Books by Topic: Gay Affirming The Church and the Body of Christ (www.gaychurch.org)

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Gay Affirming: The Church and the Body of Christ

Gifted by Otherness: Gay and Lesbian Christians in the Church

Other Books By: L. William Countryman

Without apology and with an honest chutzpah, Countryman, a New Testament professor, and Ritley, an Episcopal priest, explore the vocation and journey gay Christians have in the church. The writers see themselves as ministering to the church; they clarify that their task is not to justify the presence of gays there. That presence is simply a fact. But they also note that it is normal and healthy for the church to struggle with homosexuality, since the church is not a monolithic entity of likeminded people but a richly textured community of contradictory and diverse individuals.

The authors declare that gay Christians have specific gifts to offer the church; they can serve the priesthood of believers as "icons," which the authors describe as windows that show a facet of God. In particular, gays who have experienced "wilderness times" in coming out and living as homosexual Christians can teach others about God's sustaining grace. And while the church is often afraid to face death, the AIDS epidemic has taught the gay community to deal with it as a part of life. On a lighter note, the authors say that the church needs the campiness of gay humor, since Christians forget too often that humor is a gift from God. Ritley and Countryman have written a thoughtful and provocative book for anyone who has struggled with what it means when gays are a part of the church.

The Church and the Homosexual

Other Books By: John J. McNeill

Amazon reader review: I find John McNeill's "The Church and the homosexual" a clear example of what I call "Brave Theology". McNeill does not write an unfounded claim, but establishes his arguments on grounds of a hard work of scholarship. To support his views, he appeals to bible theology, philosophy and human sciences. Thus, he forces moral theologist to take his book into account, whether they like it or not. I am firmly convinced that in the future John Mc Neill will be remembered as a pioneer who dared challenge The Church's unsuitable and unacceptable view on homosexuality.

More Than Welcome: Learning to Embrace Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Persons in the Church

Other Books By: Marurine C. Waun

As an Old Catholic bishop, I am, by definition, out of the mainstream [Old Catholics were formally separated from Rome over 100 years ago for not embracing the doctrines of papal infallibility and the pope's universal jurisdiction over all other bishops -- other differences have arisen since then]. In addition, many of my beliefs and opinions tend to be in the more "progressive" or "liberal" sphere of Christianity. So, I thought I was a pretty understanding pastor, compassionate toward the needs and problems of others outside the mainstream. I received some painful education reading this book.

Author Maurine Waun opens with some personal background, which serves both to explain her personal interest in the topic, as well as to help the reader identify what is (and, as importantly, what is not) being asked of him. She covers some basic problems with the way the Bible has been used to justify hatred of "sexual minorities" (Waun's term for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people), though there are more comprehensive studies available on this aspect.

Waun's knockout punch is the individual stories she presents, and this section was definitely the most painful for me. In six chapters, Waun recounts the stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people relating to pastors, churches, fellow parishioners, and their relatives and friends. It was in this section that I realized my "understanding" of these people's situation had been shallow at best, and actively hurtfull at worst. Over and over, the author lets the stories speak more forcefully than she could, identifying institutional and personal prejudice, bigotry, indifference, and apathy. It was difficult to read of these people of faith, trying to live out a call to follow Jesus as best they could, being repeatedly hurt and shunned by those who profess to love *all* their neighbors as Christ commanded.

Fortunately, Waun does not leave us with that alone. She goes on, in the third section, to identify specific problems the church [speaking as the universal Body of Christ] must address, and specific things individuals should consider when contemplating the Gospel call to "love your neighbor."

I highly recommend this book to all. The question isn't "should we allow gays in the church?" They're there. The question is: how do we follow Jesus' teaching, and love those who are different from us? Waun does an excellent job presenting a Gospel-based, theologically-sound, pastorally-sensitive answer to that question.

Silent Lives: How High a Price?

Silent Lives is helpful for personal journaling and sharing with relatives and friends, and is also very useful as a college text, therapy supplement, or a catalyst for group discussions.

The book combines autobiographical sources, personal interviews and questions for reflection to explore issues relevant to everyone's sexual orientation and gender status, be they heterosexual, or gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or inter-sexual.

L. Boesser examines the consequences a sexual minority person suffers when attempting to pass as heterosexual and/or as of a traditional gender expression. Boesser also looks at how society as a whole is affected when an individual is pressured to hide his/her sexual identity.

Ten percent of the net proceeds from Silent Lives: How High a Price? are donated by the author to Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

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