Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate

Rating:
Summary: Thorough discussion of homosexuality, flawed theology
Review: Jones and Yarhouse's comprehensive discussion of the science of homosexuality is welcome and long overdue. In particular, the authors touch upon a subject -- ex-gays -- that both liberal and conservative activists have avoided addressing scientifically because the facts reflect poorly on the claims of both sides.

This book makes no claim to be unbiased. The authors do impose a conservative Protestant filter upon their evaluations and commentaries. This results in extensive discussion of "the" (singular) Christian sexual ethic which completely excludes Catholic and liberal or independent Protestant perspectives on sexual ethics. The authors also succumb to caricatures of positions with which they disagree; they periodically stereotype the proponents of alternative ethical frameworks as well as the widely differing perspectives of gay-tolerant Christian and gay-tolerant non-Christian scientists, clergy and civil-rights activists.

Overall the book is a useful addition to the discussion of the science of sexuality within a conservative Protestant framework.

Rating:
Summary: A well-written, balanced book
Review: This book deserves to rank higher on Amazon.com's sales list. It seems very difficult to find a book that deals with this subject fairly, since this subject is so politically charged. But this book does a very good job of laying out the most current scientific research. People who should read it may not because they may assume that it's coming from a traditional religious perspective. Ultimately, it is. But the authors lay the scientific research out fairly and draw rational conclusions from it. It's hard to see how anybody could be offended by this book, no matter what side of the fence they happen to be on.Much of the material overlaps with Thomas Schmidt's "Straight and Narrow" (published five years earlier by the same publisher, Intervarsity Press). But Schmidt's book was more overtly critical of homosexuality, whereas this book is somewhat less personal and more clinical. The authors seem to take some pains not to offend. But the book does show (as Schmidt does) that the media coverage of this subject tends to really oversimplify (and, to a degree, whitewash) a very complex subject.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and Timely
Review: This book is a must read for all psychiatry shcools

Rating:
Summary: A book of tremendous importance
Review: Too often in today's moral debate over the issue of homosexuality, people from both sides rely on rhetoric and slander in trying to prove their case. Thank God for Mark Yarhouse and Stan Jones and their appropriately titled book, "Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate". I learned so much from this relatively short (183 pages) book that helped to remove areas of ignorance I possessed on the issue of homosexuality. It contains an utter wealth of information.

If you are a Christian looking for a book with a bunch of Bible verses and simplistic "Jesus can heal the homosexual" anecdotes, then look elsewhere. But don't worry. Jones and Yarhouse do NOT elevate science above Scripture. They believe faith and science overlap and do not contradict one another when each is properly understood. Their main thesis is that homosexuality is immoral and that nothing found in the scientific research disproves this fact. However, they argue, its unrealistic to say that ALL homosexual people are capable of converting to a heterosexual lifestyle. Therefore, there are only two moral lifestyle choices: celibacy for non-married persons (heterosexual and homosexual) or marriage between one man and one woman.

This book is packed with statistics from research done on various aspects of homosexuality including its prevalance (2-3% of overall population), possible causes (genetic, abuse, early childhood, home life, etc.), and rates of success for those people seeking to leave the homosexual lifestyle (approx 30%). If you're not the type who enjoys statistics, the authors do a great job of summarizing the research in an easy to understand manner.

This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to know the FACTS about homosexuality and its relationship to a biblical worldview. As Christians we need to be informed on this important issue, and we have these two men to thank for informing us.

Rating:
Summary: A book of tremendous importance
Review: Too often in today's moral debate over the issue of homosexuality, people from both sides rely on rhetoric and slander in trying to prove their case. Thank God for Mark Yarhouse and Stan Jones and their appropriately titled book, "Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate". I learned so much from this relatively short (183 pages) book that helped to remove areas of ignorance I possessed on the issue of homosexuality. It contains an utter wealth of information.

If you are a Christian looking for a book with a bunch of Bible verses and simplistic "Jesus can heal the homosexual" anecdotes, then look elsewhere. But don't worry. Jones and Yarhouse do NOT elevate science above Scripture. They believe faith and science overlap and do not contradict one another when each is properly understood. Their main thesis is that homosexuality is immoral and that nothing found in the scientific research disproves this fact. However, they argue, its unrealistic to say that ALL homosexual people are capable of converting to a heterosexual lifestyle. Therefore, there are only two moral lifestyle choices: celibacy for non-married persons (heterosexual and homosexual) or marriage between one man and one woman.

This book is packed with statistics from research done on various aspects of homosexuality including its prevalance (2-3% of overall population), possible causes (genetic, abuse, early childhood, home life, etc.), and rates of success for those people seeking to leave the homosexual lifestyle (approx 30%). If you're not the type who enjoys statistics, the authors do a great job of summarizing the research in an easy to understand manner.

This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to know the FACTS about homosexuality and its relationship to a biblical worldview. As Christians we need to be informed on this important issue, and we have these two men to thank for informing us.