God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage Paperback – June 4, 2013

Now that I finished reading it, I can review what Gene Robinson achieves in his book:He correctly describes the relevance of gay marriage in today's world, and how gay rights are coming out as the civil rights issue of today.He explains the importance of marriage in the life of a person.He makes a good case for those who have no involvement in gay marriage to join in supporting it.He makes good cases for the alleged condemnations of homosexuality in the Bible not being more than misinterpretations.He very correctly interprets the philosophy of Christ as being supportive of gay rights.He correctly debunks the idea that gay marriage runs against a perpetual fundamental institution which it could damage in any way.He correctly reports that it is harmless for children to be raised by gay parents.He correctly explains why gay marriage is a requirement of civil rights and not a license to be immoral.And he does all this in a way that does not attack, condemn or offend. What a remarkable skill! This is a good book for those foreign to the issue who want to be informed. It is an excellent book for gays who are Christian believers and feel conflicted by dictates from their organized religion. And, last but not least, it is a good reading for those who are anti-gay for a variety of reasons based on ignorance and are inclined to bash individuals put down by society without giving it much thought. This book can make them think if they are willing to.I can see in the works of this book a case of the Euthyphro dilemma: are homosexual acts prohibited by God because they are morally bad, or are they morally bad because God prohibits them? If we talk about a loving God, then the former must be true, even if this means that homosexual acts cannot be bad just because God prohibits them (because he would never prohibit them unless they are intrinsically bad). So we should be able to find confirmations of their intrinsic badness. Gene Robinson has searched in good faith and he cannot find any, so as the good believer he is, he is left with an examination of the reality of God's prohibition. And here he succeeds, raising serious questions of the legitimacy of the interpretations of the Bible that look for condemnations of homosexuality.If Gene Robinson can follow this process, one would assume that the serious obscure erudites in the Magisterium of the Catholic Church could do the same. They have not done so. Today they have ample means to study the tens of millions of homosexuals alive and look for any intrinsic badness in them. They still don't do it. Instead they have the arrogance to condemn anybody who does it for them (case in point: Sister Margaret Farley's book "Just Love")

As a bisexual catholic in a loving relationship with another bisexual catholic, I struggled long and hard to come to terms with my sexuality and whether it was against my faith. But just because I am at peace doesn't mean that my family members are just as easily able to come to the same conclusions.This book is important because it provides a clear critique of most of the arguments raised by religious individuals to say that same-sex marriage is wrong. The book begins with a section about the author's own story, and how he ultimately came to find love with a man. It then discusses the key bible verses that are often used to attack LGBT individuals in more detail than I have seen in many places.The next section looks at the key messages of the bible and how Jesus would likely preach acceptance of LGBT individuals based on his reaching out to the marginalized in society. For the rest of the book, he looks at various arguments often made for why same-sex marriage is an attack on traditional marriage. In the end, he notes that in a society where straight couples are finding marriage to be outdated, we should be supporting efforts of the LGBT community to expand access to marriage rather than preventing it.The book is very well written and easy to get through quickly. I suspect I will return to key sections of the book over time to remind myself of some of the arguments made. What I also loved about the book was how it explained many aspects of the Christian faith in ways that I had not really understood before but made perfect sense to me. If you are struggling with reconciling your faith with your own sexuality, this book serves as a great way to shed some of the shame that may have been thrust upon you by your family or your church. Or, if you are trying to decide if you can accept your gay son, daughter, relative, or neighbor, this book will affirm for you that God would want nothing less from you.

There is no way I can write a review of this book without upsetting someone. It is nearly impossible in today’s religious climate to discuss gay and lesbian issues without creating dissenters or even enemies.So let me say this, I do not have the answers. Following the Lord can be very confusing (why do we pray and ask an immutable, omniscient God for things? He can’t change and already knows everything). I come into any discussion with a sense of humility; an understanding that there is so much I do not understand.Gene Robinson loves the Lord and has dedicated his life to serving Christ and serving the Church. He believes in love, he believes in marriage, and he practices what he preaches. God Believes in Love is Robinson’s response to the gay marriage debate within Christianity. Robinson breaks down the arguments into ten simple questions. He confronts civil rights, social norms, and of course, theological understandings.His responses are clear, concise, and pretty straightforward. I was not surprised by any of his answers. If you oppose Robinson’s interpretation of Scripture then you could probably an entire book on the faults in his theology. I doubt a dissenter reading this book would be persuaded by anything Robinson’s discusses.By reading this book I received a better understanding of this issue. When gay marriage is discussed on television or from the pulpit, we make it a political or theological issue and not a personal issue. I know many people that would consider Gene Robinson a depraved sinner destined for damnation because of his sexual orientation. What a horrible thing to think about. Instead I think of Gene Robinson as a man loved by God, a love that cannot be impeded in any way. Is that not I should love him?If you a Christian leader looking to love others unconditionally, this is a great book for you.

This is a wonderful book, especially if you are unsure how you feel about the issue of gay marriage. It gave me so much more understanding of the issue. It written by an Episcopal Bishop, so it does have a Christian slant, but I must say it is more the slant that I grew up with - of openness and love - than prescriptiveness. As the author is both gay and married it is great to get his perspecitve on the whole issue. I have recommended this book to others, great!