Reasonable and Holy: Engaging Same-Sexuality (2009)
Author(s): Tobias Stanislas Haller
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781596271104
Amazon UK: Reasonable and Holy
Suitable for: theologically literate Christians, especially Anglicans
Tobias Haller is a theologian and a priest in The Episcopal Church [USA]. Reasonable and Holy presents a calm, reasoned argument for why same-sexuality is part of God’s creation and takes nothing away from opposite-sex couples and institutions. Without using ad hominem attacks or overblown partisan rhetoric, Fr Haller demonstrates how even the most coherent and reasonable conservative positions fail to convince when examined thoroughly in the light of Scripture, tradition and reason.
Reasonable and Holy deals with same-sex relationships in general, but is primarily concerned with how the marriage of same-sex couples fits well within the Christian understanding of marriage.
Review
Tobias Haller’s regular readers know they can reliably expect careful argument and beautiful prose. In this book, Father Haller does not disappoint, and provides a crucial contribution to the debates over same-sex relationships (and the full sacramental inclusion of those in such relationships) in the Anglican Communion, and in Christianity more broadly. Father Haller argues persuasively that an inclusive position is consistent with the church’s tradition, and can be the result of taking our engagement with scripture seriously.