The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story (Christopher B. Hays & Richard B. Hays) -- A Review

THE WIDENING OF GOD’S MERCY: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story. By Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2024. 272 pages.

In June 2015 the Supreme Court ruled on the case Obergefell v. Hodges in a 5-4 decision that the Fourteenth Amendment required the recognition of same-sex marriages. That was an important step in the long march toward full equality and inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, but the struggle continues. Churches continue to struggle with the matter, as seen in the recent schism within the United Methodist Church. The debates that continue within the Christian community regarding inclusion often turn on how certain passages of Scripture are interpreted. Biblical interpretation is always influenced by cultural concerns and that is true in this case. The debate over LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion within the Christian community rests in part on how a handful of biblical texts are interpreted and applied. While for many of us, our lives might not be directly impacted, many of us have friends and family members for whom this is very personal. That includes me, for I have members of my family who are gay. Over the years numerous books have appeared on “both sides” of the debate. When it comes to books written in support of full inclusion, there is none better than David Gushee's Changing Our Mind (Read the Spirit Books). I would now add The Widening of God's Mercy: Sexuality within the Biblical Story by Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays.

There is a reason why this particular book will have important implications for the ongoing debate over inclusion within the church and society. That is because many years ago, one of the two authors of this book, Richard B. Hays, a distinguished New Testament scholar at Duke Divinity School wrote a book titled The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics (HarperOne, 1997). That book contained a chapter on “Homosexuality.” In that chapter, Richard Hays, now an emeritus professor at Duke, offered what he believed at the time was a compassionate but traditional interpretation of the biblical texts used to limit LGBTQ inclusion in the church. Whether intended, that chapter proved to be rather useful to defenders of a traditional view of sexuality, especially within the Mainline denominations. It remains an important contributor to the debate to this day. However, Hays himself has had a change of heart and mind. While he believes that his original interpretation of that small number of texts was correct, from a scholarly perspective, he has come to believe that when looked at through the lens of a wider vision of God’s mercy, those passages do not apply to the current situation. Therefore, this book does not focus on those particular texts. Instead, he and his co-author, his son Christopher B. Hays, wish to set them within the larger biblical story.

As noted, Richard Hays is joined in this effort to look at the role of sexuality within the biblical story by his son, Christopher B. Hays, an Old Testament scholar and professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. In many ways, it is the participation of the son that most interests me because he is a tenured professor at my alma mater. While there are rumblings of change, Fuller maintains a traditional perspective on marriage and sexuality. So, I wanted to know how he would address this question and hopefully learn something about the conversation that is taking place at Fuller. While I expect he has taken some risks here to speak as he does about the situation at Fuller, he is quite open about what is happening at Fuller. I hope that by bringing that conversation out into the open, we will see the kind of change take place that some alumni (me included) are hoping will take place. Like his father, he has had a change of heart and is committed to the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons in the church. Again, how this will be received at Fuller remains to be seen, but this gives me hope. I expect that tenure will come in handy here!

If you are looking for a book that deals with the central texts used to support a traditional perspective on homosexuality, you won’t find it here. That is not the purpose of the book. Instead, the authors of The Widening of God's Mercy seek to address the larger question of exclusion and inclusion as it is laid out in the Bible. What they wish to do here is demonstrate that God can change God’s mind, and the same is true for us. In other words, when we read the biblical story in its fullness, we discover that God can and does adapt to new situations. If God can adapt, then so can the church when it comes to fully including LGBTQ+ persons. The guiding principle here is God's mercy, a principle the two authors find embedded in both Testaments. Their principal audience is composed of conservative Christians who maintain a traditional perspective that "however well intentioned, [they] are wrong about the most essential point of theology: the character of God" (p. 2). With that in mind, they write: "The repetitive arguments about the same set of verses, and the meaning of specific words, have reached an impasse; they are superficial and boring. We have lost the forest for the trees, and we need to return to a more expansive reading of the biblical story as a story about the wideness of God's mercy" (p. 2). It is this vision that guides the way they proceed in writing the book. The point they seek to make is that great harm has been done "fighting battles that God doesn't call us to fight, and from the recognition that faithful LGBTQ Christians are all around us" (p. 5). Thus, we have this call to attend to the mercies of God.

