Welcome
“We advocate full inclusion of believers with differing sexual orientations not because we reject the authority of the Bible. Far from it: We have come to advocate their inclusion precisely because we affirm the force and authority of the Bible's ongoing story of God's mercy.”
Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays,
‘The Widening of God's Mercy’
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If you’re looking for somewhere to explore what the Bible really teaches us about same-sex relationships you’ve come to the right place - whether you want to dive deeply into the whole case for (or against) same-sex sex and marriage or just explore one particular topic. Whist this site has been written for evangelical Christians, it should be equally helpful for Christians of any tradition who want to explore this issue. That includes my Catholic and Orthodox siblings in Christ and many others who just aren’t comfortable with “evangelical” as a label.
You might be a traditionalist just interested in understanding the revisionist case. Or you might be seriously exploring this issue for the first time with a fully open mind. Or maybe you’re already affirming but want to better understand the biblical basis for this position. Or perhaps you’re seeking material to share to help others better understand the revisionist case.
Wherever you are on your journey with this issue, you're welcome, and my hope and prayer is this site will be a useful compass and resource for you.
My own journey exploring this issue has taken me 40 years. I've followed some wrong paths, and been down a few cul-de-sacs. But ultimately I've picked up and followed the trail of evidence that has led me to the place I am now, the place I believe God is – a place of affirmation and celebration of same-sex marriage.
Welcome to my website!
If you want to learn more about my own personal journey then I will add my fuller story here. (Though, frankly, there are rather more interesting biographies than mine linked in the Further Resources section!)
If you want to follow the whole journey of this website or just parachute straight in to a particular part you’ll see the route map is divided into these 15 sections:
1. Who am I and why did I start this site?
2. Define Marriage – what do I mean by “marriage”?
3. Changing Views - a brief summary of why and how my views have changed
4. Made Gay? The science behind what makes us gay, straight or bisexual
5. The New Testament “clobber” texts
6. The Old Testament “clobber” texts
9. Pointers – what, if any, pointers to same-sex marriage does Scripture give us?
13. Answers – examining the evidence to answer those keys questions
The website contains a lot of material! But to make it more digestible for those with smaller appetites I offer short summaries to almost every section. These appear in the menu straight under each main piece.
And for my big Answers section I’ve given you a choice of three versions – the main medium one, the short-ish summary and the marathon long version!
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And if you just want quick snapshots of my views and the reasons for them go straight to my Case Summaries (in short, medium and long versions), which you'll find just under the Changing Views section in the menu bar.
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And for the real “geeks” like me, who want to dive even deeper, you’ll see I have a Further Resources section at the end, pointing you to some excellent other materials, many of which helped guide me in my own journey.
I’ll give links to my own research essays which underlie the website content. I also hope to give voice to others by adding their own short contributions sharing their thoughts and experiences of God embracing their gender, sexuality and relationships. (If you have anything you’d like me to consider including, I'd love to hear from you. You can contact me at: affirmingevangelical@gmail.com )
Just so you know, unless otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the New International Version (UK edition) currently on the YouVersion Bible app. That’s not because I believe the NIV is necessarily any more accurate than any others (on a few key texts I believe it’s quite inaccurate!). It’s just the one I’m most used to.
Thank you so much to my wonderful friend Michelle and my amazing, long-suffering wife, Hannah, without whose help the website wouldn’t be here.
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And after all the changes I made to this site I'm sure they'd give you a rather different definition of revisionist!
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Thank you also to my two fantastic children, Sam and Josie, whose challenges to my thinking have been such great compasses on my journey. Thank you too to my fellow affirming evangelicals for their permission to use their images and content on this site, including Christopher Hays, Vicky Beeching, Pastors Simon & Keely Bateson, Jeremy Marks, Dr Roy Clements, Rev. John Peters, Pastor Danny Brierley, Ben & Jason McMahon-Riley, Pastor Paul Bailey and my own pastor and great friend, Penny Marsh.
Whilst I’m very confident the overall position I’ve reached is our Lord’s position, I’m a fallible, sinful (though forgiven) human being. So I will have got something wrong here! My apologies for any errors - which are entirely my own, not Michelle’s or Hannah’s! Also, there are plenty of images on these pages. We’ve tried as hard as we can to use only images that are copyright free or for which we’ve been given permission and to avoid any AI-generated images. But if we’ve inadvertently used any protected image please let us know and we’ll remove it.