Mark A. Yarhouse

Written in a moderate tone, this book offers insights into sexuality and sexual identity and how these can be understood in the context of sanctification and redemption. At a practical level, readers will learn ways to track patterns of same-sex attraction, manage their environment, exchange old scripts that have shaped their sexual identity for new, and consolidate gains they have made in their sexual identity and behavior. The focus of this book is on helping people live in a way that is consistent with their beliefs and values regarding homosexual behavior. It is a practical resource for people who live in what Christians think of as the 'time between the times,' when a person knows their victory is secure but anticipates the day then their victory is complete.

How prevalent is homosexuality? What causes it? Is it a psychopathology? Can it be changed? Questions like these often accompany discussions of homosexual behavior. For answers we naturally look to scientific studies. But what does the scientific research actually show? More important, what place should this research have in shaping the church's response? Stanton Jones and Mark Yarhouse help us face these issues squarely and honestly. In four central chapters they examine how scientific research has been used within church debates - in particular within Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal contexts. They then survey the most recent and best scientific research and sort out what it actually shows. Next they help us to interpret the research's relevance to the moral debate within the church. In a concluding chapter they make a strong case for a traditional Christian sexual ethic. Church groups considering these complex issues will find helpful discussion questions at the end of each chapter. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in the church's debate over homosexual behavior.