In writing the book the two authors open with an introduction in which each of the authors reveals their own change of heart and mind, noting where they once stood and why they’ve changed. As I noted earlier, Christopher shares about his context at Fuller, where decisions have been made that have harmed students and staff who either are gay and lesbian or have taken public stands in support of LGBTQ+ inclusion.  Hays openly discusses these realities. Then once they lay out the foundation for the book, they move to the discussion of the biblical texts in two parts, with a third part devoted to contemporary discussions. The authors divide their work in such a way that Christopher Hays focuses on the Old Testament texts, while Richard focuses on the New Testament. Some readers of the book may be disappointed that they have chosen to largely set aside matters of application. They write that they have stayed largely away from application in part due to modesty since their expertise is in biblical studies and not psychology, sociology, or other similar specialties. Secondly, they recognize that the conversation will continue to evolve, including their own views. Therefore, they have chosen a different path, but it's a path I believe is well taken.

Part 1 is titled "The Widening of God's Mercy in the Old Testament." Authored by Christopher Hays, the section is composed of seven chapters, each of which explores aspects of the biblical witness, focusing on creation, mercy, justice, divine statutes, widening the borders, God’s grace and mercy, and a discussion of passages that deal with inclusion of outsiders and foreigners. Christopher Hays is the author of these chapters. Central to the conversation is the question of God's nature. What kind of God do we encounter in the Old Testament? He also helps us see the diversity of perspective in the Old Testament, so things aren’t as fixed as we might think. In the closing paragraphs of Chapter 7, “Besides Those Already Gathered,” Hays offers this important word that draws on rabbinic interpretation that can help us as Christians. “The rabbinic tradition out of which Jesus came could serve as a helpful model for Christians, because it inherently records and recognizes differing opinions. Although the Christian tradition is no less diverse, there is a tendency in some quarters to talk as if they could simply tally up the biblical passages with the right keywords and derive the right answers—without having to really encounter God anew. We don’t think to bring new questions to God like Moses, or argue with God like Job” (pp. 107-108). The message he draws out for us is two-fold. First God’s mercy is a lot broader than many of us recognize, and as the Old Testament reveals, God can have a change of mind!

Richard Hays takes the baton in Part 2, which is titled "The Widening of God's Mercy in the New Testament." Richard does much the same thing in his chapters (chapters 8 through 16), as Christopher did in the first set. He points us to Jesus, noting that Jesus tended to upset people, in part because "his teaching and actions penetrated to the heart of Israel's sacred scriptures and disclosed there a generous, unsettling vision of the wideness of God's mercy" (p. 111). That is an important point, because, for some reason this idea that God is merciful, compassionate, responsive, and adaptive, is quite unsettling to religious folk. But though upsetting people, Jesus tapped into the Scriptures and offered a different picture of God's mercy. Richard begins by taking note of Jesus’ tendency to upset people (Chapter 8), before moving on to Jesus’ discussions of the Sabbath serving as a time of healing (Chapter 9). He explores themes such as “Mercy, Not Sacrifice” (Chapter 10), “Mercy to Foreigners and Outsiders” (Chapter 11), “The Holy Spirit Begins to Change the Church’s Mind” (Chapter 12); “The Conscripted Apostle” (Chapter 13, a chapter that focuses on Paul’s conversion); “Who Was I That I Could Block God?” (Chapter 14, a chapter that focuses on Peter’s encounter with Cornelius’ household); “The Jerusalem Council: Community Discernment” (Chapter 15); and “Mercy All the Way Down” (Chapter 16, a chapter dealing with the Pauline witness).

