A review of Jonathan Tallon ‘Affirmative: Why you can say yes to the Bible and yes to people who are LGBTQI+’

Mar 29, 2023 by Jill

by Martin Davie:

Dr Jonathan Tallon is an ordained Anglican minister who teaches biblical studies at undergraduate and post-graduate level at the Northern Baptist College and the Luther King centre in Manchester. He has a particular interest in how the teaching of the Bible relates to people who are LGBTQI+ and has a popular website and You Tube channel called Bible and Homosexuality. [1]

What Tallon argues in Affirmative

As Tallon explains in his first chapter, ‘Introduction,’ his new book Affirmative: Why You Can Say Yes to the Bible and Yes to People Who Are LGBTQI+ is written for the ‘evangelical Christian who is confused or conflicted by the debates over sexuality and gender.’ [2] As he sees it, the reason evangelical Christians become confused and conflicted by these debates is because:

‘…. many of us have been told that the Bible condemns homosexuality and transitioning or not conforming to gender norms. You seem to be left with only two stark choices: accept scripture and condemn homosexuality and being transgender; or reject scripture and accept those that are homosexual and transgender.’ [3]

However, according to Tallon this confusion and conflict is unnecessary because:

‘…those are not the only two choices.

In this book, you will see how and why you can say ‘yes’: ‘yes to the Bible and ‘yes’ to affirming those who are gay, lesbian, bi or trans.’ [4]

In his second chapter, ‘What does the Bible say about homosexuality?,’ Tallon argues that ‘The Bible says nothing about homosexuality.’[5] This is because of the cultural gap between our world and the world of New Testament times:

Read here