A Time to Embrace: Same-Gender Relationships in Religion, Law, and Politics (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: legitimation advocates, welcoming democracy, gay card, Supreme Court, United States, Justice Scalia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

As rhetoric continues to heat up on both sides of the debate over same-gender unions, clearly reasoned statements are in short supply. Watching this debate unfold, William Stacy Johnson found that he could be silent no longer.

In A Time to Embrace Johnson presents a brilliant analysis of the religious, legal and political stakes in the debates over gay marriage, civil unions, and the place of committed gay couples in a democratic society.

The book begins by laying out the church’s seven different responses, from outright prohibition to full ecclesial consecration, testing the arguments of each along the way. Johnson then focuses on gay rights in recent court battles, detailing the arguments made from both liberty and equality. Finally, he assesses the different types of gay marriage and civil union arrangements and suggests how deliberative democracy can create a society in which all citizens can rely on principles of equality and liberty.

Weighing the pros and cons from across the moral and religious spectrum, A Time to Embrace is a thought-provoking and well-argued treatment of one of the most controversial issues in the West today. This book is sure to stir readers to reflect more deeply on religious truth and the meaning of marriage.

About the Author

William Stacy Johnson is Arthur M. Adams Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he is also an attorney-at-law and was a member of the PCUSA’s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church. His other books include The Mystery of God: Karl Barth and the Postmodern Foundations of Theology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 330 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (December 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080282966X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802829665
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #505,117 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Analysis of Scripture and the Law, December 11, 2006

By	Jack Rogers - See all my reviews

William Stacy Johnson is an attorney-at-law, an ordained Presbyterian minister, and professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. This book evidences his clear and dispassionate legal analysis, his deep concern for the church, and his insightful theological thought.

The first half of the book is devoted to religion and the second half to law and politics. His expertise and broad reading in all three areas blends these issues into one sustained and persuasive argument. I continually found gems of information cropping up in all three areas.

Johnson outlines seven different ways of viewing same-gender relationships theologically from prohibition to consecration. He is careful to describe the merits and weaknesses of each argument before presenting any conclusions. Johnson believes that the way to resolve the present conflict over same-gender relationships is to be welcoming, affirming, and also ordering of those relationships.

He sets the whole of his position in the context of a three-part exposition of the Christian story of creation, reconciliation, and redemption. He develops a biblical position on marriage that shows it to be a nurturing context for companionship, commitment, and community. He believes that gay and lesbian couples can embody all three of these purposes of marriage. In the process he deals in detail with texts of Scripture used to prohibit same-sex relationships, carefully examining the original languages and their historical context. In the end he finds: "The immorality, debauchery, and licentiousness about which Paul complains bears no resemblance to the exclusively committed same-gender relationships we are being asked to assess today" (p. 154).

In the section on law and politics he patiently works through all of the major court cases bearing on same-gender relationships, even describing the various arguments of Supreme Court justices. He concludes: "The truth is that there are no cogent legal arguments of a secular nature for refusing to grant some form of relationship rights to gay couples" (p. 189). Finally, he reflects on the kind of society in which all of us would like to live. He develops a picture of a welcoming, deliberative democracy "in which all citizens -- those with religious convictions as well as those who spurn religion -- participate as equals" (p. 220).

Johnson concludes that the Bible teaches that sexuality should be ordered within a committed, covenantal framework. Affirming that gay and lesbian couples can flourish within that framework "is not a violation of long-standing moral and religious convictions but a deepening of them" (p. 226). In addition, he points to formidable constitutional arguments that would allow people of the same gender to enjoy the rights and privileges of marriage.

This book rewards thoughtful and patient reading. The language is clear even though the concepts are often complex. An extensive bibliography and table of legal cases plus seventy-four pages of notes conclude the work. Johnson's work will become a principal resource for people genuinely seeking an understanding of the present, often confusing, debates over same-gender relationships.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Time to Embrace: A Creative Approach, January 3, 2007

By	Carolyn H. Manosevitz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Theologian William Stacy Johnson is a compassionate and committed Christian whose argument for legitimation and consecration of gay and lesbian unions is not only creative and convincing. It is based on thoughtful, careful and extensive research encompassing every aspect of society from Scripture to social and political activity. Johnson sets the stage for his reader by drawing on past cultural trends to demonstrate that opposition to gay unions rests on a fragile religious and political basis. He presents various positions on this subject while providing the reader with compelling logical arguments concerning the pros and cons of each of these positions.

In discussion of what the Bible does and does not say about same gender commitments,Johnson quotes pivotal biblical passages and creatively advances his argument. "Learning the reason for an ancient rule helps us reformulate what that rule might mean in a new day with a new set of moral issues."

And as it concerns the Law, Johnson is equally as competent, creative and convincing. In addition to the author's expertise, because of the way in which it combines religion, law and politics, this book is certain to become a definitive work dealing with a most controversial topic of our time.

carolyn h. manosevitz, mfa
visiting lecturer, Austin Presbyterian T heological sSeminary/ Wesley Theological Seminary

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biblical values, American values, December 21, 2006

By	T. D. Koenig (Cleveland Heights, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's clear that the place of lesbian and gay persons in church and society is one of the hottest topics of our time - stories appear in the news practically every day on one or another aspect of the controversy. It's not clear that most folks who express opinions have reached their position after careful consideration of the facts about sexual orientation, what the Bible really says (as opposed to what they've heard or assumed), and the realities of the lives of gay and lesbian persons and their families.

William Stacy Johnson does nuance! As opposed to the common assumption that there are two faith-based positions on homosexuality - for or against - he identifies and sympathetically explores seven basic positions held by religious people, locating each within the theological concepts of creation, reconciliation, and redemption. (Of course, individuals may hold perspectives from more than one of the seven.)

A lawyer as well as a theologian, Johnson also discusses the civil rights of individuals and same-sex couples in law and politics. People who are familiar with biblical teaching will learn more, and be exposed to thinking in the civil sphere; those more versed in secular matters will learn more, and be exposed to the ins and outs of the religious discussion.

Shall we move toward the inclusion of committed same-sex relationships within the institution of marriage? If you want to be faithful both to biblical and to fundamental American principles, read this book and come to your own conclusions!