Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches (Paperback)

by Walter Wink (Editor)
Key Phrases: biblical fidelity, lesbian persons, New Testament, Old Testament, United States (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 133 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800631862
• ISBN-13: 978-0800631864
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,062 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #3 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Authors, A-Z > ( W ) > Wink, Walter
  #9 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Sex > Sex & Religion > Christian Sexual Ethics
  #10 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > Gay & Lesbian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Affrimation of Welcome, January 21, 2002

By	L. Norman "Ancient Limey" (NH, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Is it true that "Wink and the other essayists will do little more than reaffirm what a few already believe, and push farther away those with whom they disagree?" I think not. First, there are more than a few who believe as the authors do, and certainly there are many more who are sympathetic to this view, but who need the assurance that their sympathies are not misplaced. This book offers exactly that assurance.

It provides a well-argued basis for believing that Scripture is not opposed to same-sex loving relationships. It shows how much of what we assume Christians believe is based on tradition, and therefore human frailty. It demonstrates through moving personal stories that human experience would lead us towards a welcome and a sharing of our humanity with those who have suffered, and still suffer, exclusion.

Would those who disagree be pushed further away by reading the book? I doubt it. For the most part, there's nowhere further to go.

For those who are seeking a foundation for their belief in the unity of God's human creation, and an affirmation of the Church's gospel call to welcome all people into full communion, there is no better starting point than this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For the type of book it is, an excellent document, October 24, 2005

By	I. Ortega Rodrguez (Spain) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When talking about a book, it is essential to keep in mind which sort of book it is. For instance, we cannot expect of a novel what we would find in an essay. Likewise, in religious literature it is not exact to speak badly of a book just because it's not another kind of book.

Some of the reviews have objected that this book lacks scholarship, but this is not a scholar book, but a collection of writings to stir up conscience (although some pieces could indeed appear in a scholar book, like the essay by Walter Wink). In this book there's more preaching than theology; this is not to say that theology is not necessary (far from there!), but simply that there are other ways of dealing a subject, and appealing from a firmly persuaded mind is one of them, which does not at all substitute theology, to which in fact is a complement.

Who wants to read a scholar book of theology on the topic(I have done, and I strongly recommend this), can find them in Amazon (I dare recommend, for example, Seeking the truth in love, by Bishop Michael Dole or Theology and Sexuality, by Eugene Rogers -compilator).

Others have said that all the essays are "on one side" of the debate. Once again, if this were a scholar book which tried to give an exact account of the debate, it should include both positions, even if the book was clearly "on one side" (at least, they should be mentioned in order to be refuted). However, this is not this sort of book, it is a document which is aimed at taking a clear stand, and speaks out from the persuasion that what they say is true. We can disagree with them (I do not), but they have their right to preache (yes, it's "written preaching") what they honestly and firmly believe it is God's Will.

This book is then a plea for the acceptance of homosexuals in the church, and it is aimed at people's consciences, giving them reasons, and giving personal witnesses. Among the writings, there are essays like the beautiful one by Peggy Campolo ("In God's house there are many closets") that speak of a personal persuasion deeply stablished in her life, from her experience, and all this (even if this displeases her opponents) in the light of the Gospel. One may object to her positions or others' in the book (I do not), but not really criticise that this is not the book it never was intended to be.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This little book is BIG , March 12, 2006

By	Hector Lasala (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This little book (just a bit over 130 pages) is big in caring and wisdom and compassion; in other words, it is just like Jesus!

Most of us who were 'churched' from birth into easy dichotomies/polarities like: saint/sinner, good/evil, saved/damned will find these writings liberating and confirming of what we have always suspected, that "not everything biblical is Christlike." This quote--which I think is what this book is about at its core--is from one of the essays in the book, written by William Sloane Coffin.

This book can help many come out of their own closets, the closets of unexamined prejudices; in particular, the ones made up of religious walls.