Here at FPL I write often about my Christian faith and am also a vocal ally of the LGBTQ community and a proponent of same-sex marriage. I haven't spent a ton of time on here defending the fact that I hold all of these beliefs simultaneously, mostly because I don't see it as a contradiction, but also because there are many other resources out there that do a much more thorough job than I could of arguing against those who believe this is a contradiction. It has been argued from a rational standpoint, a Biblical standpoint, an emotional standpoint, and so on. Rather than reiterating what others have said better, I have compiled a list of resources here. These include both Side A and Side B perspectives and those of both straight and gay/lesbian/bisexual individuals.
I invite anyone to suggest additional resources by e-mailing me at jessica -at - faithpermeatinglife dot com. Please note that I have not read/watched everything on this list, and some people listed here may have viewpoints I disagree with.
Articles and blog posts
- Aesop to the Right: Why I Believe Bristol Palin by Wayne Self on Owldolatrous
- Ask a Gay Christian... An interview with Gay Christian Network director Justin Lee on Rachel Held Evans' blog
- Biblical Perspectives on Homosexuality by Walter Wink
- Biblical Standards for Marriage by Esther J. Hamori on The Huffington Post
- A Conservative Christian Case for Civil Same-Sex Marriage by Misty Irons at Musings On
- How Being a Pastor Changed My Thinking on Homosexuality by Dave Barnhart on Gestating a Church
- How do you think homosexuality is biblically sound? by Emmy at emm in sem
- I'm an Evangelical Christian. And I Think Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legal. by Sarah Bessey on A Deeper Story
- "I'm Christian, unless you're gay" by Dan Pearce of Single Dad Laughing, with responses to the post: Responses 1, Responses 2, Response 3
- Just Because He Breathes: Learning to Truly Love Our Gay Son by Linda Robertson on The Huffington Post
- A Mountain I'm Willing to Die On by Glennon Melton on The Huffington Post
- A Non-Zero-Sum Conversation Between the Traditional Church and the Gay Community by Richard Beck on Rachel Held Evans' blog
- An Open Letter to the Church from My Generation by Dannika Nash
- The Six Bible Passages Used to Condemn Homosexuals by Rembert Truluck
- Thanking God for Gay Marriage in Washington State by Rev. Tim Phillips on The Huffington Post
- What the Bible Says -- and Doesn't Say -- About Homosexuality by Rev. Dr. Mel White from Soulfource
- What the Bible says and means about same-gender sexual behavior by B.A. Robinson
Books
Please note that this list contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you click on a book title and make any purchase at Amazon (including but not limited to the resources suggested here), your purchase will be supporting Faith Permeating Life. Thanks!
- Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians by Candace Chellew-Hodge
- The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-Sex Relationships by Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley
- Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth by John Boswell
- Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America by Jeff Chu
- Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith by Eve Tushnet
- Generous Spaciousness: Responding to Gay Christians in the Church by Wendy VanderWal-Gritter
- God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines
- God Believes in Love: Straight Talk on Gay Marriage by Gene Robinson
- God vs. Gay?: The Religious Case for Equality by Jay Michaelson
- Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality by Jack Rogers
- A Letter to My Congregation: An Evangelical Pastor's Path to Embrace People who are Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender into the Company of Jesus by Ken Wilson
- Letters from the Closet: Ten Years of Correspondence That Changed My Life by Amy Hollingsworth
- Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community by Andrew Marin
- "Mom, I'm Gay": Loving Your LGBTQ Child Without Sacrificing Your Faith by Susan Cottrell
- Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America by Mel White
- Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee
- UNFAIR: Why the "Christian" View of Gays Doesn't Work by John Shore (Read an excerpt here)
- Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill
- What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak
- What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage by David G. Myers and Letha Dawson Scanzoni
Films
- The Bible and Homosexuality: How the Scriptures Changed My Mind
- Fish Out of Water
- For the Bible Tells Me So
- Lead with Love
- Love Free or Die
- Seventh-Gay Adventists
- Through My Eyes
- Trembling Before G-d
Organizations
- Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons
- Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry
- Catholics for Equality
- Dignity USA
- The Evangelical Network
- Fortunate Families
- The Gay Christian Network
- The Institute for Welcoming Resources
- LGBT Amish
- LifeJourney Church
- LOVEboldly
- New Direction
- New Ways Ministry
- Reconciling Journey Ministries
- Reconciling Ministries Network (United Methodists)
- SDA Kinship
- Soulforce
Sites
- Believe Out Loud
- Canyonwalker Connections
- Coming Out Christian
- Crumbs from the Communion Table
- FreedHearts
- JohnShore.com
- Metropolitan Community Churches - Theological Resources
- More Musings on Christianity, Homosexuality & the Bible
- Odd Man Out
- A Queer Calling
- Religious Institute: Resources for LGBT Inclusion
- Skipping to the Piccolo
- Someone to Talk to
- The Registered Runaway
- Whosoever Magazine
- ...and a whole lot more listed on Slacktivist and Unchained Faith
Videos
- Coming Out as a Person of Faith
- Everyone Should Have a Gay Friend - LOVEboldly's interview with Derek Webb
- Gay/Christian Debate - Synchroblog for Sanity - Gerald260293
- Gay Christian Network debate at Pepperdine University: Does gender matter in marriage? Are gay Christians called to celibacy? Part 1 and Part 2
- A Gay Christian Parody Musical: Straight to Heaven
- The Gay Debate: The Bible and Homosexuality - Matthew Vines speaking at College Hill United Methodist Church (Transcript)
- Gay Marriage = Religious Freedom - Rob Tish
- God Loves Gays - Jordan Bach
- Homosexuality & The Bible 1: God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It - John Corvino (Part 2: Sodom and Gomorrah)
- It Gets Better: Bishop Mark Hanson, ELCA
- Religion and Gay Marriage - John Green
- Why I Changed My Mind on Homosexuality - Pastor Danny Cortez
What did I miss? Send me an e-mail at jessica -at- faithpermeatinglife dot com. Thanks!
Thanks to Melissa at Permission to Live and Kimberly at Coming Out Christian for pointing me to a bunch of these!