Among a few different books authored or co-authored by Kevin DeYoung this year is What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality?, which is a timely, respectful contribution to the conversation regarding same-sex relations in the church. DeYoung, a Presbyterian minister in Lansing, Michigan, has attempted to craft something useful for pretty much anyone who might read the book, regardless of their stance on the issue.

DeYoung’s book is made up of two main parts, “Understanding God’s Word”, which explores the primary texts on the issue (a chapter for each (or an underlying foundation issue, like marriage), and “Answering Objections,” which takes on 7 of the most common objections used by those who wish to revise Christian morality to affirm homosexual behavior as acceptable. After a brief conclusion, DeYoung finishes the book with three short appendices dealing with some legal (same-sex marriage) and practical concerns.

Perhaps the one section I appreciated most, oddly enough, was the introduction, which is called “What Does the Bible Teach about Everything?” in which DeYoung starts the reader off on the best foot possible for such a controversial issue….relating the issue in its importance to the Gospel and what is most central to the Bible. He insists we must maintain a balance….yes, the Bible speaks to homosexuality, but it does not speak only about homosexuality; we can’t reduce the entire biblical witness to a single talking point.

The introduction is a must-read section of the book. Especially if the reader is a non-believer or revisionist, this is essential. If you decide to get this book, and then decide to loan it to a friend, make sure you tell them to read the introduction. In it DeYoung addresses several different types of readers and has specific things to say to each. I appreciated his winsome tone, his transparency and full disclosure. He is up front at the beginning about his own stance, and honestly assures there won’t be any tricks, hocus-pocus, or manipulation of the reader. He has intentionally written this book to be accessible and helpful, not scholarly, although it is both. It is not what Robert Gagnon’s 500+ page brick is on this topic, nor is it intended to be (DeYoung’s book is about 150pgs). He does a good job at bridging that gap.

The only criticism I have of the introduction is that, in the process of explaining the fact that the larger biblical metanarrative is important to understand where (and to what extent) homosexuality fits in, he says that a full-retelling of the story would take up too much space, so he attempts a four-page synopsis instead which, even as a long-time committed Christian and as a preacher, was difficult for me to follow. This synopsis was centered on the Promised Land, and the repeating themes of tabernacle, temple and Paradise, and I’m not sure someone who is not well versed in the Scriptures would be able to keep up, or would want to. I ended up skipping some of this, so I imagine a large percentage of other readers have and will as well.

Section1: Understanding God’s Word
In the first half of the book, “Understanding God’s Word,” DeYoung deals with the primary texts, first laying down a foundation of the biblical depiction of marriage and gender using Genesis 1-2, then deals with Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19, the sexuality laws in Leviticus 18 and 20, and then Romans 1. He finishes up this section with a whole chapter devoted to word studies on the Greek words used for homosexual behavior in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1.

Last year I wrote out a survey and brief analysis of all the major homosexuality passages in the Bible for the church I was serving in. As I skimmed the contents of DeYoung’s book, I found myself quite happy with what I saw because (1) so much of what he has written followed the same pattern and line of reasoning as what I had written (written much better, of course), therefore it resonated with me and many others who are having this conversation, and (2) the breadth of his research validated much of what the Bible says using extra-biblical sources (historical, psychological, personal).

The first chapter does a good job of laying the groundwork for marriage as a one-man, one-woman union, and not merely a relationship that is sexually expressed. What was new to me in this section is an observation DeYoung attributes to N.T Wright (a footnote with a video link is included). Bishop Wright points out that in Genesis 1, “male and female” concludes a whole list of ordered, opposite and corresponding pairs. Heavens and earth, day and night, sun and moon, sea and dry land, male and female.

I have preached on Genesis, written papers on the opening chapters of Genesis, read all the best commentaries and journal articles, and for some reason never noticed what is plain on the page. I already believed in one-man, one-woman marriage being the divine design, but that little detail there is very helpful to me, and I imagine that coming in handy in the future.

