Same-Sex Marriage?: A Christian Ethical Analysis [Hardcover]

Marvin Mahan Ellison (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Pilgrim Press (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829815600
• ISBN-13: 978-0829815603
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,419,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A timely work, January 7, 2004

By 

"sbrooks76" (Newark, De United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Same-Sex Marriage?: A Christian Ethical Analysis (Hardcover)

At a time when the discourse about same-sex marriage is limited to ambiguous public polls and superficial media coverage, Mr. Ellison has written a book that does justice to the issue.

Mr. Ellison offers an incisive, historical and spiritual critique of marriage, its social and political history, and the roll it plays in today's society. From the outside same-sex marriage gets polarized into an issue of traditionalism versus progressivism, right versus left. The tendency to coerce the issue into a simple bi-polar political discussion really offers little room for discussion and preserves the status quo.

Rather than arguing that marriage is an institution all should be allowed to participate in, Mr. Ellison first asks what marriage is and defines it within certain parameters that allow both criticism and approval. Marriage is not a static concept, he claims, but an ever changing idea that means different things at different times. He details the coercive and repressive ways marriage has affected women over the years and asks is this something that gays and lesbians want to participate in.

Mr. Ellison argues effectively that marriage is afforded too much weight in society. The normative nature of its centralization in today's paradigm of relationships pushes others to the margins, and not just gays and lesbians. He shows how marriage has a detrimental effect on those who choose not to marry but live in long-term relationships, no matter their sexuality, and asks if the state can ethically play a role in endorsing a whole group of people while alienating another.

In a Rawlsean sense, Mr. Ellison asks his reader to envision an ethic that is inclusive of all. He makes the case that marriage can't be a valid spiritual institution until all are included or until it is decentered. Wonderfully researched, clearly written, and well supported, Mr. Ellison re-aligns the discourse on marriage, moving it from simple left-right politics, into a discussion of justice for all and sexual inclusiveness.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why get married?, February 11, 2004

By 

B. Ellison "Feminist Witch & High Priestess" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Same-Sex Marriage?: A Christian Ethical Analysis (Hardcover)

This book is written by a brilliant justice-loving Christian, ethicist and gay man. Although Ellison frames his analysis in the context of Christainity it does not exclude those of other faiths. Instead of exclusionary language Ellison uses justice and egalitarianism as the measure of ethics.

Ellison's book on same sex marriage is approchable enough for the average reader but comprehensive enough for the glbt community and religious scholars. Every possible angle of the marriage debate is addressed. He shows the similarity between what many would consider extreme opposite sides of the debate.

The author goes well beyond dualistic heterosexist definitions of marriage. He questions the historical role of religion in marriage as well as the modern benefits to women and the glbt community.

His unique interpretation makes this text essential to understanding all sides of this complex issue. "Same Sex Marriage" could not have arrived at a better time.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From not only a Christian, but also a human point of view, July 9, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Same-Sex Marriage?: A Christian Ethical Analysis (Hardcover)

A professor of Christian Ethics and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, Marvin M. Ellison presents Same-Sex Marriage?: A Christian Ethical Analysis, a discussion that refuses to oversimplify the complex issues involved in the modern debate whether individuals of the same sex should have the recognized right to marry. Examining marriage regulations today, and conducting dialogues with legal scholars and theologians alike to better understand how both advocates and critics of same-sex marriage shape their arguments, Same-Sex Marriage? sets the stage for a rational and debate of relevant ethics from not only a Christian, but also a human point of view.