Christian Publisher Calls Conservative Criticism Over Decision to Publish Matthew Vines' 'God and the Gay Christian' a 'Distraction'

A Christian publishing company has called criticism from conservative voices over its decision to publish Matthew Vines' controversial book God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships a "distraction," arguing that the author has been successful in his goal to start a cultural conversation on the issue.

"The conversation on who published God and the Gay Christian serves as a distraction to the real issue the book addresses. Now that the book has hit the marketplace, it looks as if the discourse has turned towards the conclusions set forth by its author Matthew Vines. The author's goal was to start a cultural conversation, and it seems that he has," Stephen W. Cobb, chief publishing executive for WaterBrook Press, Multnomah Books, Convergent Books and Image Books, told The Christian Post in an email Thursday.

A number of conservative commentators had spoken out strongly against Convergent Books' decision to publish Vines' God and the Gay Christian. The publisher (the sister imprint to WaterBrook Multnomah) says the book, which was released on Tuesday, will "radically change the conversation about being gay in the church."

Author Michael Brown, who holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has published his own book on the subject, Can You Be Gay and Christian, wrote in an opinion piece for CP last week:

"It is a sad and shameful day when a major Christian publisher releases such a book and claims that it is a solid evangelical publication. This is abhorrent, disgraceful, and terribly misleading. And it needs to be addressed and exposed."

Matt Barber, founder and editor-in chief of BarbWire.com, commented last week that Vines is "a homosexual activist and Bible revisionist known for manipulating Christian terminology to advance the counter-Christian homosexualist agenda."

Barber also claimed that WaterBrook Multnomah and Convergent are effectively the same company, stating: "It's smoke and mirrors. It's confusing because it's designed to be confusing. It's intentional – a shell game purposefully calculated to obfuscate and hide the ball from the Christian community." Keep reading

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