In Part III, after the authors lay out the biblical vision of divine mercy, which they believe is foundational for their own efforts at advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons, they bring it up to date. Part III is titled "The Widening of God's Mercy in the Present Day. Here Christopher and Richard Hays offer us two final chapters. The first chapter in this section appears to be jointly authored. It is titled "Moral Re-vision: What We Must Say About Human Sexuality" (Chapter 17). Then, there is an Epilogue written by Richard Hays.

Chapter 17, “Moral Re-Vision: What We Must Say About Human Sexuality,” essentially summarizes the author’s journey through Scripture. It culminates here in a recognition that they have offered "a biblical vision of God that differs from what many people assume about God and the Bible." They write that what they have uncovered in their journey through Scripture, as recorded in The Widening of God’s Mercy, is a God who is "a mysterious, dynamic, personal power who can and does change his mind and reveal new and surprising facets of his will" (p. 205). This recognition has allowed them to re-envision how God views LGBTQ+ persons. Therefore this revelation impacts the way the church should view them. This is their conclusion, one that I fully embrace: "The biblical narratives throughout the Old Testament and the New trace a trajectory of mercy that lead us to welcome sexual minorities no longer as 'strangers and aliens' but as 'fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.' Full stop." (p. 207). To which I say, Amen! They recognize that change in the church won't take place overnight. There will continue to be debate, and that might lead to people separating themselves from those they disagree with. That is a sad situation, but a likely reality. Nevertheless, they offer The Widening of God’s Mercy to us as a resource to help us move forward.

Richard Hays serves as the author of the Epilogue, in which he writes more specifically about his own change of mind. He addresses more specifically what he wrote in the chapter on “Homosexuality” in The Moral Vision of the New Testament. While he is satisfied with his exegesis of those passages that deal with homosexuality, he tells us why he no longer embraces the application he recommended. He no longer believes these passages of scripture that are used to define the church’s response to LGBTQ+ persons express God's understanding of the subject at hand. This book for him serves as a form of repentance as he regrets the impact on the church and its debate over homosexuality that the chapter in the earlier book had. He acknowledges that the chapter on “Homosexuality” in that earlier book that has been well-received, has done much harm. With this book, he seeks to undo that harm. I know that some folks will not find this acknowledgment and apology sufficient. They will want him to publish a new edition of The Moral Vision of the New Testament that addresses these concerns. I don’t know if that will happen, but for now, we have this response that offers the reader and the church a different perspective from the one offered in the earlier book.

I believe that The Widening of God’s Mercy is an important contribution to the ongoing discussion of the inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, especially at this time when we’re witnessing significant backlash when it comes to the advancements that have been made in recent years. It doesn’t cover all the bases. Those who are looking for discussions of the biblical texts that have been used to deny LGBTQ+ folks their place in the church and society will want to look elsewhere. I believe David Gushee's book Changing Our Mind is a good place to go. Mark Achtemeier's book The Bible's Yes to Same-Sex Marriage: An Evangelical's Change of Heart is another helpful contribution. Nevertheless, I believe what this partnership of father and son does in The Widening of God’s Mercy is broaden the conversation, moving it beyond that handful of texts to the larger question of God’s nature, and whether God, out of compassion and mercy, might adapt to new realities. I believe they make an excellent argument for God being just that. Thus, they believe, as I do, that God's mercy has been extended not only to heterosexual folks like me, and therefore, are included in God's realm, but the same is true for those who are considered sexual minorities. As I noted earlier, I greatly appreciate the fact the willingness of a faculty member of my alma mater to step out and speak openly about his own perspective, but also his willingness to lay open the debate going on at Fuller.  

Here in The Widening of God’s Mercy, Christopher B. and Richard B. Hays, son, and father, take us on a journey through the Bible, helping us gain a better perspective on God’s mercy and how that mercy is extended to all of us, especially those who are sexual minorities. This is an important book for our time. As you read it, you will discover a vision of God that is truly inclusive. As such, we will hear a call to pursue the common good of all, including especially those who have been excluded and harmed by the church.