Article by Cameron Spink

 

Well I've finally finished Bill Muehlenberg's book Strained Relations and I was heartily impressed with the wealth of information available in the 227 pages plus references. Yet if you go searching on the web for reviews you will be disappointed. The only review I could find of Bill's book was on bigotedbillmuehlenberg.blogspot.com and reproduced on the Borders Customer Reviews website. Needless to say this anonymous writer, who sometimes pens himself as Richie Craze and sometimes as Dursley McLinden, decides to play the man rather than the ball. Take this quote:

 

"It will come as no surprise to anyone who goggles at the inaccuracies and myths peddled in this book that Muehlenberg's training is in theology, and not in science; let alone the social sciences. His understanding of what constitutes evidence for a position is consequently very weak, and the author is crying out for something other than the occasional cherry-picked quote from a gay person to make his argument."

 

Therefore, an accurate review is in order. The first thing that stood out to me from this book was the amount of evidence that Bill packs into his punches. And don't be fooled into thinking Muehlenberg's only tactic is to "cherry pick" quotes. When dealing with the social aspects of homosexuality Bill uses appropriate secular research. This research stands against empty criticisms and points to the truth of the dangers of homosexuality. Dangers for the individual and for society. Some of this is shocking (like the allocated amount of our Government's budget to HIV/AIDS control) and some of this is quite telling (such as how monogamy differs between homosexual and heterosexual couples). We would do well to not ignore the implications of this book.

 

Strained Relations is written as an Australian book. It has many quotes and studies from the US and from the UK but it is tailored towards being in the hands of thinking Australians. I cannot stress enough how important this book is at this time to Australia. As Christians we know that God has ordained sexuality as between man and woman in matrimony. Yet there is compelling social evidence that reinforces this stance. Bill does an outstanding job of compiling a significant amount of facts in this book. He deals with key categories such as:

• homosexual behaviours,
• homosexual rights and discrimination,
• same-sex marriage
• homosexual adoption rights

 

This is not an extensive list but, hopefully, will whet your appetite to pick up a copy of this book. There is a part II in this book that deals primarily with biblical revisionism. That is, those who try to revise the Bible in order to promote homosexuality as being justifiable. This is a great introduction into something that you will encounter if you hold to a biblical position of sexuality. If you want more information than the 50-odd pages that Strained Relations provides on this topic then Robert Gagnon is the expert to turn to.

 

There are many great books on the issue of homosexuality. Some are quite specific and others provide a general overview. Bill's book falls into the second category yet excels because it provides Australian-specific evidence. Because of this it is the first book I would encourage my readers to purchase on this topic. In fact, it is worth carrying around and lending out to friends. It's just that good.

 

For some readers this may just incorporate concepts and facts that they were already aware of. Yet, for many of us this book will be like a breath of fresh air. Strained Relations stands on the truth and has the clout to clear the fog away from baseless positions with overwhelming studies and research. In the end, all the homosexual activist is left with is hateful accusations and names.

 

 

"No one taking seriously their responsibility to uphold and defend faith and family can afford to ignore the wide range of challenges, threats and attacks emanating from the homosexual lobby. TO overlook these major fields of activity will simply lead to further erosion of faith and family in Australia and the West."

Bill Muehlenberg - Strained Relations Preface