Resources on “Homosexuality” - Some selected resources organized by the Wesleyan Quadrilateral
Compiled by J. Benjamin Roe, D.Min. - (PDF version)
There are thousands of books, websites, and stories on the issues of human sexuality. The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a method for theological reflection and discernment on issues important to Christian faith.* These are only a few possible resources organized into the four sources for this reflection towards an inclusive and affirming stance towards LGBTQIA individuals.
Scripture
Key concept: The word “homosexual” was invented in 1868; the Bible assumes behavior, not orientation. The cultural setting was very different centuries and millenia ago. Historical-critical study of scripture is necessary.*
What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality; Millennium Edition, Updated and Expanded, by Daniel Helmeniak, 2000; a thorough examination of what the Bible really says in its context and ours
Matthew Vines examines the Biblical passages regarding homosexuality; a small booklet, good for basic introduction
The Bible and Homosexuality, by Walter Wink, 1999; a small booklet, good for basic introduction
Reading the Bible Again For the First Time; Taking the Bible Seriously But Not Literally, by Marcus Borg, 2001; a way of looking at the Bible from the method scholars typically use
Tradition
Key concept: Christian tradition is overwhelmingly negative to homosexual practice, often based on misreading Biblical texts and settings, and blind to the integration of sexuality and human identity.*
Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century, by John Boswell, 1980; a thorough, massively documented (and controversial) study of original sources, showing some parts of the church were accepting
Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, by John Boswell, 1994; a study showing unions between figures of the same sex and gender were socially accepted
Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition, by Derrick Sherwin Bailey, 1955; ground-breaking historical research on gay people in the Christian West
The Church and the Homosexual: Fourth Edition – by John J. McNeill, 1993; a scholarly analysis of the Biblical passages, and shows that as we now understand homosexuality, it is not Biblically condemned
Reason (Science and Theology)
Key concepts: Scientific study and discoveries about sexuality are important: the earth is not flat, and sex is not binary. Disciplined and rational reflection on theology and ethics enriches and strengthens faith.
Body, Sex, and Pleasure: Reconstructing Christian Sexual Ethics, by Christine Gudorf, 1994; proposes a sweeping challenge to traditional Christian teaching on sexual roles, activities, and relationships
Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology – by James B. Nelson, 1979; a landmark re-imagining of sexuality, theology, and ethics
Sex and Gender Special Issue, Scientific American, Volume 317, Issue 3, especially p. 50-51; Sex, gender, and sexuality are all distinct from one another, and each exists on its own spectrum.
The Erosion of Sexual Dimorphism: Challenges to Religion and Religious Ethics, Gudorf: AAR; Inherited categories of dimorphic sexuality not only are challenged but become less and less intelligible.
Science of Sexuality, Cosmos, November 10,2017; the spectrum of human sexual experience is vast, and its incredible diversity is not always acknowledged
Healthline: “What Does It Mean to Identify as Nonbinary?” The idea that there’s male and female isn’t false — it’s just incomplete.
Christian Experience
Key concept: Much writing and discussion has been about LGBTQI people, not with them. So what is the experience of LGBTQI Christians, of allies? What have they discovered about faith and God?
Our Strangely Warmed Hearts (2018) by Bishop Karen P. Oliveto; traces the history of the church’s struggle with gay people, and provides first-person witnesses of LGBTQ United Methodists
Incompatible With Christian Teaching - DVD documentary film; detailing the stories of United Methodist clergy and laity, LGBT and straight allies
See Matthew Vines' Lecture cited above; Vines tells his own story in the process of the talk
Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America – by Mel White; ghostwriter for conservative evangelical leaders, White tells his story of a 25-year struggle to be whole and gay
Coming Out as Sacrament – by Chris Glaser; a gay Christian activist argues that coming out - as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender - has biblical precedence and sacramental dimensions
"Reflection of an ally," Jim Palmquist, treasurer of Affirmation; presentation to an educational forum
Ruth Ellis Center: Truth and Reconciliation in The UMC (video); independently produced video shares experiences of Michigan lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, and queer people and their families
New Ways Ministries: A collection of Catholic LGBTQ Christians
Reconciling Ministries Network
United Methodist Queer Clergy Caucus members
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*Not included in the PDF version of this bibliography is this helpful article on the interpretation of the Bible related especially to "homosexuality."
* Also not included in the PDF document is this lengthy paper introducing the thesis that "scientific evidence pertaining to the spectrum of sexuality can both enlighten and ameliorate homonegativity" in religious debates.
Science, Scripture, and Sexuality: The US United Methodist Church at Crossroads
by United Methodists Lee Johnson and Barbara Lukert from the Kansas City area, April, 2023
Abstract: During the past 50 years, medical and behavioral scientists have made great progress in understanding the variables which influence the development of sexual orientation, identity, and consequent behavior. In most instances, homosexuality is influenced by hormonal, genetic, and immunologic variables during fetal development, and the effects cannot usually be altered without consequence. The recent struggle within The United Methodist Church in the USA reflects the difficulty that society in general has with accepting homosexuality as part of the spectrum of sexuality. Hopefully, understanding the factors influencing sexual orientation will aid in reducing prejudice and eventually bring an end to the pain endured by the LGBTQ community, and the conflict within The United Methodist Church, a prototype of the struggle.
*Also not included in the PDF version of this bibliography is this brutal look at tradition's violence towards gay people. I hesitate to include it here, but his point is a good one: Why Traditionalists Aren’t Traditionalists – and That’s a Good Thing; by Tom Fuerst, May 23, 2022, from UM-Insight.net.
...the tradition of the church on this matter is as violent as it is disapproving. Indeed, its violence is not an idiosyncrasy, but is endemic to the tradition, its institutions, and its rhetoric. As Mark Jordan says in his essay on sophistry in Christian moral rhetoric, "If you put out on a table a sample of Christian discourses on queer sex from the Middle Ages to the present, from authors in different denominations and countries, you will be astonished by the repetition of rhetoric designed to produce violence."
Fuerst includes nine examples of the violence of the Christian tradition, in his argument that "traditionalists" aren't traditionalists.
Traditionalists appeal to church tradition in ambiguity, leaving out the viler, violent bits. They overlook the social exile, the death, and the burning flesh left in the wake of the tradition. They disregard the conflation of same-sex attraction with rape, incest, and bestiality. They pretty it up and smooth over its most savage facets. ...
The carnage in the tradition conflicts with the Sermon on the Mount, contrasts with the crucified Christ, goes against God’s preferential option for the poor. Despite the church’s glorious traditions, I could not unsee the underbelly of its brutality. All I could do was admit, lament, apologize for, work for healing, and stand for the dignity of the vulnerable people my tradition has hurt. If the tradition of the church teaches me anything, it teaches me of its appeal and its imperfections. It teaches me that the church, a body of believers, can be woefully wrong. But that same tradition also shows us what to do when we get it wrong. Some in the tradition, when realizing their wrong, decide to double-down and deny the evil of their deeds. Others, however, show us a better way: telling the truth and getting on with the work of mending the injuries we have inflicted.