Matthew Vines is the founder of The Reformation Project, a Bible-based, non-profit organization that seeks to reform church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity. Matthew took a leave from his studies at Harvard University to research what the Bible says about homosexuality. His teaching on this topic has been featured in media worldwide, including USA Today, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matthew lives in Wichita, Kansas.
Praise for God and the Gay Christian
“For anyone who wants to know why some evangelicals find that
the Bible does not condemn same-gender marriage, Matthew Vines’s
book answers the question. Christians who oppose gay marriage
should consider what he has to say.”
— Tony Campolo, professor emeritus, Eastern University; co-author
of Red Letter Christians
“Many people believe you can either hold a high view of Scripture
or affirm gay relationships, but not both. Matthew Vines proves
them wrong. Provocative and relentlessly Bible-focused, God and the
Gay Christian offers hope and insight for Christians who have felt
conflicted on matters of sexuality.”
— Justin Lee, author of Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the
Gays-vs.-Christians Debate
“A must-read for all Christians, but especially parents. Matthew
Vines brings great insight and wisdom to the conversation so
urgently needed by today’s church. God and the Gay Christian has
the information I was searching for when my son, Tyler Clementi,
came out to me. This book will have a great impact on families,
freeing parents of misunderstandings about their LGBT children
while letting them hold securely to their faith.”
— Jane Clementi, co-founder of The Tyler Clementi Foundation
“Matthew Vines has accomplished a rare feat in this book, combining
a detailed mastery of a wide range of material from the ancient
world and the Christian tradition, a clear and articulate writing
style, a deep commitment to his Christian faith, and an incisive
judgment that can cut through complex arguments and mountains of
data, and identify the core issues and their implications for human
life. This book makes significant contributions, not only to
ongoing scholarly conversations but also to the average person who
wants to probe more deeply how to think about God and the gay
Christian. It is the breadth of his reach and the integrated
character of his vision that makes this book particularly worth
reading.”
— Dr. James Brownson, Reformed theologian and professor of New
Testament; author of Bible, Gender, Sexuality
“God and the Gay Christian is a game changer. Winsome,
accessible, and carefully researched, every page is brought to life
by the author’s clear love for Scripture and deep, persistent
faith. With this book, Matthew Vines emerges as one of my
generation’s most important Christian leaders, not only on matters
of sexuality but also on what it means to follow Jesus with wisdom,
humility, and grace. Prepare to be challenged and
enlightened, provoked and inspired. Read with an open heart and
mind, and you are bound to be changed.”
— Rachel Held Evans, author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood and
Faith Unraveled
“Few things in today’s world divide churches and Christian
communities more deeply than the issue of homosexuality. What lies
at the very heart of the matter is the Bible and its
interpretation. The very few biblical verses that touch upon
same-sex-related matters say nothing about love and enduring
relationships between people of same sex—on the contrary, these
texts condemn harshly the activities they describe, such as
attempted rape, debauchery, or depriving a person of his male
honor. This has led theologically conservative Christians to
condemn altogether what is today called ‘homosexuality.’ As the
consequence of such an interpretation of the authoritative
Scripture, hundreds of thousands of members of Christian
communities have faced the difficulty, if not impossibility, to
live out their non-heterosexual orientation while maintaining their
Christian identity. Matthew Vines dedicates his book to ‘all those
who have suffered in silence for so long.’ He reads the Bible and
biblical scholarship as an evangelical gay Christian, giving a
voice both to the biblical texts and its readers. He takes
seriously the biblical text which for him represents the
authoritative word of God; historical scholarship that reads the
biblical text against what can be known of its historical context;
and the experiences of Christians who read the Bible today.
Importantly, his own personal voice is to be heard throughout the
book, which only adds to its credibility. A careful scrutiny of the
six biblical passages that somehow address same-sex behavior leads
Vines to make a compelling argument against mandatory celibacy for
gay Christians. More than that, he argues that Christians who
affirm the full authority of Scripture can also affirm committed,
monogamous same-sex relationships. Matthew Vines’s well-read and
well-argued book deserves to be read by all those who have suffered
in silence, but also by members and ministers of Christian
communities struggling with the recognition and appreciation of
their gay members.”
— Martti Nissinen, professor of Old Testament Studies, University
of Helsinki, author of Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A
Historical Perspective
“Matthew Vines lives at an intersection of identities: a committed,
theologically conservative Christian who also happens to be an out
gay man. In offering both a scholarly and profoundly personal
reconciliation of a duality often depicted as hopelessly at odds,
he performs a public service that is valiant, hopeful and long
overdue. He points the way forward for all those still
stranded at the intersection.”
— Leonard Pitts, Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist; author of
Freeman
“Matthew Vines brings within reach of non-specialists the rich
store of scholarly work on what Scripture does and does not say
about same-sex relationships. Coupled with his poignant
descriptions of the damage done by traditional exclusionary
interpretations, his book is an essential resource for all who seek
to find their bearings in the current debate over the Bible’s
teachings for gay people.”
— Dr. Mark Achtemeier, Presbyterian theologian; author of The
Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage
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