Helpful Books

On this page, you’ll find several books that will help in your research and investigation.  I have tried only to include books that will lead you somewhere positively, towards acceptance, but there are a few books that I review here, and talk about, that are more balanced, or even negative.  It took me three years to be certain who I was, and how that fit into my faith.  It might take you a shorter time.  I didn’t have some of these great resources.

Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality, by Jack Rogers, comes with a study guide.  It is by far the best text to look at as a church, or as an individual.  Rogers, a straight Fuller University professor, examines the Biblical evidence, re-examines all those troubling verses, and also looks at how the Bible has been used before to justify wrong ideas, specifically slavery and subjugation of women.  The book is an excellent text if you are looking both for readability and scholarly approach.  It’s not too heady, nor is it dry, but will engage readers in the discussion.

What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality, by Daniel Helminiak.  This is a book mainly about the biblical evidence.  It’s thin and short, and can be a great book to hand out to friends, but there are a few places where I don’t know that I follow Helminiak.  I still like Rogers’ text better.

Over Coffee:  A Conversation for Gay Partnership and Conservative Faith by D. a. Thompson is a book whose premise is two people–a concerned church member and a small town pastor–who have met over coffee.  the book is only 98 pages long.  The author wanted to talk about gays and conservative christianity–as he saw a lot of books which asked a reader to accept a liberal christianity viewpoint first, and very few that actually embraced a conservative viewpoint–and gays.  I’ll admit, most of the books out there have a backdrop of liberal christianity–as if you have to say you’re okay with all sorts of theology first.  This is a refreshing book.

Bulletproof Faith by Candace Chellew-Hodge.  This book is essential for anyone gay or lesbian who still wants to live in a world of Christians that just don’t understand.  She helped me be able to not fall for the arguments, not be hurt by the arguments, and not engage them.

Coming Out: an act of love, by Rob Eichberg is a book a friend gave me to look at.  Not only is it a good resource for why and how to come out, but it is a great resource for you if you are straight person and you have someone coming out to you.  It goes back and forth between these two perspectives.  Awesome book.

The People’s History of Christianity by Diana Butler Bass.  Don’t be surprised that this is here; though it’s not a gay text.  It is a text that talks about the history of christianity from the point of view of the people, and how it was always a religion of hope and inclusion.  It’s a fascinating book and reopened my eyes to a religion that had gotten such an historically bad rap.  I have always loved Christianity, but always felt I had to defend its history.  Bass does that so much better than I could.

Other books to come.