Sexuality Resources
The purpose of this page is to help members of Redland Church in our reflections on questions on human sexuality. As Vicar of Redland I passionately believe that all LGBTQ+ people are made in the image of God and no one should be discriminated against or excluded because of their sexuality. After much study and reflection, I have come to the view that the bible teaches that sex is for marriage and that a marriage is between one man and one woman. As a church we are committed to offering a welcome to all and sharing the love of Jesus with all.
I want to help you as a member of Redland to carefully consider this issue and take time to prayerfully read, learn and come to a conclusion for yourself. We want to be a Church where disagreement is welcome and safe and where people can belong irrespective of their theological viewpoints. If you want to chat with myself about this please do get in touch.
Will Fairbairn
Vicar
The Story the Rules Forgot
In October and November 2022 Will gave a series of sermons on sexuality called the story the rules forgot. You can listen online here or find it on our podcast at either Apple Podcasts or on Spotify.
Books
Below are a selection of books that argue for and against a revision of the Church’s teaching on marriage. There is obviously much more to read than this but these enable a good engagement with the majority of the arguments on either side in their strongest forms. The first two are the books the PCC will be reading as they reflect on these questions. These would therefore be a good place to start as others in our church will definitely be engaging with them. The final three are more testimonial and record the story of three individual gay people and their experience of the Church and discipleship while engaging with these questions. Again these are from two different perspectives. I would highly recommend engaging with these kinds of books as hearing the stories of real people is essential in this discussion.
Does the Bible Support Same Sex Marriage? - Preston Sprinkle
God and the Gay Christian - Matthew Vines
Love Means Love, Same Sex Relationships and the Bible - David Runcorn
War of Loves, the unexpected story of a gay activist discovering Jesus - David Bennett
Steven Croft and Vaughan Roberts
The Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, published this booklet on why he now supports same sex marriage. Vaughan Roberts, the vicar of St Ebbe's Oxford, published a reply. These are both well worth reading to see how different people argue for and against same sex marriage.
Jim Packer and Canada
In 2002 the Anglican Church in Canada approved the blessing of same sex marriages. Jim Packer, one of the twentieth century's most influential Anglican theologians wrote a piece about why he did not approve of this move. Read it here.