Anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann of Stanford University has remarked that “it is clear to an observer like me that evangelical Christianity is at a crossroad.” What is that crossroad? “The question of whether gay Christians should be married within the church.” Journalist Terry Mattingly sees the same issue looming on the evangelical horizon - “There is no way to avoid the showdown that is coming.” Into this context now comes God and the Gay Christian, a book by Matthew Vines. Others are watching, and they see the moment of decision at hand. But the question of same-sex relationships and sexuality is at the very center of the debate over sexual morality, and our answer to this question will both determine or reveal what we understand about everything the Bible reveals and everything the church teaches - even the gospel itself. We are living in the midst of a massive revolution in morality, and sexual morality is at the center of this revolution. The world is pressing this question upon us, but so are a number of voices from within the larger evangelical circle - voices that are calling for a radical revision of the church’s understanding of the Bible, sexual morality, and the meaning of marriage.
The question is whether evangelicals will remain true to the teachings of Scripture and the unbroken teaching of the Christian church for over two thousand years on the morality of same-sex acts and the institution of marriage. There will be no place to hide, and there will be no way to remain silent. Within a very short time, we will know where everyone stands on this question. While Christians in other movements and in other nations face similar questions, the question of homosexuality now presents evangelicals in the United States with a decision that cannot be avoided. Evangelical Christians in the United States now face an inevitable moment of decision.
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