This book could not be more timely and helpful for those on all sides of the debate. Mark explores the recent history of the evangelical writing on sexuality and desconstructs the idea of an unchanging evangelical consensus on these questions. He opens up an excellent third way for evangelicals to hold diverse views on sexuality questions without scapegoating others or unnecessary division. One of the most helpful books on this debate I've yet read. -- Steven Croft "Mark Vasey-Saunders has written a timely, wise and essential book, taking current sexuality debates and placing them in a deeper cultural context. All parties should step back and read this clear and eirenic book with humility and openness." -- The Right Revd Nicholas Baines "Whatever our perspective on sexuality, Mark Vasey-Saunders is an essential conversation partner who raises crucial questions. Did the earliest Christians teach what is now presented as the traditional view on sexuality? What is really at stake in the current conflict? How can we avoid demonising each other? Defusing the Sexuality Debate approaches this thorniest of contemporary issues with integrity, humility and rigour. The result is a significant and consequential intervention - one of few contributions with the potential to open up genuinely new horizons. Mark's careful research empowers us to think more deeply, and it won't leave readers unchanged. At its heart is an eirenic plea: we can understand each other better; we can take a longer view; we can be the community of peace the gospel deserves and our world needs." -- Mark Powell "Mark Vasey-Saunders has established himself as one of the sharpest and most insightful commentators now writing on the disputes over sexuality in the Church of England. If the Church is to be delivered from the compulsions that are tearing it apart, then earnestly heeding his call for Christian humility and heart-searching truthfulness may just be its best hope." -- Robert Song