Page 0: Page 1: Biblical Self-Defense Course on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Bibliography The Rev. Lindsay Louise Biddle 3538 22nd Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55407 (612)-724-5429 E-Mail: lindsaybiddle1@juno.com Primary Resources Boswell, John. Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1980. John Boswell is professor of history at Yale University and the winner of the 1981 American Book Awards for History. Edwards, George R. Gay/Lesbian Liberation: A Biblical Perspective. New York, NY: The Pilgrim Press, 1984. George Edwards is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Louisville Theological Seminary. For most of his life he has been concerned about social justice issues, and he has served on his denomination’s task force to study ordination of homosexuals. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly Special Committee on Human Sexuality. Keeping Body and Soul Together: Sexuality, Spirituality, and Social Justice. Louisville, KY: Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, 1991. See especially section I.C. “The Resources: Authority, Sources, and Norms” and section III.B. “Gays and Lesbians.” Copies of the Majority and Minority Reports (5 per set or 5 each) can be ordered from the Office of the General Assembly, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville KY 40202-1396, (800) 524-2612. Scroggs, Robin. The New Testament and Homosexuality. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press, 1983. Robin Scroggs is Professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Stock, Harry. “Homosexuality and the Bible.” An unpublished lecture. The Rev. Stock is President of Bare Feet Ministries, Inc., Box 33182, Washington DC 20033. Biblical Resources Achtemeier, Paul J., general editor. Harper’s Bible Dictionary. San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row, 1985. This is a good reference book that defines biblical terms, people and places and includes illustrations, maps and tables. However, the entries “Sodom,” “sodomy” and “homosexuality” are heterosexist. Anderson, Bernhard W. Understanding the Old Testament. 3rd edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975. This is an excellent standard textbook in Old Testament studies. Birch, Bruce C. and Larry L. Rasmussen. Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life. Revised and Expanded Edition. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1989. See especially Chapter 8 “The Nature and Role of BIblical Authority” and Chapter 9 “Making Biblical Resources Available.” Bruce Birch is professor of Old Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary. Larry Rasmussen is Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Brooten, Bernadette J. “Paul and the Law: How Complete was the Departure?” Princeton Seminary Bulletin (Supplement). No. 1, 1990. Pp. 71–89. Bernadette Brooten is Associate Professor of Scripture and Interpretation at Harvard University Divinity School. Brooten, Bernadette J. “Paul’s Views on the Nature of Women and Female Homoeroticism.” Immaculate and Powerful. Atkins, et al., editors. Boston: Beacon Press, 1985. Pp. 61–85. Page 2: Eastman, Donald. “Homosexuality, Not a Sin, Not a Sickness: What the Bible Does and Does Not Say.” A brochure published by the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, 1990. Copies of this concise pamphlet can be ordered from UFMCC, 5300 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 304, Los Angeles CA 90029. Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler. Bread Not Stone: The Challenge of Feminist Biblical Interpretation. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1984. Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza is Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity, Harvard Divinity School. Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler. In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York, NY: Crossroad, 1983. This is an excellent text in feminist biblical interpretation. Horner, Tom. Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1978. Tom Horner, an Episcopalian priest, is a graduate of the Duke University School of Divinity. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the joint program in religion of Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. Layman, Charles M., editor. Interpreter’s OneVolume Commentary on the Bible. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1971. Metzger, Bruce M. and Roland E. Murphy, editors. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. New Revised Standard Version. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1991. [NOTE: Bruce Metzger served as consultant for section VI: “What Does the Bible Have to Say About Homosexuality,” a portion of the PCUSA Minority Report on the Special Committee on Human Sexuality.] Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey. Women, Men, and the Bible. Revised Edition with Study Guide. New York, NY: Crossroad, 1988. See especially Chapter 6 “Learning to Interpret Accurately.” Virginia Ramey Mollenkott is author of many books on Christian feminism. Olson, Mark. “Untangling the Web: A Look at What Scripture Does and Does Not Say About Homosexual Behavior” in The Other Side, a periodical published by Jubilee, 300 West Apsley Street, Philadelphia PA 19144. Although this article draws exclusively from the work of Robin Scroggs and John Boswell, it is presented in an insightful and concise form and speaks to issues of the Christian faith as well. Perrin, Norman and Dennis C. Duling. The New Testament: An Introduction. Second edition. New York, NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1982. Russell, Letty M., editor. Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1985. See especially Chapter 3 “Feminist Consciousness and the Interpretation of Scripture” by Margaret A. Farley, Chapter 4 “Feminist Uses of Biblical Materials” by Katharine Doob Sakenfeld and Chapter 11 “Authority and the Challenge of Feminist Interpretation” by Letty M. Russell. Letty Russell is Professor of Theology, Yale Divinity School. Other contributors include Rosemary Radford Reuther, Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza and Phyllis Trible. Russell, Letty M., editor. The Liberating Word: A Guide to Nonsexist Interpretation of the Bible. