gay Christians are erased and pro-gay scholars excluded by implication from God’s Kingdom?

I will make two comments about very real dangers that I think Gagnon’s argument contains, as I understand it. First, like other conservatives he cites, Gagnon’s empirical argument relies partially on discredited researchers like Paul Cameron (who believed that homosexuals are much more likely to molest children than the general population). His citations of social-science research have been called “tendentious,” and I can only agree. His writing especially about statistics leaves this non-maths guy totally at a loss: should I trust his number crunching if he relies elsewhere on researchers that produce inaccurate conclusions? I’m not sure.

Gagnon groups homosexual sex directly with molestation of children and plural relationships like polyamory, presenting homosexual sex as the top of a slippery slope. There are excellent arguments against abusive relationships or even consensual adult incest that simply do not apply to plural relationships, but readers may miss this simply because (if I understand!) he thinks the revulsion that most people feel about both has (or should have) the same moral logic beneath them.

Pastorally, even if you agree with Gagnon’s arguments and rhetoric, please do not give this massive book to a teenager to read. His protestations of love or instances of using a gentle tone are too far between to offset the brutality of what he presents. I am concerned that this book—despite a lack of positive engagement by Gagnon’s own peers within American Evangelical Christianity—provides a highly selective and distorted picture not only of lesbians and gay men generally, but of the hopes and dreams of LGBTQ2S+ Christians. The fact that this book is esteemed so highly by many Evangelicals causes me deep sorrow.

[Kaylie Hutson · Rating 1 out of 5]

-This book is at best unconvincing and at worst ignorant and damaging to society.
-The arguments in it could only convince people who have already convinced themselves.
-Any of the flimsy points are repeated about five dozen times. The 500 pages could easily be condensed into 20.
-For a book that says it's based on the Bible, most of the literature cited was not the inspired word of God, such as Wisdom, the Book of Enoch, and writings by Philo.
-The majority of the points were such a stretch that Gagnon (emphasis on the "gag") must've become a gymnast by the end of the book.
-Just everything about it was an r/whoosh, and what made me REALLY upset was how he kept whining about how persecuted he is by speaking out against homosexuality. Have you been spit on, alienated, disowned, verbally, physically, and emotionally abused, or experienced self-hatred because of your stance on sexuality? No? Then calm down. (I'm really trying to have grace here, but goodness this book was so bad, I'm sorry)
-It's fine to have an opinion of course, but it's just so disrespectful. He says that Christians should love those in the lgbtq community, and yet during the whole book he calls them disgusting, perverted, freaks of nature, and (at least "sometimes") on par with pedophiles and rapists.
-Through some absolutely ridiculous hermeneutics (if we can even call it that), he claims that Ham raped his father Noah, that masturbation and oral sex are bad despite never being talked about in the Bible, that Jesus never once acted contrary to the Mosaic law, and that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of homosexuality, which is a huge misconception that is easily refuted by many passages in the Bible.
-Granted, this book is almost 20 years old, so who knows what he would say today, and obviously there have been scientific studies since then disproving some of his points that he couldn't have known about at the time.

-I'm still soul searching about this very important and sensitive topic, but if there's going to be a book that convinces me that the Bible is against homosexuality, this is certainly NOT it.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Gagnon's book remains the authoritative source for arguments regarding the Bible's treatment of homosexuality. It is a work of astonishing erudition that will tire many readers but provides the thorough scholarship necessary to refute the many, many, MANY kinds of attempts to evade what he and I believe is the univocal and inescapable testimony of the Bible on this issue.

The book seems less successful for readers today regarding the evidence about psychological and social pathologies attendant on homosexual behaviour both because more than a decade or more has gone by since those studies were reported (no fault of the book or author, of course) and because some, at least, of the sources of these studies seem open to question, at least prima facie (e.g., the Family Research Council).

Still, other research I have seen since then, and not from such sources, bears out some of these findings, so I simply observe that this section is not as useful as the others--that I find almost entirely rock solid.

(By the way, I don't agree with Gagnon's approach to the authorship of some of the books of the Bible, holding as I do more conservative views than his, but such a difference only strengthens the case.)

The huge remaining question--and in a recent e-mail exchange with me, Gagnon agreed--is that of the nature of gender essentialism. The Bible's relentless insistence that only a man and a woman can form a marriage implies an important complementarity that is not specified in the Bible and is difficult for many of us to talk about today, fearful as we are of falling back into stereotypes that demean women (or men, for that matter). But such an important complementarity is the only way to make sense of the Bible's teaching--particularly of Genesis 2 and of Romans 1--and the next stage of theological work on this issue must grapple with this question as effectively and explicitly as possible.

Jim Brownson's recent book, to his credit, does recognize this question, and then answers it in the negative: there is no such crucial gender complementarity. But I'm quite sure Brownson's wrong about that, as he is wrong about his exegesis of Romans 1 etc. The parallelism of Romans 1 of idolatry (doing all the right religious things but toward the wrong target: the correctly "answering" God isn't there) and homosexuality (doing all the right sexual things but toward the wrong target: the correctly "answering" sex isn't there) seems to me quite clear.

The task remains to be done on the side of those maintaining traditional views. I look forward to someone else doing that soon!

[Zach Waldis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very unbalanced. On the one hand, Gagnon shows convincingly that exegesis cannot support homosexual practice. Sometimes this is pressed to the extreme, for instances in taking a "maximalist" stance on texts such as Genesis 9 and 19, but overall he convincingly argues that the Bible cannot support homosexuality. The "research" he marshals at the end of the book, however, is very sad. He marshals whatever he can to claim that homosexuality is disastrous for your health, for society, even going so low as to claim that homosexuals have a strong tendency towards pedophilia and child molestation. His outrageous claims comparing homosexuality to bestiality and incest don't help his case. On the whole I find this a decidedly mixed treatment, and this comes from someone who agrees with Gagnon on the issue.

[Mark A Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Proponents of homosexuality often claim that Scripture (including Jesus) is relatively silent on the issue, or at the least, ignorant of the loving nature of many contemporary same-sex relationships. For these views to be tenable, however, biblical texts must corroborate them and, as Gagnon quite thoroughly shows, no such texts exist. Furthermore, to insinuate that the Bible endorses homosexuality requires a complete undermining of the sexual ethics presented therein. Gagnon has crafted a definitive, declarative resource.

[Stephen Hiemstra · Rating 5 out of 5]

At one point in seminary I asked a professor [1] to outline the biblical case for gay marriage. He responded that the Bible did not offer a strong case for gay marriage; it was just the right thing to do. Evangelicals typically focus on his first point while progressives typically focus on the second point. Robert Gagnon’s The Bible and Homosexual Practice outlines a detailed interpretation of the Bible’s teaching on this issue.

Gagnon states his objectives as:

“to demonstrate two main points: First, there is clear, strong, and credible evidence that the Bible unequivocally defines same-sex intercourse as sin. Second, there exist no valid hermeneutical arguments derived from either general principles of biblical interpretation or contemporary scientific knowledge and experience for overriding the Bible’s authority on this matter” (37).

Gagnon’s conclusion that the Bible treats homosexuality as sin[2] (a theological statement) should surprise no one, but it is not obvious how the church should respond to it (a problem in ethics). Theology is easy because a statement is either true or not; ethics is hard because it necessarily involves trade-offs between multiple theological principles in tension. We are all sinners and stand in need of God’s grace. This implies that no sin is unforgivable and we are to share the Gospel with everyone. But, how do we properly love the unrepentant sinner? And, what is special about witnessing to someone struggling with gender confusion? —These are not hypothetical questions. Unfortunately, the postmodern church (like the church at Laodicea) has often neglected to teach the doctrine of sin which leaves it with scarce moral authority to provide advice on any particular sin (Rev. 3:14-19).

Gagnon summarizes his book with 4 reasons “why those who engage in same-sex intercourse act contrary to God’s intentions for human sexual relations”. Those reasons (487-489) are:

1. “Same-sex intercourse is strongly and unequivocally rejected by the revelation of scripture.”
2. “Same-sex intercourse represents a suppression of the visible evidence in nature regarding male-female anatomical and procreation complementarity.”
3. “Societal endorsement of homosexual behavior will only accelerate the many negative social effects [serious health problems, greater pedophilic behavior, erosion in expectations of marriage, annihilation of gender norms, and marginalization of those that speak out] arising from such behavior…”
4. “The practicing homosexual’s own relationship with the Creator will be put in jeopardy.”

