Synopses & Reviews
Gay marriage has become the most important domestic social issue facing twenty-first-century Americans -- particularly Americans of faith. Most Christians are pro-marriage and hold traditional family values, but should they endorse extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians? If Jesus enjoined us to love our neighbors as ourselves, and the homosexual is our neighbor, does that mean we should accept and bless gay marriages? These and other, related questions are tearing many faith-based communities apart.
Across the country, states have voted, courts have debated, and churches have divided over the legitimacy of same-sex marriage. Amid the uproar one perspective is decidedly missing: that of thoughtful, pro-marriage Christians who, informed by their faith, are struggling to make sense of this issue. What God Has Joined Together? is an effort to bridge the divide between marriage-supporting and gay-supporting people of faith by showing why both sides have important things to say and showing how both sides can coexist. Drawing on scientific research as well as on the Bible, the authors explain that marriage is emotionally, physically, financially, and spiritually beneficial for everyone, not just heterosexuals.
They debunk myths about sexual orientation, assess claims of sexual reorientation, and explore what the Bible does and does not say about same-sex relationships. The book ends with a persuasive case for gay marriage and outlines how this can be a win-win solution for all.
Review
“A well-reasoned, important and timely contribution to the national debate.” David Popenoe, Co-Director, National Marriage Project, Rutgers University.
Synopsis
Same-sex marriage continues to be a hot-button issue, especially for people of faith. In What God Has Joined Together, two leading Evangelical Christian social psychologists examine the social, scientific and biblical dimensions of an issue that continues to capture headlines and ignite people's passions on both sides. By advocating marriage for all, What God Has Joined Together affirms the conservative call for marriage renewal and a more marriage-supporting culture. It also supports the liberal affirmation of everyone's right, regardless of sexual orientation, to seal love with commitment and to fully participate in the life of the church.
David G. Myers, the John Dirk Werkman Professor of Psychology at Michigan's Hope College, is author of fifteen books, as well as articles in some fifty journals and magazines. His four trade books include The Pursuit of Happiness (Morrow/Avon) and The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty (Yale). He is a member of the Templeton Foundation and on the Advisory Board of the National Marriage Project.
Letha Dawson Scanzoni has authored and coauthored eight books, including Men, Women and Change: A Sociology of Marriage and Family, and Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? She is the editor and publisher of the Ecumenical Women's Caucus publication, EEWC Update. Scanzoni is the mother of two and grandmother of five. She lives in Southeastern Virginia.
"David Myers & Letha Scanzoni have written a sensible book that argues what should be obvious: namely that supporting committed marriage for homosexuals does not undermine but strengthens marriage for everyone."
- Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, Pacific School of Religion
--David Popenoe, Co-Director, National Marriage Project, Rutgers University.
Synopsis
A conservative argument for gay marriage by leading Evangelical Christian social psychologists.
Same sex marriage continues to be a hotandndash;button issue, especially for people of faith. Now in paperback, this concise book examines in an accessible way the social scientific and biblical dimensions of this issue that continues to capture headlines and ignite people's passions on both sides. By affirming marriageandndash;for allandndash;What God Has Joined Together concurs with conservatives's call for marriage renewal and a more marriageandndash;supporting culture. And it concurs with liberal's affirmation of everyone's right, regardless of sexual orientation, to seal love with commitment and to full participation in the life of the church.
A reading group guide was already included in the hardcover. This new paperback will additionally include an interview with both authors on why they wrote the book, the controversy it has caused, and an update on the political landscape for gay marriage since the hardcover was released.
About the Author
David G. Myers, the John Dirk Werkman Professor of Psychology at Michigan's Hope College, is the author of fifteen books, and articles in dozens of periodicals, from Science and Scientific American to The Christian Century and Christianity Today. He serves on the National Marriage Project advisory board. Myers has been married for forty-two years and is the father of three adult children.