Understanding Homosexuality: Perspectives for the Local Church

by David N. Glesne

Book Overview

This book is born out of the experience of one ministering in a congregational setting to the joys and sorrows of people struggling with a variety of life issues?including homosexual experiences. The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1886513953
• ISBN13: 9781886513952
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Kirk House Publishers
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Solid, Faithful, Compassionate Reflection

In the midst of the ELCA's convulsions over sexuality issues, as one can see from the reviews of this book, one's convictions decide how one rates this book. Having read a great deal of what is available on this topic for the past two decades, Dave's book is well-balanced, scholarly honest and compassionate. If you have your mind made up about the "rightness" of homosexuality, neither Scripture nor argument are going to change your mind; however, if you're an honest seeker, trying to understand the biblical material, you will find this book very, very helpful.

Ahhh....now that makes sense!

Did you ever ask your pastor a question and get a wishy-washy answer? That's what happened to me regarding the ELCA's stance on same-sex marriage and ordaining homosexuals. My pastor's answers were cyclical in nature and never really pinpointed God's Truth. Rather he spoke of human experience and social norms to point out what the Bible "really" says (i.e., his interpretation). In discussions with my pastor, he used the example of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus encountered this woman and said, "I love you. Go and sin no more." To illustrate MY understanding of this (and to compare it to the homosexuality issue), I used the example of my 25+ pounds of Mumma-Chubba that I still have to lose after having my children. I have a terrible sweet tooth that I succumb to on too regular a basis. So...to compare the above example to my situation and to follow my pastor's logic...it would be like Jesus coming to me and saying, "I love you, go and eat Twinkies no more." And then Jesus would hand me a box of Twinkies. It just doesn't fit. My "sin" is being addicted to sweets. Jesus is telling me to leave the Twinkies on the shelf. Therefore, to tie this to the homosexual issue, Jesus would say to a homosexual, "I love you, go and "homo-sex" no more"...and then when the homosexual does, it's supposedly okay. Based on this skewed logic, I turned to several resources to solidify what my pastor was trying to say. My pastor lent me three books, which were all authored by ELCA pastors. Ironically, UNDERSTANDING HOMOSEXUALITY by David N. Glesne was one of the three books my pastor lent me. The other two were more in line with what he was trying to explain: to be accepting and in agreement of same-sex marriage and ordination. I would highly recommend UNDERSTANDING HOMOSEXUALITY by David N. Glesne if you are looking for straight-forward answers that point to God's Truth. I am so grateful for having read it...especially as he is also an ELCA pastor.

Understanding an understatement

Although this book was written to help pastors of churches reach out to the broken and teach truth and compassion to their members on the subject of homosexuality, it has important information for any Christian seeking how to talk with homosexual friends, family, or church members. It covers myths, views from both sides of the issue, interpretations and their flaws, analogy arguments, and how to be communities of grace AND truth. The text is engaging and challenging, solid and comprehensive with strong Biblical base. Have a pen and notebook ready - you'll want to take notes.