Homosexuality & Bible


Here is a compilation of the best resources we know on the Bible and Homosexuality for people who are asking these questions for the first time, or revisiting the issue.

It starts with the most user-friendly and accessible, including stuff you can
watch or read online, and then works up to more in depth research. 

Each entry has a link you can click to.  Most of the resources are free to be accessed online, except for the books which have a link to a bookshop where you can order a copy, and or buy an ebook.


A Video Summary

If you’re not a big reader, the perfect place to start is Matthew Vines’ The Gay Debate video which you can watch here:

 


Brief but Solid Introduction

If you’re more of a reader, Mel White’s Homosexuality and the Bible is a classic, brief introduction to the subject by a trusted and loved Christian leader.  (click on the title to view the link)


Short Articles

These are also by pastors and theologians, and represent a variety of theological perspectives. Different ones will appeal and be useful to different people:

 


Books

Once you’ve checked out the short articles, you might have lots of questions.  A book length discussion by Daniel Helminiak is the perfect place to start:

  • Daniel Helminiak What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality. Alamo Square Press, 1994, 2000.
You can read the introduction and a summary of the book on his website, and then buy a hard copy, or get the kindle edition.
 

Then, if you really want to study in depth (and why not?), then these are some of the most important works of the last few decades:

  • Boswell, John. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1980.  Hard Copy or Kindle
  • L. William Countryman, Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and Their Implications for Today.   Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 2007.  Hard Copy or Kindle
  • Robin Scroggs, The New Testament and Homosexuality. Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 1983.  Hard Copy
  • Martti Nissinen, Homoeroticism in the Biblical World: A Historical Perspective, Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 2004.  Hard Copy
  • Bernadette Brooten, Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1996.  Hard Copy
  • Dale B. Martin, Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation.  Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.  Hard Copy


List of Academic Works

Finally, if you’re an academic or deep thinker yourself and want to get right into it, then you’ll find plenty of material referred to in the books above.  As a time-saver, Jeramy Townsley’s webpage has the most amazing database of resources on this issue we’ve ever seen on two important issues, up to 2003.

These are links to extensive bibliographies referring to academic monographs and journal articles: