Washed and Waiting, Wesley Hill
Washed and Waiting, Wesley Hill
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Washed and Waiting
Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality

Author: Wesley Hill

Narrator: Adam Black

Unabridged: 4 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 09/21/2010


Synopsis

This is a book written primarily for gay Christians and those who love them. Part memoir, part pastoral-theological reflection, this book wrestles with three main areas of struggle that many gay Christians face: (1) What is God’s will for sexuality? (2) If the historic Christian tradition is right and same-sex behavior is ruled out, how should gay Christians deal with their resulting loneliness? (3) How can gay Christians come to an experience of grace that rescues them from crippling feelings of shame and guilt?Author Wesley Hill is not advocating that it is possible for every gay Christian to become straight, nor is he saying that God affirms homosexuality. Instead, Hill comes alongside gay Christians and says, “You are not alone. Here is my experience; it’s like yours. And God is with us. We can share in God’s grace.” While some authors profess a deep faith in Christ and claim a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit precisely in and through their homosexual practice, Hill’s own story, by contrast, is a story of feeling spiritually hindered, rather than helped, by his homosexuality. His story testifies that homosexuality was not God’s original creative intention for humanity—that it is, on the contrary, a tragic sign of human nature and relationships being fractured by sin—and therefore that homosexual practice goes against God’s express will for all human beings, especially those who trust in Christ. This book is written mainly for those homosexual Christians who are trying to walk the narrow path of celibacy and are convinced that their discipleship to Jesus necessarily commits them to the demanding, costly obedience of choosing not to nurture their homosexual desires. With reflections from the lives of Henri Nouwen and Gerard Manley Hopkins, Wesley Hill encourages and challenges Christians with homosexual desires to live faithful to God’s plan for human sexuality.

About Wesley Hill

Wesley Hill (PhD, Durham University, UK) is assistant professor of biblical studies at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Zondervan, 2010), Paul and the Trinity?: Persons, Relations, and the Pauline Letters? (Eerdmans, 2015), and Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian (Brazos, 2015). He is on the editorial board for Christianity Today and writes regularly for that magazine as well as for Books & Culture, First Things, and other publications.  


Reviews

Goodreads review by Heather

I read this book as part of a church book group in which we are comparing Wes Hill's experience to that of Justin Lee in Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate. Justin and Wes are both gay Christian men. Our book group is made up of straight Christian women. While I found Just......more

Goodreads review by Gregory

Revised my opinion of this, based on subsequent developments in the world of the "gay Christian" movement.......more

Goodreads review by Carmen

Hill shares his experience as a celibate, gay Christian. His reflections are honest and beautiful -- a true gift to the church.. Two areas of reflection were most profound to me: (1) The act of self-denial. Resisting temptation is a normal part of the Christian life for all believers. In this vein,......more

Goodreads review by Bob

Summary: An updated narrative of a celibate, gay Christian man, including thoughts about the recovery of the place of celibacy and the importance of spiritual friendship. Wesley Hill was one of the first to articulate a distinctive perspective in discussions on homosexuality and Christian faith. At a......more

Goodreads review by Jessica

I've read a lot of books in this vein (I was in a book club about faith and sexuality for about 6 months), and while I knew going in that I wouldn't agree with Hill's conclusions, this is cited often enough as a classic in this genre that I thought I should eventually read this. Specifically I had h......more