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CONTACT
SITE MAP


Useful sites for Gay and Lesbian Christians

Links to the following sites are provided for your information.  
However read them skeptically.

What the Bible says about homosexuality
Many views on this topic – prepared by Ontario Consultants
on Religious Tolerance.

Metropolitan Community Churches
An inclusive Christian denomination with a special outreach
to LGBT people and with branches in many countries.

Gay Christian Network
Resources and support to GLBT Christians

Accepting Evangelicals
Network of Evangelical Christians accepting faithful, loving
same-sex people and partnerships.

Whosoever
An online space and magazine for GLBT Christians.

Ekklesia
Christian news reports – very LGBT positive.

SisterFriends Together
Online faith community for lesbian, bisexual, questioning and
transgender women.

Soulforce
Advocates freedom for LGBT people from oppression.

Lists of GLBT groups in US denominations here and here



Books about Christianity and Homosexuality

Robert A. J. Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice:
Texts and Hermeneutics
, 2001.
Positive: Thorough examination of the Biblical references to
same-sex activity.
Negative: Has a strong “no gay sex” point of view, largely
based on the concept that the only valid God-approved sex is
between males and females.  This concept can be shown to
be false.

Bernadette J. Brooten,
Love Between Women: Early Christian
Responses to Female Homoeroticism
, 1996.
Comprehensive and informative, especially about the same-
sex references in Romans 1.

Martti Nissinen,
Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A
Historical Perspective
, 1998.
Comprehensive and informative.

You can see
lists of books about Christianity and
homosexuality
compiled by:

Jeramy Townsley

Robert Goss

C Bidwell

Paul Halsall

Sexuality Information and Education Council of U S  

Each list contains brief comments on the books in it.



Online articles on Christianity and Homosexuality

The following articles are worth reading, or at least
skimming.  But read them skeptically and ask whether they
really prove their points.  I disagree with the assumptions or
conclusions of some of these articles.

Background Essay On Biblical Texts  (Arland Hultgren and
Walter Taylor) (pdf)
Excellent summary of different views on the crucial Bible texts.

Male Homosexuality in the Bible  (Norman Anderson)

Lesbian and Gay Catholic Handbook  (Paul Halsall)
Includes an article on
Pro-Gay Texts in the Bible

"Born Eunuchs": Homosexual Identity in the Ancient World  
(Faris Malik)

Homosexuality and Christianity  (Jeramy Townsley)

Arsenokoités and Malakos: Meanings and Consequences  
(Dale B. Martin)

Would Jesus Discriminate?  (Jeff Miner and John Connoley)

Homosexuality and the Bible  (Walter Wink)

The Bible and Homosexual Practice  (Robert Gagnon)



Bibles

Excellent sites for reading the Bible online are:

Bible Gateway
Contains many translations in English and other languages,
search, etc.

Net Bible
Contains extensive footnotes on word meanings, search, etc.

Online Parallel Bible
Contains 11 versions, search, etc

Other helpful sites:

The Internet Sacred Text Archive

Resource Pages for Biblical Studies



Warning

When you see an internet site or read a book or article about
homosexuality and the Bible, be very critical and skeptical
about what you see.  Many pro-gay and anti-gay authors are
experts at spinning and distorting the facts to “prove” what
they want to prove, not what is the truth.  Their distortions are
then passed on and on by others who think that the
distortions are the truth.

The most common spin is to claim that the Bible doesn’t
prohibit or criticize modern loving same-sex activity at all.  
This is done, for example, by claiming that the Leviticus
verses only referred to sex with male cultic prostitutes.  
Another example is claiming that the Romans verse mainly
refers to sex as part of idol worship.  In reality, these verses
refer to all anal sex between men.

Therefore read the Bible verses in various versions for
yourself (especially the NASB and Young’s Literal
Translation) and try to work out what they really mean.  The
other pages on this site should help you do this.

The following articles go deeper into this question:

Hermeneutical Issues In The Use Of The Bible To Justify The
Acceptance Of Homosexual Practice
This article has many good points but I disagree with its final
conclusion that homosexual practice is morally wrong.

Reading Strategies for Biblical Passages on Same-Sex
Relations

A Reformed Response to Daniel Helminiak's Gay Theology

A Further Look at Pro-Homosexual Theology

Contact

This site provides general information on what the Bible
says about homosexuality
and how this affects people’s
lives.

If you wish to
get help with a personal problem, I would
suggest that you contact a minister, priest, pastor or other
expert in a nearby church or else phone a
Christian
counseling service such as Lifeline (see
here for Australian
phone number) or New Hope Online Counseling (see
here
for US phone number).

If you are
Jewish, you could try the contacts here.

If you are
Muslim, you could try the contacts here.

If you wish to
offer constructive suggestions as to how
the information on this site can be improved or made more
accurate,
email me by using the form under.  Don’t waste
your time sending
abusive emails – they will be instantly
deleted.
Your name:
Questions, comments, or feedback:
If you want a
reply, add
your email
address:
Who I am

My name is Colin Smith.  I live in Sydney and attend the
Uniting Church in Australia.
This site was last revised in August 2008.