Unchanging Witness

The Body of Christ is going through a time of severe fracture.  Schism is taking place on a scale not seen since the 16th century, and the reasons for this come into clear focus on the issue of homosexuality. The gay Christian movement and revisionist theologians and exegetes have set up an array of arguments, often mutually exclusive, in favor of homosexual practice.  This book addresses these arguments on a single point: Can they withstand the evidence of the primary sources?
 
In Unchanging Witness, Donald Fortson and Rollin Grams articulate the consistent orthodox view—historically held everywhere, always, and by all—by presenting primary sources throughout Christian history and by interpreting the biblical texts in their cultural contexts.  Following a chapter on the gay Christian movement, the first part of the book examines church history from the patristic period to the present day, including the revisionist readings of the last few decades.  It concludes with an excursus on the Church’s various views on slavery and women, in contrast to the consensus view on homosexual practice.
 
The second part of the book engages the biblical material relevant to the current debate.  Primary sources from the Ancient Near East, Jewish, Greek, and Roman literature are discussed alongside the biblical passages.  Topics treated include the story of Sodom, Israel’s unique prohibition against homosexual acts, the meaning of “soft men” in Greek literature, the various understandings of homosexual orientation in antiquity (including Paul), and the “nature versus nurture” argument in philosophy and Paul’s letter to the Romans.   
 
Throughout, the authors survey the conflicting and changing arguments of revisionist readings and contend that, in light of the overwhelming evidence of the relevant texts, the real issue is not one of interpretation but of biblical authority and Christian orthodoxy.