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1976. In her introduction to Feminist Interpretation of the Bible, p. 11, Russell calls this earlier work “premature,” but it is still excellent. Among the contributors is Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza. Sheppard, Gerald T. “The Use of Scripture Within the Christian Ethical Debate Concerning Same-Sex Oriented Persons.” Union Seminary Quarterly Review. Vol. 40:1 1985. Pp. 13–35. Additional Resources Bailey, Derrick Sherwin. Homosexuality and the Western Christian Tradition. London, 1955. Boyd, Malcolm and Nancy L. Wilson. Amazing Grace: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Faith. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1991. Nancy Wilson is the Senior Pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles. Malcolm Boyd is Chaplain page 2 of 4 BSDC Bibliography Copyright © 1992 Lindsay Biddle distributed by the More Light Churches Network via the Internet at www.MLCN.org MLCN 3/24/98 Page 3: of the AIDS Ministry Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and is author of G a y Priest. Brown, Judith C. Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986. Judith Brown is Associate Professor of History at Stanford University. Lutheran Church in America Division for Church in Society. Human Sexuality and the Christan Faith, 1992. Copies of this booklet are available for the cost of 1.00 plus postage and handling from the ELCA Distribution Service, 426 South Fifth Street, Minneapolis, MN 55440, (800) 328-4648. Glaser, Chris. Uncoming Calling: A Gay Man’s Struggle to Serve the Church. San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row, 1988. Chris Glaser is a widely known lecturer and writer. He has served on the Presbyterian Task Force to study Homosexuality and, for ten years, was the director of the Lazarus Project, a ministry of reconciliation between the church and the lesbian and gay community. Heyward, Carter. Our Passion for Justice: Images of Power, Sexuality, and Liberation. New York, NY: The Pilgrim Press, 1984. Carter Heyward is a well-known and controversial Episcopal priest and feminist, and one of the first women priests in this country. She is an Associate Professor of Theology at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge MA. Hunt, Mary E. Fierce Tenderness: A Feminist Theology of Friendship. New York, NY: Crossroad, 1991. Mary Hunt received her doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and is co-founder and codirector of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Maryland. McNeill, John J. The Church and the Homosexual. Third edition, updated and expanded. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1988. See especially Chapter 2 “Scripture and Homosexuality.” John McNeill was a Jesuit for nearly forty years before being expelled from the Society of Jesus in 1987 for his views on gay and lesbian sexuality. Since BSDC Bibliography 1975 he has practiced psychotherapy in New York, NY. McNeill, John J. Taking a Chance on God: Liberating Theology for Gays, Lesbians, and their Lovers, Families, and Friends. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1988. See especially Part Four “The Gay Virtues:” Introduction “Hospitality and the Sodom Myth;” Chapter 11 “The Spirit of Hospitality;” and Chapter 12 “The Virtue of Compassion.” Nugent, Robert, editor. A Challenge to Love: Gay and Lesbian Catholics in the Church. New York: Crossroad, 1989. This work includes articles by Matthew Fox, Mary Hunt, John McNeill, Nugent and many others. Robert Nugent is a Salvatorian priest and co-founder and co-director of New Ways Ministry. He has lectured and written widely on the Church’s pastoral ministry for gay and lesbian Catholics. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Breaking the Silence, Overcoming the Fear: Homphobia Education. See especially “Moral Decisions in Bible Translation” by George R. Edwards and “Inclusive Liturgy and Preaching” by Chris Glaser. Copies can be ordered from the Office of the General Assembly, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville KY 40202-1396. Scanzoni, Letha and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott. Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? Another Christian View. San Francisco, CA: Harper and Row, 1978. See especially Chapter 7 “What Does the Bible Say?” Spong, John Shelby. Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins, 1988. See especially Chapter 9 “The Bible and Homosexuality.” John Shelby Spong is the Episcopal bishop of Newark NJ. Spong, John Shelby. Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins, 1991. Copyright © 1992 Lindsay Biddle distributed by the More Light Churches Network via the Internet at www.MLCN.org page 3 of 4 MLCN 3/24/98 Page 4: Lindsay Louise Biddle Brief Biography Lindsay Louise Biddle is one of many Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns. She developed “A Biblical Self-Defense Course on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns” while serving as a campus minister at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities area in 1992. Since then she has presented this course for over 30 church groups and community organizations across the United States, including Oregon’s Religious Response Network, the Wisconsin Conference of Churches, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Colorado Equality, and the 1995 International PFLAG Conference. Lindsay and her course have been highlighted by Jerry Falwell as an example of “liberal straight clergy” and the “warped theological beliefs of these people and what they sincerely say they believe.” MLCN thanks the author, Lindsay Biddle, for this text in electronic format. Jim Tiefenthal, Rochester, NY, reset the formatting missing from the transferred text and reformatted the material for the MLCN resource packet. BSDC Bibliography Copyright © 1992 Lindsay Biddle distributed by the More Light Churches Network via the Internet at www.MLCN.org page 4 of 4 MLCN 3/24/98 Page 5: