- ISBN13: 9780060834548
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Gay marriage has become the most important domestic social issue facing twenty-first-century Americans — particularly Americans of faith. Most Christians are pro-marriage and hold traditional family values, but should they endorse extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians? If Jesus enjoined us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and the homosexual is our neighbor, does that mean we should accept and bless gay marriages? These and other, related questions are t… More >>
What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage
Tags: Case, Christian, christian case, Christians, gay marriage, gay marriages, gays and lesbians, homosexual, Joined, Marriage, marriage rights, neighbor, remainder mark, Together, traditional family values
#1 by Kathryn Page Camp on April 19, 2010 - 6:28 pm
This book is insidious. It lures you into its web by starting with principles people on all sides of the issue share. Before you know it, you are so used to nodding in agreement that you continue nodding when the arguments become weaker, and soon you are nodding at arguments that most of us would never accept if we stopped and thought about it.
And the authors are trying to answer the wrong question. This book is written for a Christian audience, among whom homosexual marriage is a small part of a much more critical issue. The debate isn’t about marriage; it is about sin. If practicing homosexuality is not sin, then there is no reason to prohibit same-sex marriages. But if practicing homosexuality is sin, then even all the worldly benefits that Myers and Scanzoni predict (from lower depression and suicide rates to more stable relationships) cannot justify supporting those marriages or taking any other actions that condone that sin. This is the same principle that applies to all sin, including adultery and hate and gossip and even breaking the traffic laws. As a Christian, I am responsible for my homosexual brothers and sisters just as I am for other sinners, and I am accountable if my actions lead someone else to fall.
So the first, and possibly only, question a Christian needs to ask is: how does the Bible treat homosexual acts? Although Myers and Scanzoni do address that question, their arguments get mixed in with other issues while creating a surface appeal that sucumbs to the head-nodding process discussed above.
I’m not suggesting that you avoid this book. The only way to understand any issue is to know the arguments on both sides. But if you do read it you should also read the counterpoint in Straight & Narrow by Thomas E. Schmidt. Straight & Narrow?: Compassion & Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate Schmidt’s book preceeded Myers and Scanzoni’s book by a decade and does not cover some of the more recent research they discuss. But that research is inconclusive and/or unreplicated, and it does not make Schmidt’s arguments any less valid.
I’m also not questioning the sincerity of the authors’ Christian beliefs. On the contrary, David Myers was one of my favorite professors in college, and I always thought he was a strong Christian. (And although that was many years ago, I have no reason to believe it has changed.) But, as the authors readily admit, Christians aren’t God, and some of our beliefs will inevitably contain error. So don’t take their book (or Schmidt’s) as gospel.
What God Has Joined Together is well-written and easy to read. It is even well-reasoned on the surface. But it is not what it seems.
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by Peter A Sans on April 19, 2010 - 6:32 pm
Ok, if you are going to read a book on the gay marriage debate, this seems like a good one. If you are reading this review, you should know that I did not support gay marriage before nor do I now. This book is basically divided into three divisions.
Section 1: Promotes the value of marriage
Section 2: Describes what science can or cannot tell us about homosexuality
Section 3: Describes what the bible does or does not say about homosexuality
If you want a lot of specifics, I recommend reading the book. I was pretty impressed with Section 1 & 2. Ok, so what is my complaint about Section 3? Well, I find it mysterious that scholars are “all of a sudden” reinterpreting verses to say they are not referring to homosexuality. Also, the church history section is rather scarce. What has the church historically thought of homosexuality? If the conservative church takes the authors advice, I have a feeling there will be a lot more empty pews.
Rating: 4 / 5
#3 by Myron Cranskie on April 19, 2010 - 8:23 pm
This thoughtful and objective essay on a very “hot topic” should be required reading for all people who have something to say on the subject and especially policy makers and religious leaders.
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by John Erickson on April 19, 2010 - 10:25 pm
I saw this while browsing a local bookstore and picked it up, and I’m glad I did. Myers and Scanzoni make a very convincing case that A) marriage is good for both individuals and society and should therefor be protected, and that B) the best way to protect marriage and promote a healthy society is to allow gays to marry as well. They contend that the battle against gay marriage serves to support the alternatives to marriage movement (for straights as well as gays) which harms society and is bad for individuals. Myers and Scanzoni also give good summaries of related issues such as apparent condemnations of homosexuality in the bible, and sexual reorientation training (it doesn’t work).
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by T. Eggebeen on April 20, 2010 - 12:15 am
Myers & Scanzoni have written a solid middle-ground book that builds lots of bridges. I hope that folks on different sides of the chasm will use this book to heal the terrible divide on gay marriage. Well written, easy to read, clear arguments, lots of information. Glad to read such a carefully balanced book; wonderful alternative to the angry bombast coming from both sides of the argument. – Tom Eggebeen
Rating: 5 / 5