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Paperback
Publisher: Morehouse Publishing
In the past two decades or so the issue of homosexuality has taken center stage at national and regional denominational meetings and in local church communities. The response of the majority of churches ranges from condemnation to toleration of the gay and lesbian community, neither of which offers much hope for homosexual Christians. In Gifted by Otherness L. William Countryman and M. R. Ritley conclude that being gay or lesbian is not actually a problem at all; rather it is a vocation, and, in fact, a gift to today's church. As "outsiders" gay men and lesbians challenge the church to be inclusive of all God's children-the central message of the gospel. "God has drawn us to this difficult place," they write, "in order to reveal God's grace to us and in us and through us." Basing their book on retreats they have presented to churches and seminaries, Countryman and Ritley explore what it means to affirm, not merely accept, being gay or lesbian, as well as Christian. Written primarily for the lesbigay community, they explore the ways in which the gay and lesbian community can appropriate and re-tell the biblical story, and find confidence in their unique spiritual journey and gifts. This pro-active and self-affirming book provides new hope for those who feel that it is impossible to be gay or lesbian, as well as Christian.
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| If you only get one book on Gay Christianity, this is it |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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"Gifted by Otherness" is one of those books that can truly change your life. It certainly did for me! In fact, I'm so impressed with it that I've given at least five copies away to friends.
Countryman, a gay Episcopalian pastor, has also written two other excellent books: "Dirt, Greed and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and their Implications for Today," and "Biblical Authority or Biblical Tyranny?" These three books will truly help gay people understand just what those six "killer verses" in the Bible REALLY mean. Don't let a fundamentalist Christian keep you from having a meaningful relationship with God. What you read in the English Bible isn't necessarily what was in the original Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic, etc. There's a fascinating progression of translations involved in today's Bible, and those "killer verses" need to be put in context with Jewish history at the time of their writing. This is an extremely complex subject, and Countryman does a superb job explaining it.
See also several of the books by John Shelby Spong, a retired Episcopalian Bishop, especially "Sins of Scripture", "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamenalism" and "Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality."
If you're a straight fundamentalist Christian, don't bother reading any of these books. You probably won't change your mind anyway. But if you're gay and want to truly understand how there is absolutely no conflict between being gay and being Christian, ALL of these books are "must reads" for you. These books, especially "Gifted by Otherness," will take a huge burden off your shoulders. Take back your life from those people that want to demonize you, and get the facts.
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