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Does the Bible really condemn same-sex relationships?
Many Christians wrestle with this question. Here, in his compassionate, cogent book, David Runcorn outlines how someone can support same-sex relationships on the basis of the Bible, not in spite of it.
The Church, in every time and place, finds itself working out the shock and surprise of God's unfolding ways - often scandalized by where holiness, goodness and the life of God are to be found.
Runcorn's insightful and moving reflections show how speaking in gospel friendship will help to dispel the anxiety and division that have tended to mark the Church's response to homosexuality. Covering sexual abstinence and celibacy, sexuality and the sacred, he leads us to one powerful conclusion: love means love.
'Brim-full of gentle and clear wisdom. Highly recommended!'
PAUL BAYES, Bishop of Liverpool
'Joyful, truthful, scandalously inclusive... This book will literally save lives. It opens the door of grace and beckons you in.'
NICK BUNDOCK, Rector of St James and Emmanuel, Didsbury
'Liberates us to read our beloved Bible with faithfulness, both to the text and to the fruit of Christ we often see in LGBT+ lives. For a good number of us, it will be met with a cry of "at last!"'.
JODY STOWELL, Vicar of St Michael's Harrow and Chair of London Clergy
1 On opening doors: introducing the discussion 1
2 'That my house may be filled': Jesus and the new
community 9
3 The surprise of God? Dialogue with and beyond
the word 15
4 The Bible in an age of anxiety: worry, reality and trust 25
5 Reading the Bible with Jesus: Midrash, jazz and the
continued conversation 35
6 'Lie the lyings of a woman': seeking the meaning
of Leviticus 18.22 45
7 Romans and the wrath of God: who was Paul writing
about? 53
8 On giving it a name: the origin of the word 'homosexual' 63
9 The sin of Sodom: when names become labels 67
10 'Male and female he created them': gender,
partnership and becoming 75
11 One flesh: Genesis, kinship and marriage 83
12 Call nothing unclean: the vision beyond the text 93
13 Good fruit: patience, trust and the test of time 101
14 To whom it is given: sexual abstinence and celibacy 109
15 Sexuality and the sacred: joy, delight and sacrament 115
Notes 125
Bibliography and further reading 135