Thomas Schmidt is the first to admit that his choice of publisher affects not only what he says but whom he addresses - in the case of Inter-Varsity Press "the moderately to well educated, morally conservative Christian community" (p 15). By implication, he continues, "I am not writing to persuade the gay and lesbian community or its supporters, but rather to deepen the understanding and sensitivity of those who question or disapprove of homosexual practice".
Nevertheless, it would be a great pity if potential readers were put off by IVP's (outdated) reputation for being theologically lightweight. Admittedly, Schmidt aims at the popular market, but his is no mere rehashing of the conservative case. Instead, he has done the essential homework of engaging with a wide range of literature including views opposed to his own. His bibliography runs to eighteen pages and includes key advocates of what Schmidt calls the 'revisionist' view on homosexuality, such as J Boswell, W Countryman and (most recently and cogently) P Pronc. The breadth of reading is reflected by there being an additional thirty-eight pages of notes (but sadly no topical index!).
Although he establishes the weaknesses of the revisionist approach to key biblical texts, Schmidt's argument against homosexuality is based on a wider understanding of sexuality in its overall theological context. Central to this understanding is marriage, which entails the three elements of procreation, sexual complementarity, and responsibility to the human community - none of which, Schmidt argues, can be sustained by homosexual activity. In particular, the attempt by apologists to redefine sexual relationships in terms of homosexual orientation undermines and ultimately attacks heterosexual marriage and the family based on it. This attack, however, is rarely acknowledged openly since it embarrasses the revisionist cause. Thus Schmidt refers to a pro-homosexual work where an author is cited as saying "the family unit ... must be eliminated". The comment added by those quoting this author, however, is that such rhetoric should be toned down in order to pursue a "mainstreaming" strategy (p 186).
Schmidt also devotes a chapter to the physical effects of homosexual practice - a subject often avoided in church debates. For this section, and the material on the prevalence of homosexuality, he refers to an astonishing 161 books and articles from secular medicine and psychology. Several myths are laid to rest, for example about the prevalence of homosexuality, and the point is established beyond doubt that the nature and frequency of activities such as anal intercourse, rimming and fisting exact a terrible cost amongst the homosexual community.
Yet in the whole of this work, Schmidt remains sensitive to the fact that he is talking about people, not statistics. He is also alert to the failures of Christians in public debates which "regularly pit gay men or lesbians with warm stories of victory over self-doubt and persecution against coldly rational ministers who quote verses about sexual sin and eternal judgment" (p 13). Such debate, he observes, "is less a search for truth than a spectator sport" where, "since the reigning value of modern culture is not truth but tolerance, anyone who takes a stand disapproving of another's behavior is bound to lose". Consequently,
John Richardson
Anglican Chaplain to
the University of East London
(This review first appeared
in New Directions)
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