Gender as Love

“A breath of fresh air that has the marks of a rush of the Spirit, do Vale’s work clears the confusion, fear, and acrimony that has clouded around the concept of gender. Gender as Love provides erudite guidance through the theory and, even more, rich exegetical and theological resources for living justly in response to God’s undeserved gifts, including the gift of gender. The joining of confidence in Christ with an epistemic humility that results in godly patience makes this author and this work a timely gift and a necessary read.”

“Everyone knows what topics to avoid at the dinner table: religion, politics, and—wait for it—gender (the new taboo topic now that sex is ‘safe’). Do Vale’s Gender as Love is not dinner conversation; it does not shirk the difficult questions but confronts them head on, with clear-sighted reasoning and openhearted compassion. Here is biblically grounded wisdom for male and female Christian disciples intent on using their sexed bodies in ways that foster love of God and neighbor. Here is the best kind of theology: direction the church desperately needs for such a time as this.”

“Contemporary discussions of gender are often confusing and confused, lacking nuance, clarity, and consistency on some of the most fundamental terms. Answering John Webster’s call to engage in ‘theological theology,’ Fellipe do Vale adroitly clarifies how, precisely, we ought to conceive of gender from within the divine economy. Do Vale proposes, with a little help from Augustine of Hippo, that gender is a form of love directed toward various social goods in a manner that shapes the self. The result is, in a word, remarkable. This book is everything theology should aspire to be: elegant in its argumentation, accessible in its prose, brilliant in its content, and unreservedly devoted to the God of the gospel. It is a book that will remind you of why you first started writing and reading theology in the first place.”