Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches

The virtue of this book is the number of different voices that are found in it. I know this is one of the primary texts that my parents found helpful when I first came out and they were wrestling with understanding how Christians are to regard homosexuality. Unlike many other books on the Bible and homosexuality (including my own), Wink's book does not so much delve into biblical analysis of the "clobber passages," but rather it offers a more personal look at the struggle to understand to God's will as it relates to homosexuality. I find this unique approach quite refreshing, and highly recommend this book! Justin R. Cannon Editor, Sanctified: An Anthology of Poetry by LGBT Christians Author, The Bible, Christianity, & Homosexuality

This little book (just a bit over 130 pages) is big in caring and wisdom and compassion; in other words, it is just like Jesus! Most of us who were 'churched' from birth into easy dichotomies/polarities like: saint/sinner, good/evil, saved/damned will find these writings liberating and confirming of what we have always suspected, that "not everything biblical is Christlike." This quote--which I think is what this book is about at its core--is from one of the essays in the book, written by William Sloane Coffin. This book can help many come out of their own closets, the closets of unexamined prejudices; in particular, the ones made up of religious walls.

For so long I was doubtful and had a negative view on gay christians. Church members always gave the typical texts that have been used to 'prove' that homosexuality was a sin. Those texts always seemed to miss something to me, and never were they something that came from God's mouth. They were always in the same chapters that forbade many thing that today we would think was silly (i.e. the combining of two different textiles in clothing....ooooooh....we are all guilty of that!)This book is definitely a must read true christians! Remember: 'What Would Jesus Do' in this situation?

Is it true that "Wink and the other essayists will do little more than reaffirm what a few already believe, and push farther away those with whom they disagree?" I think not. First, there are more than a few who believe as the authors do, and certainly there are many more who are sympathetic to this view, but who need the assurance that their sympathies are not misplaced. This book offers exactly that assurance.It provides a well-argued basis for believing that Scripture is not opposed to same-sex loving relationships. It shows how much of what we assume Christians believe is based on tradition, and therefore human frailty. It demonstrates through moving personal stories that human experience would lead us towards a welcome and a sharing of our humanity with those who have suffered, and still suffer, exclusion. Would those who disagree be pushed further away by reading the book? I doubt it. For the most part, there's nowhere further to go.For those who are seeking a foundation for their belief in the unity of God's human creation, and an affirmation of the Church's gospel call to welcome all people into full communion, there is no better starting point than this book.