cover image Sexual Ethics: An Evangelical Perspective

Sexual Ethics: An Evangelical Perspective

Stanley J. Grenz. Westminster John Knox Press, $29.95 (312pp) ISBN 978-0-664-25750-7

This conservative treatment of sexuality is yet another attack on homosexuality delivered under cover of ""traditional family values."" Grenz maintains that this is a ""transitional era"" that affords an opportunity to read the classics anew; but, for the most part, the ""classics"" he has in mind are scriptural texts, and he doesn't so much read them anew as read them again. His argument follows a familiar outline: to be human is to be embodied; sexuality is an essential dimension of embodiment; ""normal"" sexuality is most fully realized in monogamous heterosexual marriage, but ""singleness"" is also a biblically sanctioned expression of human sexuality. There's a hint of some potential fresh air in Grenz's assertion that ""community"" is God's ""ultimate intention"" for humanity, an assertion that could conceivably open the way for a thorough examination of the myriad ways in which community finds expression. But it doesn't. It becomes an occasion for establishing a choice between monogamous heterosexual marriage and ""singleness"" as normative--and for dismissing all homosexual relationships as deficient. One can only hope that readers will be more serious than Grenz about a ""new"" reading of ""classic"" texts, for human community as a spiritual metaphor for God's embodiment is a ""classic"" theme full of contemporary possibilities. (Aug.)