A Theology of Gay and Lesbian Inclusion Love Letters to the Church

Encourage the Church to address the gift of human sexuality—how to view it, how to deal with it, and how it relates to spiritualityA Theology of Gay and Lesbian Inclusion: Love Letters to the Church challenges traditional church teachings that brand homosexuality as immoral, using pertinent scripture from the central Gospel to promote a full acceptance of gay and lesbian Christians. This powerful book questions the assumption that gay Christians are morally inferior, presenting testimony from gay men and lesbians about prejudice theyve experienced at the hands of the Church—and its straight members. Written as a series of ten letters, the book addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the church and appeals for a new understanding and commitment to the acceptance of its gay members. From the author:The purpose of this book is to equip you, Christian warrior of the Gospel of peace, to stand against those who use the Bible to resist change—even that change of which our Lord would approve. In one sense, there is nothing revolutionary about this book. It is a book that respects tradition—but only up to a point: that point where tradition has to change, to give way to what the Holy Spirit is showing us in our day of the mind of Christ. And this is not revolutionary, because tradition has had to change before; it is a developing truth, born of the corporate experience of the children of God, and open to our claiming the exercise of our God-given gift of reason. A Theology of Gay and Lesbian Inclusion includes a series of letters that progress from establishing the purpose and credibility of the author, to developing grounding in Scripture and experience, to appealing to the reader to act as an ally of gay and lesbian Christians. The letters include: “Dear Christian Believer,” which aims for the “bulls-eye” of the readers faith “Dear Sexual Being,” which offers a fresh look at a sensitive topic “Dear Confused Church Member,” which discusses what gay people are “really” like “Dear Concerned Church Member,” which discusses what gay people really want “Dear Bible Explorer,” which discusses what the Bible really says “Dear Person Trying to Do the Right Thing,” from “being” to “doing” and much moreA Theology of Gay and Lesbian Inclusion provides a friendly and informal Biblical rationale for alternatives to traditional church teachings, encouraging the acceptance of gay and lesbian people as fully moral and fully Christian.

Preface Acknowledgments Letter 1. Letter of Introduction Letter 2. Identifying the Core of Our Common Faith Letter 3. What Gets in the Way of Love Letter 4. Recognizing the Church As Both Human and Divine Letter 5. Humans As Sexual Beings: A Fresh Look at a Sensitive Topic Letter 6. What Are Gay People Like? Letter 7. What Do Gay People Want? Letter 8. What the Bible Really Says Letter 9. From Being to Doing Letter 10. Appeal to the Bride of Christ Index Reference Notes Included