Gagnon’s argues these points thoroughly. For example, in talking about the health effects of homosexual behavior, Gagnon cites[3] an unspecified health condition and lists all the possible negative consequences of this condition. Reading about this list, one is suspicious that the condition is homosexuality—it is not—the condition is alcoholism. The health consequences of homosexuality are much worse (471-473), including:

o “A significantly decreased likelihood of establishing or preserving a successful marriage.
o A 25-35 year decrease in life expectancy.
o Chronic, potentially fatal, liver disease—infectious hepatitis, which increases the risk of liver cancer.
o Inevitably fatal-immune disease, including associated cancers.
o Frequently, fatal rectal cancer.
o Multiple bowel and other infectious diseases.
o A much higher than usual incidence of suicide.
o A very low likelihood that its adverse effects can be eliminated unless the condition itself is.
o An at least 50% likelihood of being eliminated through lengthy, often costly, and very time-consuming treatment.” (473)

Having worked in a hospital emergency room, this list is not surprising. I lost a pastoral mentor to AIDS as a young person and personally assisted a number of hospital patients suffering from problems on this list, including HIV, when I worked as a chaplain intern. The Center for Disease Control estimates that more than half a million people have died from AIDS in the United States alone. Meanwhile, more than a million people are currently infected with HIV [4]. Gagnon's point is that the Bible's teaching on homosexuality is of continuing relevance in postmodern moral teaching.

Ironically, pastors and churches that ignore people suffering from gender confusion (or, worse, condone it) are complicit in the Apostle Paul's assessment in Romans 1:24-27—giving them over to their ungodly passions [2]. Gagnon compares homosexuality with alcoholism both because of the medical problems associated (including an addictive character), but also because recovery is difficult. Clinical studies prior to politicization of the issue reported recovery rates of about 30 percent (28.8%), roughly on par with success rates reported by Alcoholics Anonymous (420-432) [5]. Recovery in this context means we are able to control our responses, not our temptations.

Gagnon is a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He has a master’s in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School and a doctor of philosophy from Princeton Theological Seminary [6]. The acknowledgments section of his book reads like a who’s who of evangelical scholars. The Bible and Homosexual Practice is written in 5 chapters:

1. The Witness of the Old Testament,
2. Same-Sex Intercourse as a “Contrary to Nature” in Early Judaism,
3. The Witness of Jesus,
4. The Witness of Paul and Deutero-Paul, and
5. The Hermeneutical Relevance of the Biblical Witness (5-10).

The introduction and conclusions are not numbered. These chapters are proceeded by the acknowledgments and followed by both a topical and a scriptural index.

The response of the church to gender confusion is the defining issue of our day. Until the 1980s, no Christian denomination considered homosexuality acceptable behavior; now, many denominations, including my own, are having trouble establishing spiritual boundaries of any kind—the teaching on homosexuality stands out primarily in that it is the most obvious. As a consequence, Christians need to be aware of the arguments being made. In this debate, Gagnon’s research is an important resource.

Here in part 1, I have given an overview of Gagnon’s argument and highlighted health effects of homosexuality. Christians more normally focus on scriptural arguments. So, in part 2, I will survey his review of Old Testament passages on homosexuality and, in part 3, I will turn to passages on the New Testament. All 3 parts will appear on T2Pneuma.net over the coming week.

[1] The professor was on the faculty at University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.

[2] For example: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” (Lev. 18:22 ESV) Also: “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” (Rom. 1:26-27 ESV)

[3] This reference is taken from Jeffrey Satinover’s “Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth” (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996).

[4] http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/bas....

[5] Earlier I reviewed the story of a Lesbian conversion: Butterfield Journeys from PC to JC (http://wp.me/p3Xeut-wj)

[6] http://www.RobGagnon.net.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent resource for a scholarly treatment of the Bible’s view of homosexual practice.

I don’t agree with all of the concessions that Gagnon makes to scholarly historical criticism, but his engagement with the topic at hand is excellent.

It would be interesting to see an updated version as this one is now 21 years old.

[Adam Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I blew through this book a lot more quickly than I thought I would. It stands as the definitive scholarly attempt to defend the anti-gay viewpoint. Clocking in at over 500 pages, it is quite the door-stopper, and has been triumphantly proclaimed by conservatives as the ultimate take-down of competing viewpoints advocating the inclusion of LGBTQ people in the Church.

