Faith, Work, and Economics
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 59, No. 2 - Spring 2017
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? By Kevin DeYoung. Wheaton: Crossway, 2015. 158 pages. Softcover, $12.99.
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court of the United States declared a 14th Amendment right to same-sex marriage in the 2015 decision of Obergefell v. Hodges, the debate over homosexuality and same-sex marriage is not ending anytime soon. In fact, the rhetoric is most likely going to increase even if the lines of argumentation change in light of the high court’s ruling.
The pressure for Christians to affirm homosexuality as a biblically viable expression of sexuality will increase in years to come. For that reason, Kevin DeYoung’s What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? is a helpful resource for the Christian in the pew and the pastor in the pulpit. This book contains fewer than 150 pages of actual text, but it is packed with solid biblical content written with a pastor’s perspective. The answer to the question posed in the title is given in the introduction as DeYoung writes, “I believe same-sex sexual intimacy is a sin. Along with most Christians around the globe and virtually every Christian in the first nineteen-and-a-half centuries of church history, I believe the Bible places homosexual behavior— no matter the level of commitment or mutual affection—in the category of sexual immorality” (17).
After stating his thesis, DeYoung then walks through the six major passages related to sexuality—Genesis 1–2, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18 and 20, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, and 1 Timothy 1. The first five chapters of the book contain the discussion of these passages. The exegetical portion of the book is easy to understand and written for an audience without any formal theological training. That does not mean that DeYoung’s arguments are superficial; instead, he stays with the basics and avoids technical language.
Throughout the first part of the book, consisting of five chapters, DeYoung argues for a traditional understanding of marriage and sexuality. He describes the biblical teaching as affirming the complementary nature of men and women, the expression of sexuality within a monogamous marriage between a man and a woman, and the intended procreative aspect of sexuality. These characteristics of sexuality then serve as the foundation for his discussion of homosexuality as a sin.
In the second part of the book, DeYoung explores numerous objections to his thesis, including the church’s supposed laissez faire attitude toward divorce and gluttony and the argument that proponents of traditional attitudes on sexuality are on the wrong side of history. In these chapters, DeYoung skillfully crafts responses to the arguments of some of his most common detractors. For example, chapter six addresses the objection that “the Bible hardly ever mentions homosexuality.” In response, the author offers six straightforward answers. One of the key answers is succinctly stated, “The reason the Bible says comparatively little about homosexuality is because it was a comparatively uncontroversial sin among ancient Jews and Christians. There is no evidence that ancient Judaism or early Christianity tolerated any expression of homosexual activity” (72). The chapters of the second part follow a similar formula of offering simple yet substantial answers to these objections.
The biggest flaw of DeYoung’s work is also its greatest strength. There are other more comprehensive treatments of the Bible’s teaching on homosexual behavior (e.g., Robert A.J. Gagnon’s The Bible and Homosexual Practice). However, DeYoung never set out to write such an exhaustive work. By contrast, he attempted to offer a straightforward, simple book that faithfully handles the biblical text and can be a resource to its readers no matter their level of formal theological training. As a result, DeYoung glosses over a number of technical issues related to the biblical languages, history, and the law, but this aids in accomplishing his purpose of providing a useful tool for all people.
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? is a necessary resource for every pastor’s library and the interested layperson who wants to know how the church has historically interpreted the passages of Scripture regarding homosexuality. Its brief chapters make it an easy read and a helpful resource to which its readers will often return.
