Neil Alexander, This Far by Grace, A Bishop's Journey Through Questions about Homosexuality, Cambridge, MA, Cowley Publications, 2003. Paper, 85 pp., $10.95.

A review by William Hethcock

The Bishop of Atlanta, Neil Alexander, ended his time at the General Convention last summer with the determination to set down his own thinking on Christianity, Anglicanism, Scripture, and homosexuality. His book traces his experiences in the church from boyhood to the present with respect to his growth as a Christian believer who has come "this far by grace." He tells of his sometimes bumpy road from rejection of homosexuals to a welcoming acceptance of their presence as a normal part of our church.

Bishop Alexander has not always been an Episcopalian. He learned a literalist interpretation of the Bible at Sunday School and in a church-sponsored summer camp in the congregation of his youth. Still in his young years, he began to be doubtful about the notion of God being given him, a God whose "uncontrollable anger and the eternal punishment" (9) was inevitable for those who deviated from a strict moral code. His parents did not object when he made his way on his own to a nearby Moravian Church.

The greatest portion of this small book is given to exegesis and interpretation of the Biblical texts which refer to homosexuality and have been interpreted to reject it. These are carefully researched through authorities of Bishop Alexander's personal and academic acquaintance. His argument is clear and logical. If it does not dissuade those who take a literalist view, it will nonetheless show clearly that there is more than one way to interpret these readings.

This main section of the writing notwithstanding, the greater value of This Far by Grace may be as a model of Anglican reasoning and thinking. "In the Anglican tradition," Alexander writes, "we got over the need to agree with one another centuries ago... It is not necessary that we all stand in the same place, but it is essential that we all stand together." (3)

The question we are asking in the church is, "Is all same-sex behavior immoral and indecent in all circumstances?" The Bishop sees clearly that if a literal reading of the English texts is taken as "the last word," the answer is "yes." (54) "If, however, one understands those texts to be condemning particular aberrations of same-sex behavior" widely prevalent in the ancient world and seen mainly as "acts of violence and humiliation," then it becomes possible for Scripture to permit something it never explicitly forbids: "loving, faithful, monogamous, life-giving same-sex relationships." (54)

The argument is not about the authority of Scripture, but about its interpretation. After discussing this point, Bishop Alexander leads us toward what we can all do. We can participate together in prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, fellowship, and service, which are the core of pragmatic Episcopal life and which "transcend our need to agree with one another in all things." (84)

[COVENANT, Number 17, June 2004]

The Revd Dr William Hethcock is professor emeritus of homiletics, School of Theology, University of the South, Sewanee