Such celebration is premature, to say the least.

I wanted to start this review with something positive to say, and I kept waiting for some part of the book that I might find praiseworthy. I had to abandon that approach. There is not one single line of evidence or of argumentation I found compelling. Having read much of the scholarship he employs, I did not even find his summaries and responses to break new ground. In short, the book is not an advance in the discussion, but a polemic work designed to find (indeed, manufacture) responses to scholarship which Gagnon's "crowd" doesn't like.

I will say that Gagnon has read widely in the literature. This much is clear. But the purpose for which he has employed this scholarship is not in the interest of advancing discussion or opening dialog but rather for the purposes of ending it; not so much to explain why conservatives read these passages the way they do as finding justifications for why they should keep doing so in the face of the mountains of scholarly work out there, even on the most spurious reasoning. I was actually shocked by how weak his arguments were in so many different places. I was raised on the Christian Right and spent a lot of time reading various books on this stuff, but the definitive case on what I was assured was "obvious" is so far from obvious that I was left a bit stunned.

But the book's biggest problem is that it is so narrowly focused on the mere seven debated texts that not only does he miss the forest for the trees, but he misses the whole tree for the sake of one branch. By this I simply mean that the issue is not so much about the passages, but about the meta-story you see those texts playing a role in. The real questions are not whether Leviticus 18 is dealing with cult prostitution or not, but is about how that text functions under the New Testament and the rubric of Jesus. And despite the book's subtitle that claims it deals with hermeneutics, it actually does not. At all. Gagnon merely quotes Matthew 5 about Jesus upholding the Torah without any discussion, handwaves over the complexities of that passage, and carries cheerily on. The final chapter, ostensibly supposed to cover hermeneutical issues, disintegrates into a tirade of shoddy and discredited claims in one of the most noxious, ignorant, and downright offensive sequences I might have ever read; in which he claims that homosexuality orginates in child abuse or weak parental connections (both long discredited), that there is no clear delineation between homosexuality and pedophilia, and that ex-gay ministries actually work. He has, since the publication of his book, continued in these bogus claims and increased his rhetoric.

So I respect the effort. I respect his interest in understanding what God wants of us. I respect his right to put his beliefs before the community. But I also respect the community's right to correct him. I didn't find his arguments persuasive. I went in hoping to be challenged, but that didn't end up being the case.

[RB · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fake news 101. This book refers to a bunch of "studies" to prove how promiscuous gay men are. The problem? They use unrepresentative surveys from sex club attendees from decades ago. I'm going to debunk a few of the lies pushed in the book.

The book claimed that a "dutch study" found that gay men have an "average of 7 partners a year despite being in a relationship". Utterly false. The small study actually EXCLUDED men who had just one sexual partner, and all respondents had to have HIV. It was quite literally a study of men with HIV who HAD TO HAVE multiple partners, since monogamous and HIV- men were excluded.

The book claims that significant portions of gay people have "hundreds" of sexual partners or even "thousands". Utterly false. They referred to surveys of sex club attendees such as one in 1978 and one in 1997. They are completely debunked by the fact that we now have probability sample surveys, which show that about half of gay men have between 0 and 9 sexual partners, and 25% have more than 50 partners. That is still a lot but hugely less than what is claimed in this book. Examples of these credible surveys include the General Social Survey, the NATASL, and the ASHR.

The book further makes other stupendous claims about infidelity and promiscuity that all refer to small surveys of men who had HIV or were already in open relationships. This is the kind of intellectual dishonesty behind the reason nobody takes these arguments seriously.

It further paints an image of gay men as pedophiles by some ridiculous math trick or referring to some obscure and unscientific survey of (pedophiles?) in the 70's who are by no means a representative sample. Thats not how pedophilia even works. Pedophiles have a different amount of white matter in their brains compared to straight and gay men. I suggest you read James Cantor's work who completely debunks this pseudoscientific garbage.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is stellar. Gagnon deals with the whole of scripture setting human sexuality in the context of God's good creation, and arguing that any sexual practice outside of the covenant of marriage is in defiance of both Christian ethics and the clear ordering of society. The rooting of the Leviticus passages within the context of Gen. 1-2, and Jesus stamp of approval in Mark 7:21 along with Paul's affirmation make the scriptural teaching clear. But this is not all there is the larger emphasis upon marriage between a man and a women or fidelity within singleness that permeates the whole of scripture.
The closing hermeneutical section deal with all the attempts to whittle away at the consistent sexual ethic of the bible and presents a faithful retention of a high view of sexuality with a call to compassionate ministry with all people who face sexual brokeness inviting them to be reconciled to God and transformed by his healing work in Christ through the power of the Spirit. The gospel sets people free so same-sex practice is no marginal theme. Jesus came to save sinners and for those caught in same sex sin this means healing a restoration to singleness or marriage between a man and a women.
The ordination of those who are actively involved in homosexual sex is in open defiance of scripture, the authority of Christ and harmful to society.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

