Resources Mentioned:

Us vs. Us: The Untold Story of Religion and the LGBT Community by Andrew Marin 

Andrew Marin reports the findings of the largest-ever scientific survey of the religious history, practices, and beliefs of the LGBT community. This study was also referenced in President Gary Walter’s presidential update at Midwinter 2018.

The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender: Online Resources

The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender equips Christian leaders, churches, and organizations to engage questions about faith, sexuality, and gender with theological faithfulness and courageous love.

People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an Issue by Preston Sprinkle

Preston Sprinkle challenges those on all sides of the debate to reconsider what the Bible says and to live it out more fully. Those who uphold a traditional view of human sexuality must still endeavor to reconcile the Bible’s prohibition of same-sex attraction with the message of radical, unconditional grace.

During the webinar, a webinar participant asked Preston Sprinkle to name some strong resources from the affirming position (i.e. in favor of same-sex marriage and therefore not aligned with the ECC’s adopted position) to gain deeper understanding of those arguments.  The following are the resources that Dr. Sprinkle named. Please note that Dr. Sprinkle interacts with all these resources in his book People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an Issue.

God and the Gay Christian
by Matthew Vines

Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships
by James V. Brownson

Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology)
by Preston Sprinkle (Editor), Stanley N. Gundry (Series Editor), William Loader (Contributor), Megan K. DeFranza (Contributor), Wesley Hill (Contributor), Stephen R. Holmes (Contributor)

Clarification Update:

During the webinar, Dr. Sprinkle made reference to one expression of the transgender experience known as autogynophilia. In his words, it is experienced “almost exclusively [by] biological males who desire sex reassignment surgery out of an erotic desire to envision themselves as a female.” We want to clarify that this is only one transgender expression and is certainly not what characterizes all transgender people. In the future, we hope to have one or more webinars specifically about the transgender experience so that we can all gain a greater and more nuanced understanding.