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Product Description:
In a powerful new book, evangelical theologian and former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Jack Rogers argues unequivocally for equal rights in the church and in society for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Throughout history, he observes, Christianity has moved towards ever greater openness and inclusiveness. Today's church is led by many of those who were once cast out: people of color, women, and divorced and remarried people. He argues that when we interpret the Bible through the lens of Jesus' redemptive life and ministry, we see that the church is called to grant equal rights to all people. Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality describes Rogers' own change of mind and heart on the issue; charts the church's well-documented history of using biblical passages to oppress marginalized groups; argues for a Christ-centered reading of Scripture; debunks oft-repeated stereotypes about gays and lesbians; and concludes with ideas for how the church can heal itself and move forward again. A fascinating combination of personal narrative, theology, and church history, this book is essential reading for all concerned with the future of the church and the health of the nation. "This is an extraordinary book, arguably the best to appear in the long, drawn-out debates within churches over homosexuality," says J. Philip Wogaman, former senior minister at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. "Rogers book will be useful to people of ALL mainline denomination..." says the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire. "For those who truly wish to know what the Bible does and does not say, this is a real find."
Buy Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church Free Shipping. Save up to 60% Find Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church Prices at $12.21 Free Shipping New! Latest styles for the Season.
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Average Rating : 
Rating :  - Jolly Rogers' guide to Christian affections
Elizabeth Barnes writes: "This book saddened me deeply.... This is a disservice to Christianity and to those who struggle to be chaste." Homosexual love, a.k.a. male-male spooniness, is "What Jesus Would Never Do!"
She's right: I mean, just ask the apostle John. And it saddened him deeply, too! Because he really wanted to try it!
But Jesus said, "No WAY would he do that!!"
Here is the true story, from Scripture, which Jack Rogers gets sadly wrong:
Sixty centuries ago, back when He first created the Garden of Eden, God the Father was quite enthusiastic about His creation, almost like someone who has just made the thrilling purchase of a vacation cabin in the woods. The Lord in those days came down to Earth every chance he got. He took walks in the cool of the shade of the Garden. He chatted it up with Adam and Eve.
Next thing you know, the whole place has been shut down and boarded up following a misunderstanding over a piece of fruit.
Throughout the Stone Age, Yahveh still made that long trip to Earth whenever His schedule allowed. He paid personal house calls to Cain, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, and Moses. His travel arrangements were quite elaborate, typically including a real body in real clothing. When obliged to have dinner with those Old Testament heroes, Dad drank real wine and ate real food (digesting all 100% for reasons we need not discuss here [Gen. 18]). And it was truly Yahveh, not just God the Son, or God the holy Ghost, who paid these visits to Earth. But then came an especially messy incident during the Exodus from Egypt, arising from one of the Lord's night-time walks through the camp of the Israelites (a mishap alluded to in Deut. 23:13); and that was the last we saw of Him down here for quite a while.
What really popped His cork, though, was back when He first heard about what the men of Sodom and Gomorrah had been doing to one another. Yahveh took the holy Ghost aside, and said,
"The outcry about Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin is reportedly so grievous, that I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the rumor of it, which has reached Mine ears; and if not, I will know." (Gen. 18:20-21)
When the outcry first reached the Lord's ears in 2108 BCE, via the aggrieved prayers of deeply saddened heterosexuals, the report hardly seemed credible; but the men of those two towns were indeed doing according to the rumour of it. Many Sodomites and Gomorreans were doing altogether according to the rumour of it, two or three times a week, along with variations that the Lord Himself, prior to Creation, when human beings were still in the planning stage, had not fully considered - not because God has a blind spot in his omniscience but because there are some things that the Lord has never spent much time thinking about, and this particular human activity is one of them.
Leaving the holy Ghost behind in Heaven to hold down the fort, Yahveh came to Earth to investigate with His own eyes and ears, thereby to see what (and who, and on whom) had been going down in Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the region round about.
The Lord, when He investigates sin, doesn't miss much - but the Sodom trip was the last of its kind. Dad almost never does it that way any more. He almost never comes down from Heaven, to investigate with His own eyes and ears. Here's why: He is too DISGUSTED. Also, deeply saddened.
--L
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