More religious bigotry wrapped up as historical interpretation.

[Charlene Hios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great scholarly reference book on this topic. A hard read to say the least. For an academic book it's to be expected. personally I believe every pastor should brush up on the topic with this book.

[Scot · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wrote an extensive review of Gagnon's book as a guest blogger on Tony Jones' blog:
Reading Gagnon: Getting Ready [Scot]
Reading Gagnon: Two More Prejudices [Scot]
Reading Gagnon: Here We Go [Scot]
Reading Gagnon: Overstated Arguments [Scot]
Reading Gagnon: What Went Wrong [Scot]
Reading Gagnon: Morality and Sin [Scot]
Reading Gagnon: Tony's Wrap-Up

[Moses Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without a doubt a very thorough and yet gracious treatment of this subject. Gagnon leaves no stone unturned! Highly recommended reading for pastors and lay people who are serious about ministering to homosexuals for Christ.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though Gagnon swallows the JEPD documentary hypothesis this is some of the finest analysis of the relevant texts in the genre

[Daniël De waele · Rating 3 out of 5]

splendid collection of sources
pour conclusions

[Nathan Marone]

Over the years I've read books on both sides of the debate on homosexuality and Christianity. Until now, I've avoided Gagnon's standard text. My basic journey has been that I'd love to hear a solid case in favor of homosexuality from scripture but have found all arguments lacking. Gagnon's book is against homosexual practice.

The strength of this book is in the biblical exegesis. His work here isn't unassailable (I think he presses too hard on the account of Noah's drunkenness) but this is the best, most detailed examination of all texts that relate to this subject, both directly and indirectly. Most of the arguments he lays out are ones I've heard before, but I was particularly impressed with his treatment of the sections in 1 Samuel that deal with the relationship between David and Jonathan.

There are a few flaws. 1. Repetitiveness. Gagnon really does belabor certain points to an obnoxious degree. I know he's trying to make detailed arguments, but sheesh. 2. An overreliance on argument from the complementary nature of the penis and vagina. Though I think the argument is fair, he seems to want to press it at every possible turn. 3. When he turns to some objections to a "not affirm" position, Gagnon relies too heavily on slippery slope arguments.

I'll continue to pursue the best arguments from the affirm camp, but Gagnon has raised the bar pretty high if you're trying to argue that scripture itself affirms homosexual practice in any form. Perhaps there are arguments to be made outside of scripture, but these arguments should hold less weight for the Christian community seeking to understand and apply scriptural teaching

[Peter Sprigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I am concerned, this is THE definitive work on the biblical teaching regarding homosexual conduct. I have had this book on my shelf for years, and have used it as a reference, but had never read the whole thing (493 pages) until I decided to add it to my daily, through-the-year readings for this year. Gagnon (whom I know) convincingly defends the historic view that both the Old and New Testaments unequivocally condemn all sexual relations between persons of the same sex as sinful. He also very thoroughly rebuts major revisionist arguments that seek to undercut that teaching. Even if you don't work systematically through the whole book, as I did this year, this book is important for any theologically astute Christian (certainly for any evangelical pastor) to have in their library as a reference. The 75 pages of exposition of Romans 1 alone are worth the price of the book.

[Squire Whitney: Hufflepuff Book Reviwer · Rating 3 out of 5]

In The Bible and Homosexual Practice, Robert Gagnon puts forth just about as robust and as fair of a case as one can in advocating for the traditional view in the homosexuality debate—at least if one takes into consideration the time that the book was written and the way that some recent insights into sexual orientation had not emerged yet. One can tell that Gagnon is a true scholar, and I appreciate the fact that he says that he could never be a fundamentalist or Bible literalist without jeopardizing his intellectual honesty—which puts a unique spin on his material amidst other Christians putting forth the traditional perspective. However, I still ultimately find most of Gagnon's arguments unconvincing and still lean toward the affirming view—although perhaps this has primarily to due to a paradigm shift of late more so that his actual arguments.

