Kevin DeYoung has a good habit of addressing contemporary issues, and he does so again in his very helpful book, What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? DeYoung – popular author, pastor of University Reformed Church in Lansing, MI – serves on our Board of Reference here at Books At a Glance, and he is with us today to talk his timely new book.
Books At a Glance (Fred Zaspel):
Good to have you back with us, Kevin, and congratulations on your new book! Can you tell us what brought this about? It is obviously a very contemporary issue, but is there more that has brought it to your own interest? Is it an issue you have had to face in your own context in some particular way?
DeYoung:
I don’t think I’ve faced the issue in unique ways, but I think I’ve faced the issue in ways that almost everyone else is facing it. I’ve had friends and family members on different sides of this issue. I’ve had people close to me embrace a gay or lesbian identity. Our church is in a university town that prides itself on being very affirming of all orientations. As a pastor, I’ve met or talked to or counseled a number of men and women over the years who struggle with same-sex attraction. This is not an issue that any Christian can, or should, ignore.
Books At a Glance:
What contribution you are hoping to make? And do you have a particular target audience in mind for this book?
DeYoung:
I think the main thing I do as a writer is to take big ideas and complicated arguments and explain them in ways that are accessible to all sorts of people. I wrote the book knowing three kinds of people would be reading: the convinced, the contentious, and the confused. While I hope all three can benefit from the book, I wrote particularly with the confused in mind — people who don’t know what to think, students wondering if what they were told by their parents is true, pastors not sure how to lead their congregations. This is a book you can hand to your friend or family member on any side of this debate. Where I stand is not in doubt in the book, but I hope the tone is winsome and understanding.
Books At a Glance:
You spend a good bit of time at the outset of your discussion examining Genesis 1 and 2 and humanity as created male and female. Explain for us briefly how that is significant and how it is important in this discussion particularly.
DeYoung:
Everything starts in Genesis. Every other biblical passage about this issue is an echo of the divine design found in the Bible’s opening chapters. Until we see the complementarity of the ish (man) and the ishah (woman) and understand their unique fittedness, each for the other, we will not sufficiently grasp the nature of marriage and why the differentiation of male and female is necessary.
Books At a Glance:
What are some cultural and societal entailments of state-recognized homosexual “marriage” that you think are cause for concern?
DeYoung:
More than most people imagine. 1) It gives to the state the authority to define marriage rather than simply recognizing marriage as a pre-political entity which has its own oughtness. 2) It re-orients our understanding of marriage around the emotional attachment of adults rather than around the well-being of children. 3) It will — and already has — lead to the coercive power of the state falling hard upon those who disagree. There will be no live-and-let-live compromise on this issue. The traditional biblical position is fast becoming one that is considered shameful and rooted in nothing but personal animus and bigotry. State recognized homosexual “marriage” will further stigmatize what has been the normative position for almost all of human history.
Books At a Glance:
Is there a “best” approach to this issue that you think a Christian can try to take when this issue arises in discussion with those outside the church?
DeYoung:
I don’t think there is a best approach. If there is, I haven’t found it, but I’d love to hear it! One of the helpful things for me has been to remember that at any moment any kind of person could be listening. People do not come to this issue without personal passion, personal hurts, and (probably) very strong opinions. That doesn’t mean we have to be cowardly. In fact, being direct and comfortable in our own skin is better than being apologetic and wishy-washy. But we must be wise. We don’t have to say everything we could possible say every time we have an opportunity to say something.
In some ways, the best approach may be to remind ourselves that this issue is not all that different from other issues. We all have sins. We all have struggles. The issue is the heart. The solution is Christ.
Editor’s Note: You may want to check out our review of Kevin’s new book here.
You may also like to see a 36-page sample and the Study Guide that accompanies the book.
