Free Book: R. Albert Mohler Jr., ed. God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines. Louisville: SBTS Press, 2014.

A just published book, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships (New York, Convergent Books, 2014), is eliciting much discussion and reaction within the Christian community. The book was written by Matthew Vines, a former Harvard student who grew up in a Christian home. After Vines declared that he was gay, he left Harvard in order to discover what the Bible teaches about same-sex relationships.

In order to respond to Vines’ claim that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and four professors at that institution have written a response to Vines’ claim about what the Bible teaches. The book, God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines, is available free in PDF format.

In a news conference, Mohler said: “Not every book deserves a response, but some books seem to appear at a time and context in which response is absolutely necessary. The kind of argument that is presented by Matthew Vines, if not confronted, can lead many people to believe that his case is persuasive and that his treatment of the Bible is legitimate. I think that it’s very important that evangelicals be reminded that the church has not misunderstood Scripture for 2,000 years.”

Below is the information about the book release by SBTS Press:

Christians and homosexuality is a hotly debated topic in today’s evangelical world, and Southern Seminary continues that conversation in this publication. Matthew Vines’s new book, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships, argues that homosexual orientation and committed same-sex relationships are consistent with a “high view” of the Bible and evangelical Christianity. Southern Seminary president R. Albert Mohler Jr. and four other seminary faculty members refute this claim in the new SBTS Press e-book, God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines.

Each chapter refutes Vines’s claims from six specific Scriptural references to homosexuality. Mohler’s chapter provides an overview critique of Vines’s book. James M. Hamilton Jr., professor of biblical theology, addresses the Old Testament claims; Denny Burk, professor of biblical studies, addresses New Testament claims; Owen Strachan, assistant professor of Christian theology looks at the church history assertions; and Heath Lambert, assistant professor of biblical counseling, answers whether there is such a thing as a “gay Christian.”

You can download a PDF copy of God and the Gay Christian? A Response to Matthew Vines by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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