David Bennett: A celibate gay Christian has tea with his enemies

David Bennett’s testimony doesn’t fit into any neat categories. His story of going from an atheist gay rights activist to born again evangelical Christian is far from straightforward. It involves a homophobic attack, prophetic words and searching for meaning in the New Age movement. Elements of his story will shock his fellow members of the LGBT community, not least his decision to lead a celibate lifestyle and “give up” his sexuality. But David’s message is also deeply challenging to Christians, not least his views on what ‘Church as family’ really means, and his willingness to still identify as LGBT. All of this means, that in the conversations which have followed the release of his autobiography A War of Loves, David has learned to follow the advice of eminent theologian Tom Wright and “have tea with his enemies”.   The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now for only £4.95/month