[Sam Nesbitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible treatment on the controversial issue of homosexuality that is biblically faithful and generally theologically orthodox. Gagnon provides many strong arguments for the Bible’s unequivocal stance against homosexual practice. Gagnon likewise argues against the acceptance of homosexual practice in a broader ethical considerations. It is written lucidly and effectively communicates different ideas and positions. The only drawback is that Gagnon gives credence to many higher critical positions (e.g., Documentary Hypothesis, Q source, Deutero-Paul). Gagnon even shows his theological hand and disavows Scriptural inerrancy. Despite these views, Gagnon still articulates a faithful understanding of the gospel and how the Bible speaks of homosexual practice.

[pianogal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was poorly argued and made me mad. Which is hard to say a) because it was VERY well researched - I know that the author put a ton of time into it and b) when I started this whole process I would have agreed with him. But he didn't convince me that we were right, and in fact, he came across as very Pharisee-like, adhering more the word of the law than the movement of the Spirit.

And his vastly repeated complementarity argument - saying that boys and girls are different so they should be together was kind of like arguing that the red crayon is red because its red. None of that convinced me of anything.

Also, I'm so over the page long footnotes. If something is that important, you should try and include it in the body of the work. The only reason I made it through the book is because I stopped reading them. Listing every mention ever of a single word is maybe not the most helpful way to make your argument.

Sorry. There was a lot of work put into this one, but the church is in trouble if this is where they decide to stay on this issue.

[Elijah Beltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every pastor needs this on his shelf. It is hard slog, with many pages having longer footnotes than body of text from the book, but it would be profitable to have it, if only for a reference, because of the last chapter that has common questions addressed. Some who are conservative in their theology might not like Gagnon's critical views of Scripture, with his references to JEDP in the OT, "deutero-Paul" in the NT, his denial of inerrancy, and his view of women pastors, but I think that strengthens our use of his arguments, because he is studying the issue of homosexuality in the Bible with a very open mind and letting Scripture speak for itself.

[Scott Fabel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, this was a terrible book. The author is clearly biased, which leads to very shoddy research. While the author claims to consider homosexuality from other perspectives, the reality is that he presents the same tired arguments that have been abused by the church for decades without any significant effort in real hermeneutics. The sad truth is that the author's opinion (and the opinion of church tradition) drives the content of this book, which makes it completely disconnected from reality. The conclusion of this book and its views on homosexuality will be the hill upon which many churches will die, and it will be a good thing for the rest of humanity when this happens.

[Thomas Weeston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The long and narrow road of truth in love for a generation of broad acceptance in skepticism desperately trying to quiet the ‘democracy of the dead’.

The balance of love and faith are to be found in the historical struggle to balance unity and purity. The author is able to keep and call Christians to live this out in the public and the ecclesial environment. It is, and will be, a position of truth and hope not easily received, but necessarily offered, if we are to keep the message of Christ linked with the evidential healing of the Holy Spirit.

[Jeff Noble · Rating 3 out of 5]

A DENSE scholarly treatment of the subject. I was not in agreement with the author's attitude to the authority of scripture (he leans way too heavily to historical criticism) or his view of salvation (he thinks a Christian can lose their salvation). However, his in-depth study and responses to current authors/proponents in the homosexual movement today are grounded in an honest assessment of what the Bible and first century thinkers had to say.

[Caleb Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent deep study on what the Bible, Judaism and the historic Christian church has to say about homosexual practice. Gagnon is detailed and honest about the Bible’s message about homosexual practice while speaking compassionately to those who practice homosexual intercourse. There is even a message here to the church on how we treat and relate to those who are struggling with same sex attraction. The book is long and detailed but it is certainly worth reading.

[Sterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, a bit of a difficult read due to the subject matter and the dense level of research. However, this book was truly an encompassing examination of the many arguments against the biblical witness against homosexuality and how those arguments are easily refuted based on the Bible, scientific research and historical evidence. A truly insightful book!