Another helpful contribution made in the chapter on Genesis is in answer to a common objection, that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. It’s not entirely true because Jesus did affirm the normativity of one-man, one-woman marriage on the basis of Genesis 1-2, which he quotes in Matthew 19 and Mark 10. If Genesis lays the foundation, and Jesus affirmed it, then that which strays from that foundation Jesus condemns without having to have addressed it specifically. If marriage is A, then everything non-A is contrary to God’s intent and cannot be morally affirmed.

As helpful as this section was, it would also have been helpful to explore the distinctions being made recently regarding the words “gender” and “sex.” One could argue that even if the Bible is clear on distinctions in gender roles, it still leaves room for transgender or homosexual lifestyles if ones biological sex is not necessarily synonymous with the gender they identify with. I am sure there were time and space limitations on what DeYoung was able to accomplish with this book, but that may have been a helpful issue to discuss, even if it lies technically beyond the scope of the issue at hand.

DeYoung’s take on Romans, as good and traditional as it was in its exegesis, I found myself slightly disagreeing. I, and a growing number of others, believe Romans 1 can be used responsibly to explain in part the origins of homosexual orientation. Paul says that homosexual behavior is a sin that God gave people over to. So the interpretive key question for me is this: Is God angry because there are gay people, or are there gay people because God is angry?

That God gives people over to a sin is not the same as saying God caused the sin…indeed, Paul says that those who were given to this “received in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” I see homosexuality as a proclivity like many others that God has given certain people to as a curse on human flourishing, surmountable only by the grace of God in the cross of Christ. A minor exegeticl disagreement, not much more than that.

Section 2: Answering Objections
In the second half of the book comes responses to 7 common objections to maintaining homosexual behavior is a sin: the seeming scarcity of the biblical witness about the subject, the claim that the type of homosexual behavior condemned in the Bible was exploitative and not consensual, the imbalance of homosexuality above others sins like gluttony and divorce, the claim that the church is supposed to help and not condemn, the “You’re on the wrong side of history” argument, the claim that depriving same-sex oriented people from acting according to their orientation is not fair, and “the God I worship is a God of love.”

What I especially appreciated about this whole section was DeYoung’s use of extra-biblical sources to debunk a lot of misconceptions, such as the commonly touted claim that homosexuality in the ancient world was not what we have today, that it was more exploitative, or pederastic. Quoting sources from modern homosexual scholars and ancient historians, the case is made that homosexual behavior then was about the same as it is today, and was not primarily pederasty or abusive in nature.

The homosexual behavior that Paul described as sinful can only mean pederasty or exploitation if we explain away the plain meaning of the text and import historically-eroneous assumptions into the text. Furthermore, to support homosexual behavior on the basis of the claim that the homosexual behavior condemned in the Bible is only exploitative is to argue from silence, therefore there is no case to defend the warrant. This section was helpful to me since I don’t have the breadth of ancient historical knowledge to even know to look for some of this stuff. This book should serve as a decent reference.

One appendix I found especially good was Appendix 1: “What about Same-Sex Marriage?,” which DeYoung states he almost left out of the book since the book is not about the legal issue of marriage. I believe it was right to include this because I too have come across a number of Christians who disagree with homosexual behavior but approve or are indifferent toward same-sex marriage. DeYoung does a good job of showing how we can’t conflate homosexuality and civil rights.

The bottom line comes very simply: “deep longings do not become civil rights.” Drawing from a Gospel Coalition article by Voddie Baucham in 2012, he argues that demanding equal rights to same-sex marriage begs the question, assuming a same-sex union constitutes a marriage that the state will privilege. I have been challenged to think through this issue and how to communicate with others that disagree. I need to figure out how to discuss persuasively and winsomely the fact that homosexuals have never been denied the right to marriage, only denied the right to re-define marriage. Although DeYoung doesn’t directly address it, this leads, as Baucham’s article does, to the “gay is the new black” race argument.

Conclusion

All in all, I found the content very helpful, very clear with impeccable logic, and the writing style winsome and easy to read. I highly recommend it, and I would encourage recommending it to those on all sides of the debate, not as the hammer to win your side, but to share openly the reasons behind the biblical traditional voice.

Disclosure of Materials
I was provided a free copy of this book by the publisher, Crossway, through the Beyond the Page review program. I was not required to give a positive review, just an honest one.