What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I came to this book hoping that Helminiak would provide a reasoned basis to disregard what seemed like pretty strong Biblical language indicating that homosexuality is disfavored. I was disappointed. He's quite persuasive on the Old Testament texts, but his analysis of the New Testament prohibitions is unpersuasive and internally inconsistent.

Rating:
Summary: Splendid!
Review: I can't remember the last time I found a book that captured my attention as this one. I was absolutely thrilled to find such a treasure! For someone who is gay and is involved in church and religion is is an absolute MUST to read. It sure opened my eyes ... I feel I am well-equipped to support myself during any "heated-debate" .... My friends and family all want to read this book too.

Rating:
Summary: Just another attempt at making something wrong okay.
Review: I find it so funny that the author introduces the idea that sexuality is to be compared to someone's eye color, or hair color, stature, or race. What a joke. It is amazing what lengths people will go to in order to make their sin okay. I am a Christian who believes what the Bible says, and the Bible says that if a man lays with a man as a man lays with a woman, it is sin. The Bible also says that judging people is wrong, so I will not judge the people who have written this book, or those who read it - but I will offer my prayers for their salvation, and for God's forgiveness. Their need for God's mercy is the same as mine - no one is perfect, but let's call a sin a sin, and quit whitewashing it. It was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. If God wanted man and man to be together, why did he even create woman? Why can't men and women both have children? Scientifically speaking, species are to pro-create so that thier species survives - how can you explain that two women and two men cannot naturally pro-create? Those are just a few of the issues I had hoped would be addressed and were not.

Rating:
Summary: Read and re-read
Review: I first purchased this book almost a decade ago when I was in college. I read it twice the first month I had it. After lending it out to several people, I bought four additional copies as loaners and gifts about two years ago. I now have my original copy and one extra.
I and everyone I have lent it to have found this book incredibly thought provoking and informative. It starts with the old testament, discussing old Judaic notions of love, marriage, family, inheritance rites (including an interesting section on the legal ramifications of adultery), and most importantly, the purity codes of Old Testament Kashrut Law. "Questionable" words are presented in the original Latin, Greek, and occasionally Hebrew, with notes on how nuances and meanings changed as words went from Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic to old Greek to Latin and then to English. It refers tothe original languages, and so points out things like a same-sex union makes a person just as unclean before God as eating shellfish, since the exact same phrase is used to condemn both.
The new testament section deals with early Christians trying to find their own identity as a separate people from the Jews. Homosexuality was a relatively minor issue compared to keeping Kosher, circumcision, and if you had to become a Jew before becoming a Christian.

Rating:
Summary: A refreshingly frank look at the Bible's take on BGLT
Review: I found this book most interesting as a means of refuting the claims of the hate mongerers currently known as the moral majority and the christian right. This book will give you a fresh look at what the Bible might have meant in the passages so frequently used to justify hatred against Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Trangendered people. It's a short book that reads quickly and can be used as a reference book against hatred.

Rating:
Summary: Read the book first!
Review: I probably would atually give this book a four star review, but I give it five just because I felt the need to countact the previous review, which comes from someone who not only obviously has not read the book, but apparently hasn't read the Bible either.

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Book
Review: It is amazing to see how some people that have read this book actually missed the point and are unable to move out of their zone of Biblical safety. In my personal research and studies it has always been very clear to me that the myriad incorrect translations from ancient text gave rise to homophobia among other negative social attitudes. This book gives solid information toward that end. While this book does a great job, I have seen it written several times before. However, the more books written on this topic, the more people may realize how poorly translated the "accepted" versions of the Bible really are. This book could help people reach greater Biblical enlightenment and not allow them to blindly accept what is handed to them.

Rating:
Summary: Beware!
Review: Obviously, whether you like this book or not will depend on what you want to hear. Those who are looking for justification for the reconciliation of homosexual practices with the Christian faith will probably be pleased with this book, at least part of it. However, it should be noted that as I recall the author has been removed from the Roman Catholic priesthood since the publication of this book. In addition, potential readers should be aware that this book not only defends homosexual practices but at least implies a defense of pederasty. It claims that Christ approved of a sexual relationship between a Roman centurion and his servant who was likely only a boy. I think few on either side of the homosexual debate in the Church will welcome this interpretation, particularly coming from a former priest in light of recent events.

Rating:
Summary: Sound, convincing scholarship refutes fundamentalist view.
Review: Required reading for those that think the Bible condemns what we today call homosexuality--and for those who must defend themselves against such condemnation. This short book is so thorough that it's almost overly reasoned. The only drawback for some readers will be the complexity of the background information. The methods of Biblical interpretation, and their validity, are explained particularly well. Argues convincingly that there is _no_ such thing as simply "reading the Bible without interpreting it." The literal, fundamentalist method makes the obviously flawed claim that the Bible means "just what it appears to mean, in translation, to us today"; in fact, the Bible means what it meant to 1st-century (and older) Palestinians who spoke ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic--the language of Jesus

Rating:
Summary: Clear, yet clearly biased
Review: The author of this book attempts to put together a thesis proving the gay-friendliness of the Bible. What he has done is to put out an exegetical theory that at best is questionable. He takes each 'disputed text' individually and reinterprets the original Greek, showing how it is POSSIBLE to interpret the text in a way that dodges the full culpability of a homosexual lifestyle. Unfortunately, what the author does not do is look at the text and let it speak for itself. The author clearly searches scripture with the motivation of imposing his own viewpoint onto it. It becomes clear that the higher value is not finding the true meaning of the text itself, but rather trying to see if what he thinks is right can 'work' within the scripture. This method will always produce flawed interpretations of scripture, and in this case, I believe it has. The book is good reading for anyone interested in what the main tenets of the 'pro-gay' argument are--it helped me considerably. What you will find, however, is that in the end, the argument comes up short.