Genesis and “God and the Gay Christian”

Matthew Vines, a professing Christian and practicing homosexual, is making headlines with his new book God and the Gay Christian, which is just another attack on what God’s Word has to say about homosexual behavior. But Vines’s book poses a unique danger for the church. He uses confusing and emotionally based arguments to make his case for why the homosexual lifestyle is supposedly compatible with Christianity. And he starts compromising in the book of Genesis!

Vines seems to realize that if he can make room for same-sex relationships from the very beginning, then he can undermine the rest of Scripture—which is much like those who try to insert evolution and millions of years into Scripture, thus unlocking a door to undermine the authority of the entire Word of God. Steve Golden, a researcher at AiG who writes on these issues, and I have coauthored a short response to Matthew Vines’s use of Genesis in his book God and the Gay Christian. It’s our lead article on the web today. Steve will be publishing a full review of the book in the coming days.

We’re calling the church to take heed and stand firmly on the authority of God’s Word in this and every area of life. Here are the introductory paragraphs to our response.

On April 22, 2014, a new attack on the reliability and perspicuity of Scripture was released. God and the Gay Christian is a book that seeks to teach readers that the Bible condones living a monogamous homosexual lifestyle. The author, Matthew Vines, is an openly homosexual man and a professing Christian, whose video on homosexual behavior went viral and gave Vines a platform from which to declare his views.¹ Being an openly practicing homosexual and claiming to be a Christian often means the person has an agenda to attempt to make the Words of Scripture fit with his worldview. This is the case with Matthew Vines. His attitude toward Scripture is like that of Christians who believe in evolution and millions of years, and thus reinterpret the clear words of Genesis to fit their already held beliefs. It is compromise right down the line. We do pray the church realizes this!

Sadly, a number of Christian leaders offered their praise of Vines’s new book. Rachel Held Evans, an outspoken Christian author (who has already published Evolving in Monkey Town . . . in an effort to compromise Genesis with evolution and millions of years), writes that it is “a game changer. Winsome, accessible, and carefully researched, every page is brought to life by the author’s clear love for Scripture and deep, persistent faith. Matthew Vines emerges as one of my generation’s most important Christian leaders.” Evans, unfortunately, would write much the same for church leaders who compromise Genesis. When Rachel Held Evans came out with her book Evolving in Monkey Town, I [Ken] wrote about her blatant compromise with man’s fallible words. So it is not surprising that she is now being consistent with her approach to Scripture and compromising on teaching concerning marriage and homosexual behavior.

The church needs to be equipped to deal with these types of arguments! I urge you to read the full article on our website today and to share it with your pastor, family, and friends. Beware of such attempts to lift man’s fallible word above God’s eternal Word.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken