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Source:
http://www.washblade.com/2008/9-12/arts ... N=15539039
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Evangelicals vs. gays
New book counters Christians’ biblical attacks

JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
Friday, September 12, 2008

I often thought it would make a great Blade article to counter, through research and the interviewing of experts, the arguments conservative Christians regularly use to condemn practicing gays.

Most of the time I’m irked when somebody beats me to the punch but not this time. The new book “Thou Shalt Not Love: What Evangelicals Really Say to Gays” by Patrick Chapman, released Wednesday by Haiduk Press, is a mind bogglingly well-researched retort to their logic. He did a much better job than I could ever have done.

Chapman, a Ph. D. anthropologist and gay Christian who tried “ex-gay” therapy to become straight and failed, has brilliantly countered the commonly used arguments evangelicals favor in a logical, unemotional, exhaustively researched book that succeeds in a way so many books in this vein don’t — it’s highly readable and accessible. A certain degree of intelligence, of course, is needed to navigate the tome, but it’s hardly an esoteric, intellectual book suitable only for scholars and professors.

Christian apologetics, the field that uses rational arguments to support Christianity, factor largely into the reasoning here. Discussions of faith versus science, biblical-era culture and history, the scriptures and their interpretations (both language and meaning), anthropology, marriage and more, form the basis for Chapman’s logic.

Among the most interesting factoids it revealed that heretofore had been off my radar, were these gems:

• Archaeological evidence and Egyptian hieroglyphics indicate that the Egyptian kingdom dates back to about 5,000 years ago, roughly 1,000 years after biblical creation and about 500 years before the biblical account of the flood (think Noah). But if the Bible is literally true, Chapman writes, it means that the flood happened around 2500 BC; that sounds fine until you realize that there is a continuous reign of pharoes from 3000 BC to the time of Christ. If only Noah and his family survived the flood, as the Bible says, how could there still be civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia at the same time?

• Many societies throughout the world have traditionally recognized and accepted same-sex marriages and same-sex and gender-variant approaches to life have appeared in many of the world’s cultures.

• Chapman concludes that the Old Testament, upon serious examination, says nothing about homosexuality and that the three New Testament passages that supposedly condemn homosexuality are difficult to authoritatively translate because of evasive cultural, historical and scriptural contexts.

And that’s just for starters. Space doesn’t permit a thorough discussion of Chapman’s fascinating findings. Yes, many of these topics, especially concerning the scriptures and homosexuality, have been written about by others, but this is the most convincing, most accessible, most far-ranging answer to the anti-gay arguments of evangelicals I’ve ever seen. No doubt anti-gay theologians and psychologists will counter Chapman’s findings, as he has theirs, but for those seeking solid, sturdy research, this book will be an excellent tool.

Focus on the Family founder Jim Dobson, a proponent of reparative therapy for gays, gets a particularly thorough indictment. Others who’ve been less harsh in their beliefs, like Tony Campolo and Philip Yancey, are praised by Chapman.

If there’s any fault to Chapman’s masterful (and meticulously footnoted) work, it’s that he, at times, adopts a tone that’s a bit too caustic for me. Some will appreciate that considering the strong words evangelicals have often had for gays, but I’ve never judged conservative Christians quite that severely. Let’s face it — several scriptures clearly appear to, at least at face value, condemn same-sex sex. And few lay believers, especially straight ones, have taken the time to research and consider the topic nearly to the extent Chapman has.

So while a slightly more understanding tone may have made the book more palatable to some, Chapman’s brilliant research and powerfully compelling arguments are an astounding accomplishment.

Too bad the art team at Haiduk settled for such a cheesy, clichéd cover image — this is a book that deserved better.

Those who didn’t grow up in uber-religious homes usually have an easier time dismissing anti-gay religious teaching, but for those haunted by condemning sermons heard during their formative years, this book could be a valuable reference. I’ll always keep my copy on hand.

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YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc9AUy_JzKc

Publisher's website: http://www.haidukpress.com/gay-evangelicals/gay-evangelicals.html