Book Descriptions
The Children are Free
"Can two people of the same sex live in committed, loving relationship with the blessing of God?" That's the question The Children Are Free brings to Scripture. This book is a comprehensive yet easy-to-read examination of the biblical evidence regarding loving same-sex relationships and God's attitude toward them.
In Chapter One, the authors lead the reader through a discussion of each of the six passages traditionally used against gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. In their friendly and authoritative style, they demonstrate how an anti-gay interpretation is a misapplication of these scriptures.
Then, in Chapter Two, Miner and Connoley turn our attention to the biblical stories and passages that affirm loving same-sex relationships. Did you know Jesus once met a gay person? Jesus' loving response is just one of the well-researched stories presented in this chapter.
Chapter Three asks readers to take seriously the call of Jesus to think more deeply about biblical rules. And Chapter Four calls Christians to action, making a connection between the conflicts in the early Church and those occurring within the Church today.
This book belongs in the library of any Christian questioning the role of Scripture in the lives of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, or the role of GLB people in the Church.
Authors: Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley
ISBN: 0-9719296-0-2
Publisher/publish date: Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, 2002.
Format: Paperback, perfect bound, 112 pages.
Price: US$12.95
In Chapter One, the authors lead the reader through a discussion of each of the six passages traditionally used against gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. In their friendly and authoritative style, they demonstrate how an anti-gay interpretation is a misapplication of these scriptures.
Then, in Chapter Two, Miner and Connoley turn our attention to the biblical stories and passages that affirm loving same-sex relationships. Did you know Jesus once met a gay person? Jesus' loving response is just one of the well-researched stories presented in this chapter.
Chapter Three asks readers to take seriously the call of Jesus to think more deeply about biblical rules. And Chapter Four calls Christians to action, making a connection between the conflicts in the early Church and those occurring within the Church today.
This book belongs in the library of any Christian questioning the role of Scripture in the lives of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, or the role of GLB people in the Church.
Authors: Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley
ISBN: 0-9719296-0-2
Publisher/publish date: Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, 2002.
Format: Paperback, perfect bound, 112 pages.
Price: US$12.95
Holy Homosexuals
Yes, you can be gay or lesbian and Christian! You can be the happy, healthy, and holy person God created you to be.
"I am not such an idealist that I believe we can live with pride without paying a price. I, too, have lost jobs and friends and even my church. I have had my tires slashed, the paint scratched off my car, my office ransacked, my churches bombed. Hardly a week goes by without some death-threat or hate-filled letter. There is one thing I have learned the hard way, however; the price tag for living with pride as an openly gay or lesbian person isn't nearly as high as the price of living with shame." --from Holy Homosexuals, the 2nd edition
What does it mean for lesbian and gay people that Jesus was tempted "like we are in every way?" Fundamentalists have created God in their image. What if God has qualities other than being "right wing, upper middle class, white, and male?" In the Revised Edition, Rev. Piazza challenges us to look at God from a different angle.
Order at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1887129049/jesusmetropolita
Is it a Choice?
The answers to all the questions you've ever had about homosexuality but were afraid to ask are finally in one book, Is It a Choice?
In this newly revised and updated edition, Eric Marcus provides insightful, no-nonsense answers to hundreds of the most commonly asked questions about homosexuality. Offering frank insight on everything you've always wanted-and needed-to know about same-gender relationships, coming out, family roles, politics, and much more, including:
What should you do if your child is gay or lesbian?
Do gay parents raise gay children?
If you think a friend is gay or lesbian, what should you say?
Why do gay men and women want to get married?
What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality
In a powerful new book, evangelical theologian and former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Jack Rogers argues unequivocally for equal rights in the church and in society for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Throughout history, he observes, Christianity has moved towards ever greater openness and inclusiveness. Today's church is led by many of those who were once cast out: people of color, women, and divorced and remarried people. He argues that when we interpret the Bible through the lens of Jesus' redemptive life and ministry, we see that the church is called to grant equal rights to all people. Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality describes Rogers' own change of mind and heart on the issue; charts the church's well-documented history of using biblical passages to oppress marginalized groups; argues for a Christ-centered reading of Scripture; debunks oft-repeated stereotypes about gays and lesbians; and concludes with ideas for how the church can heal itself and move forward again. A fascinating combination of personal narrative, theology, and church history, this book is essential reading for all concerned with the future of the church and the health of the nation. "This is an extraordinary book, arguably the best to appear in the long, drawn-out debates within churches over homosexuality," says J. Philip Wogaman, former senior minister at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. "Rogers book will be useful to people of ALL mainline denomination..." says the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire. "For those who truly wish to know what the Bible does and does not say, this is a real find."
The Queer Bible Commentary
The Queer Bible Commentary brings together the work of several scholars and pastors known for their interest in the areas of gender, sexuality and Biblical studies. Rather than a verse-by-verse analysis, typical of more traditional commentaries, contributors to this volume focus specifically upon those portions of the book that have particular relevance for readers interested in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues such as the construction of gender and sexuality, the reification of heterosexuality, the question of lesbian and gay ancestry within the Bible, the transgendered voices of the prophets, the use of the Bible in contemporary political, socio-economic and religious spheres and the impact upon lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Accordingly, the commentary raises new questions and re-directs more traditional questions in fresh and innovative ways, offering new angles of approach. This comprehensive, cutting-edge commentary is prefaced by an introductory essay by Ronald E Long. Contributors draw on feminist, queer, deconstructionist, utopian theories, the social sciences and historical-critical discourses. The focus is both how reading from lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender perspectives affect the reading and interpretation of biblical texts and how biblical texts have and do affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender communities. The commentary includes an extensive bibliography that directs the reader to a full range of literature relating to queer interpretation of scripture.
What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality
Believing that the translation of the Bible they use consists of the inerrant word of God, some Christians cite a handful of passages to justify their condemnation of homosexuality. But historical biblical scholarship holds that these believers' conception of inerrancy is naively based, for English versions of the originally Hebrew and Greek scriptures are rife with problematic translations. Some scholars further maintain that the supposedly antihomosexual passages are not blanket condemnations of homosexual persons and acts. Indeed, in some cases, these verses aren't about homosexuality at all; they meant quite different things to those for whom they were first written, peoples whose social conceptions of sexuality were vastly different from ours. Helminiak provides cogent, accessible precis of these revisionist findings on the Bible's six major passages and few minor references that seem to denounce homosexuality. The Bible does not condemn gay sex as we understand it today, he concludes; those who seek to know outright if gay or lesbian sex is good or evil . . . will have to look elsewhere for an answer. An extremely valuable contribution to popular gay and biblical studies. Ray Olson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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