The Triumph of Love

by Eric Reitan

Overview

Recent years have witnessed an astonishing cultural and legal shift when it comes to homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Many Christians see these changes as a defeat for Christian values, often painting Christian opponents as sell-outs to secular culture. But can there be a genuinely Christian case for same-sex marriage? This book makes that case. While sensitive to scriptural issues, it focuses on a question that cannot be answered by Scripture alone: What does love for our gay and lesbian neighbors demand? This question calls us to pair theological, philosophical, and scriptural reflection with something else: attention to gay and lesbian lives. We must attend to the psychological research and, more importantly, to the stories our gay and lesbian neighbors tell us about themselves and their experience. Love does not permit us to plug our ears with Bible verses. While this book argues that Christian love calls us to make same-sex marriage available, the deeper conclusion is that Christian values prevail when we wrestle with these questions in a spirit of love: love for those with whom we disagree, and love for those most affected by the decisions we reach.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498296250
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	07/31/2017
Pages:	306
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Eric Reitan is Professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma State University. He is the author of Is God a Delusion? A Reply to Religion’s Cultured Despisers (2009), which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2009. He is also the co-author (with John Kronen) of God’s Final Victory: A Comparative Philosophical Case for Universalism (2011).

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xiii

Introduction xv

1 The Triumph of Same-Sex Marriage 1

2 Fred Phelps Is Not Dead 19

3 Christian Love 35

4 A Matter of Choice? 61

5 Homosexuality, Mental Health, and the Good of Children 78

6 Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin? 106

7 Stories of Identity 124

8 The Possibility and Promise of Same-Sex Marriage 148

9 The Scriptures of a Loving God 171

10 Natural and Unnatural 197

11 Slippery Slopes 223

12 Disagreeing in a Spirit of Love 243

Bibliography 269

Index 281

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Unusually easy to read, this book is deeply Christian, deeply human, and deeply loving. With scrupulous fairness and no hint of dogmatism, Reitan takes us back to the basic question ‘What does Christian love for our gay and lesbian neighbors demand?’ The Triumph of Love is itself a ‘triumph of love’ both in its handling of the catalogue of misconceptions about lesbian and gay people in conservative Christianity, and in the alternatives it offers.”

—Adrian Thatcher, University of Exeter



“Eric Reitan’s The Triumph of Love is itself a triumph—of clarity, rigor, and most of all, compassion. Read it if you’re looking for a book that will generate more light than heat in the debate over Christianity and same-sex marriage; indeed, read it if you’re less interested in debate than in a thoughtful conversation that takes seriously the concerns on various sides. Deftly weaving personal anecdote with careful argument, Reitan’s book is insightful, accessible, and thought-provoking.”

—John Corvino, Wayne State University

Editorial Reviews

Unusually easy to read, this book is deeply Christian, deeply human, and deeply loving. With scrupulous fairness and no hint of dogmatism, Reitan takes us back to the basic question ‘What does Christian love for our gay and lesbian neighbors demand?’ The Triumph of Love is itself a ‘triumph of love’ both in its handling of the catalogue of misconceptions about lesbian and gay people in conservative Christianity, and in the alternatives it offers.”

—Adrian Thatcher, University of Exeter



“Eric Reitan’s The Triumph of Love is itself a triumph—of clarity, rigor, and most of all, compassion. Read it if you’re looking for a book that will generate more light than heat in the debate over Christianity and same-sex marriage; indeed, read it if you’re less interested in debate than in a thoughtful conversation that takes seriously the concerns on various sides. Deftly weaving personal anecdote with careful argument, Reitan’s book is insightful, accessible, and thought-provoking.”

—John Corvino, Wayne State University

From the Publisher