Male and female God created them
What happens in the places where church and popular culture…
Book offers clarity on a biblical view of LGBTQ+ relationships
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Our world is knee-deep in gender confusion, and our churches and families are not immune. Under tremendous cultural pressure, we find ourselves caught between traditional sexual ethics on the one hand and a desire to be loving and welcoming to everyone on the other.
Rubel Shelly. “Male and Female God Created Them: A Biblical Review of LGBTQ+ Claims.” College Press. 2023. 433 pages. $29.99
We may choose to accentuate one to the neglect of the other by leaning into unloving condemnation or compromising acceptance. Perhaps more often, the cultural complexities leave us paralyzed with fear and an inability to engage the conversation constructively.
A new book, “Male and Female God Created Them: A Biblical Review of LGBTQ+ Claims,” says there is a better way.
It is a way marked by clarity, wisdom, grace and truth.
Rubel Shelly writes with the heart of a scholar and a pastor. He writes with great sensitivity to others and a bold commitment to follow truth wherever it leads. He also writes comprehensively, attempting to address this minefield biblically, historically, culturally and practically.
Shelly writes to bring clarity to Christ-followers. He is not interested in joining the culture wars, pitting the church against the world or promoting some political agenda. He is interested in the church being the church, modeling God’s plan for sexuality and marriage, and being a transforming presence of grace and truth.
Related: Male and female God created them
This book addresses many pertinent and pressing questions:
What was God’s original plan for sex, gender and marriage? Is that plan a prototype for the kingdom of God today? Have Christians consistently misread Old Testament texts all these centuries? Why did Jesus not talk explicitly about homosexuality — or did he?
Did the New Testament texts prohibiting homosexuality refer to abusive and exploitative behavior only? Did biblical writers not know about or address committed and loving same-sex relationships?
Rubel Shelly preaches to the Harpeth Hills Church of Christ in Brentwood, Tenn.
What did Paul really say on this subject? Can his letters be trusted as authoritative, or did he merely reflect the thought patterns of the time?
Do personal experiences take precedent over biblical teachings and commands? Should we update our ethical codes in light of modern sensitivities? If traditional Christian claims are true, how can we expect people to live up to the standard of holiness presented in Scripture?
How can people struggling with same-sex attraction find loving, supportive and transforming community?
Here are a few personal observations:
First, Shelly provides a very helpful cultural analysis.
Second, his treatment of Old and New Testament texts may be the best I have seen.
Third, his thorough research into the Greco-Roman World undermines key LBGTQ+ claims that committed homosexual relationships were unknown in New Testament times.
Fourth, the chapter on “Questions People Ask” is a great reference and summary for the average Christian to possess.
Chris Seidman, an Abilene Christian University alumnus and lead minister for The Branch Church of Christ in Farmers Branch, Texas, speaks during Holy Sexuality Week at ACU.
“Male and Female God Created Them” is written with a conviction that LGBTQ+ issues present a critical juncture for the church. It is urgent and critical, not because it is the most important topic for Christians per se but because how we respond to these questions will have such an enormous impact on our view of Scripture, authority and sexual questions and struggles of all kinds.
Shelly also writes to provide a positive alternative to our world of confusion. This book paints a beautiful picture of a kingdom community where there is welcoming love and healing transformation. He believes our world is weary and hungry for another way – a way that embraces both moral clarity and gracious love. Shelly calls us to model what it means to be God’s faithful people in our generation.
“This book paints a beautiful picture of a kingdom community where there is welcoming love and healing transformation. … Shelly calls us to model what it means to be God’s faithful people in our generation.”
Scholars will value the excellence of Shelly’s research and critical thinking, and the average Christian will value this book as a reference work to understand and respond to LBGTQ+ claims.
Shelly has also released a shorter and more popular-level version on this topic entitled “The Ink is Dry: God’s Distinctive Word on Marriage, Family, and Sexual Responsibility.”
JIMMY ADCOX has retired after 44 years as preaching minister for the Southwest Church of Christ in Jonesboro, Ark., where he now serves as discipleship minister. He is also a partner with Hope Network and a regional learning community director with Renew.org.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn money from qualifying purchases made through the links on this page.
