Being Gay Being Christian

You can be both.

Dr Stuart Edser

Foreword by The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG

Is it possible to be both gay and Christian?...

There is no more divisive an issue in the church today than the highly controversial topic of being gay and being Christian. Being Gay, Being Christian is a book which attempts to dispell the myths surrounding this topic and explains calmly and logically that the two are not mutually exclusive and it is in fact possible to be both.

With the support of some of the finest scientific and theological minds, author Dr Stuart Edser presents a compelling case for tolerance and acceptance, rejecting the traditional Christian view that gay people are either sick or sinful as a result of their sexual orientation. He argues passionately for church people everywhere to open their minds and show a willingness to discard older ways of thinking where more modern explanations reveal the truth more accurately. And he encourages gay Christians to integrate their sexuality and their faith so that both are valued equally.

Being Gay, Being Christian is about easing the pain and diminishing the shame of being gay and being Christian. It will bring you up to date with the latest science, theology and scholarship regarding gay and lesbian sexuality and the Christian life. It is written from the point of view of a psychologist who has a long-held deep faith and who has studied to understand the interface between psychology and science with spirituality and theology.

Being Gay, Being Christian will help people to come to terms with their sexual orientation in a healthy, whole and educated way, to help them to accept themselves and their sexual identity and to assist them as they deal with family, friends, church or the workplace. It will lead them away from self-hatred, self-loathing, guilt and shame and help those interested in the spiritual aspect, to see that, as much as anyone else, they are loved and accepted by God and that they can love and accept themselves as well.

Chapters include:

• Being gay or lesbian today
• The biology of being gay
• The psychology of being gay
• Coming out
• Sound people, sick therapy
• The Bible and Christianity
• The Evangelical view of homosexuality
• The Catholic view of homosexuality

About the author

Dr Stuart Edser is the Principal Psychologist at Newcastle Psychology & Health based in Lambton, Newcastle. He has several degrees in psychology and education, including a PhD. In the past he was a secondary English teacher, a qualified piano teacher and professional musician and an experienced public speaker. He was a minor seminarian in the Catholic Church living in a monastery for three years as an early teen, but also an elder, leader, preacher and teacher in the Protestant evangelical and charismatic wing of the Church. In this wing, he was a co-founder of a church in his twenties, a church that still exists in the Newcastle suburb of Highfields. He even stood for the NSW Parliament in the 1991 election for Fred Nile’s Call To Australia Party (as it was known then). After years of struggle and self-acceptance, he now lives happily with his partner Chris. 

more information at www.beinggaybeingchristian.com