Description
“The ‘uneasy pieces’ of this book are well-written, challenging and stimulating. They come from the pens of Australian biblical scholars within the Anglican communion, who are skilled in both exegesis and hermeneutical theory. Each essay addresses the question of homosexuality in the Bible, looking at passages in the Old Testament and the New Testament which are often used as a basis for rejecting homosexuality in Christian ethics. Each essay argues, on the contrary, that there is no biblical warrant for condemning either a homosexual orientation or a faithful and committed homosexual relationship. The book, as a whole, makes it crystal clear that both sides of the debate take seriously the Bible as the inspired word of God, and both are seeking to discern the Scriptures in order to hear God’s voice speaking to us today.” Dorothy A. Lee Dean of Trinity College Theological School, Melbourne “These Five Uneasy Pieces are uneasy as to the topic they canvass: the handful of Biblical texts which are most often used to pronounce on the wrongness of homosexual activity. They demand a lot of the reader, calling us into serious textual study of Biblical material from Levitical proscriptions to Pauline vice lists. They are honest, naming the social and theological complexities of the worlds in which the Biblical texts were written and are now read. And they are hopeful, showing Anglicans how disciplined reading of the Bible on the subject of human sexuality can be liberating for both straight and gay Christians who want to live together with a spirit of generosity in the 21st century Church. Read this book in a group, with conversation partners, taking your time with the complex and fascinating material. The five pieces may be uneasy, but they will be very rewarding. The Rev’d Dr Elizabeth J. Smith Anglican Diocese of Perth.
128 pages
Five Uneasy Pieces in ‘The Age’ newspaper:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/cause-still-has-long-way-to-go-says-gay-priest-20111128-1o38f.html
