Being Gay, Being Christian

The primary aim of BEING GAY, BEING CHRISTIAN is to explain to gay or same-sex attracted people that they can be both gay and Christian – that the two are not mutually exclusive. The calm authoritative voice of science and scholarship, explains that gay people are neither sick nor sinful. Author Stuart Edser threads his own extraordinary story throughout the text, using this and his experience as a clinician to guide his thinking. At the end, he presents an alternative model of Christian discourse to that which we usually hear and offers a positive voice so often glaringly absent from the Church's utterances on homosexuality. He argues passionately for church people everywhere to open their minds and show a willingness to discard older ways of thinking where more modern explanations elucidate the truth more closely.


Dr Stuart Edser is a Counselling and Health Psychologist in private practice in Newcastle, Australia. In addition to dealing with mental health issues, he specialises in sexual matters, including dysfunctions and orientation and identity issues. He also teaches sexual counselling skills to medical students. Highly qualified in his field, he has degrees in psychology and education, including a PhD in psychology. Dr Edser has a long history as a Christian in both Catholic and evangelical / Pentecostal churches, including training as a minor seminarian in a religious order and helping found an independent charismatic church. After years of struggle and self-acceptance, he now lives with his partner Chris and is very comfortable being both gay and Christian.