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The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships
In The Children Are Free, Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley offer a comprehensive yet easy-to-read examination of the biblical evidence regarding loving same-sex relationships and God's attitude toward them.
In Chapter One, the authors lead the reader through a discussion of each of the six passages traditionally used against gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. In their friendly and authoritative style, they demonstrate how an anti-gay interpretation is a misapplication of these scriptures.
Then, in Chapter Two, Miner and Connoley turn our attention to the biblical stories and passages that affirm loving same-sex relationships. Did you know Jesus once met a gay person? Jesus' loving response is just one of the well-researched stories presented in this chapter.
Chapter Three asks readers to take seriously the call of Jesus to think more deeply about biblical rules. And Chapter Four calls Christians to action, making a connection between the conflicts in the early Church and those occurring within the Church today.
This book belongs in the library of any Christian questioning the role of Scripture in the lives of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, or the role of GLB people in the Church.
106 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2002
33 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 10, 2012
It was a well thought out, researched view of the bible. The interesting thing about it, is that I have always been tought to read not just a scripture but the scriptures before and after so that you see the whole picture of a script or story. This book confirms that and takes it a step further with the research of meanings of words and how they were translated....While as I have read comments of this book saying it is this authors emotional opinion of this topic, i have to say that Preachers and Teachers also put their own emotional opinion forth when reading and delivering lessons from the bible, so this author has the same right. I think this book just helps us understand that we must do the soul searching, the scripture proof searching to make up our own minds on the ultimate WWJD question concerning Same-Sex relationships.
May 31, 2012
As a heterosexual Christian, I've often been bothered by the fundamentalist church's view that homosexuals are an abomination and condemned to hell. I wanted more information to support the feelings in my heart of love, support and compassion for my gay brothers and sisters in Christ. This book did an amazing job of supporting stances with scripture. I am very glad I read it and will continue to reference it in the future.
March 6, 2024
A concise but all encompassing review of what the Bible does and doesn’t say about same sex relationships. Airtight arguments presented from numerous angles that refute the teachings of many conservative Christian churches. I truly would recommend this book to those willing to challenge their beliefs, anyone looking to learn a little about theology, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who are doubting their place in the world. There’s a lot I still need to unpack after reading, but my heart is full.
January 18, 2018
This book changed my life, my spirituality, my entire worldview and religious beliefs. Reading this book was the first time in my life where I felt like being gay wasn't a bad thing. It was the first affirmation of my sexuality I ever received.
August 22, 2021
I'm a minister with a keen interest in Bible scholarship, background, and languages. There are a number of books now available on same-sex relationships and the Bible. This is still my favorite. It combines the writers' experiences with analysis of the Biblical text. In a book of this nature, there is a tricky balance between scholarly detail and clarity for laypeople. Miner and Connoley have mastered that balance; it is both scholarly and easy-to-understand.
Other similar books are restricted to refuting the "clobber verses" (allegedly anti-Gay Bible texts). This book does that, but more important it presents the texts in the Bible that advocate for same-sex relationships.
It frustrates me that when books like this are readily available some Christians still say "The Bible condemns LGBT people" as if that were a fact. With information like this available, that tells me that these people are unwilling to take a few hours and read well-researched Biblical scholarship that may cause them to abandon their prejudice.
For Christians who want to know what the Bible teaches about same-sex attraction, for LGBT+ Christians struggling with their faith, and for Jewish-or-Christian folks who wish to be better-informed LGBT+ allies I highly recommend this book.
Other similar books are restricted to refuting the "clobber verses" (allegedly anti-Gay Bible texts). This book does that, but more important it presents the texts in the Bible that advocate for same-sex relationships.
It frustrates me that when books like this are readily available some Christians still say "The Bible condemns LGBT people" as if that were a fact. With information like this available, that tells me that these people are unwilling to take a few hours and read well-researched Biblical scholarship that may cause them to abandon their prejudice.
For Christians who want to know what the Bible teaches about same-sex attraction, for LGBT+ Christians struggling with their faith, and for Jewish-or-Christian folks who wish to be better-informed LGBT+ allies I highly recommend this book.
April 29, 2023
This book blew my mind! Of course it deals with the “clobber verses”, and there was nothing there I hadn’t read before. But they have a section on Biblical texts that approve of same-sex relationships, and THAT blew my mind.
I have heard before the theory that Jonathan and David were lovers, but this book presented evidence in scripture that I had never read before. It is pretty convincing. The discussions of the Ethiopian eunuch, and the centurion and his servant likewise presented information I had not read before. The section on Ruth and Naomi was really eye opening and made me wonder why I had never noticed it before. Although I will say that it always seemed weird to me that Ruth’s vow to Naomi is so frequently used in wedding vows when it was given from a woman to her mother-in-law.
The bottom line is that I don’t think the book “proves” God specifically condones same-sex relationships, any more than I think the clobber verses “prove” He condemns them. But I think they are worth meditating on and wrestling with. Because that is what I think the whole purpose of the Bible is….not to be a set of rules for life, with a checklist of dos and don’ts. I believe, as The Bible Project says in every podcast, “the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus.” Its purpose is to provide wisdom, not rules. We only gain that wisdom as we interact with it, study it, wrestle with it. And what I have gleaned from studying and wrestling with scripture is that God loves and affirms every person regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Not because of any specific scripture verses (although they help), but because of God’s character revealed in those verses.
I have heard before the theory that Jonathan and David were lovers, but this book presented evidence in scripture that I had never read before. It is pretty convincing. The discussions of the Ethiopian eunuch, and the centurion and his servant likewise presented information I had not read before. The section on Ruth and Naomi was really eye opening and made me wonder why I had never noticed it before. Although I will say that it always seemed weird to me that Ruth’s vow to Naomi is so frequently used in wedding vows when it was given from a woman to her mother-in-law.
The bottom line is that I don’t think the book “proves” God specifically condones same-sex relationships, any more than I think the clobber verses “prove” He condemns them. But I think they are worth meditating on and wrestling with. Because that is what I think the whole purpose of the Bible is….not to be a set of rules for life, with a checklist of dos and don’ts. I believe, as The Bible Project says in every podcast, “the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus.” Its purpose is to provide wisdom, not rules. We only gain that wisdom as we interact with it, study it, wrestle with it. And what I have gleaned from studying and wrestling with scripture is that God loves and affirms every person regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Not because of any specific scripture verses (although they help), but because of God’s character revealed in those verses.
January 23, 2018
Wonderful book! It made me step back and reconsider traditional interpretations of The Torah and of certain Pauline terms that are commonly used to condemn homosexuality of any kind.
This book has completely changed how I view X-ianity and ethics(specifically sexual ethics).
I thought Richard Hays had the definitive word on ethics and homosexuality in his Moral Vision chapter but Miner has me convinced now that Hays was wrong-headed in his ethical four-pronged approach and that there are some wonderfully revolutionary concepts jesus declared in the fourfold gospel that should shape our ethics. Malakoi and arsenokoitai do NOT mean simply "homosexuality". There's a contextual meaning that YHWH and later Paul are trying to tell the true Israel they should not behave sexually like the Canaanites or the Hellenes and Romans.
This book has completely changed how I view X-ianity and ethics(specifically sexual ethics).
I thought Richard Hays had the definitive word on ethics and homosexuality in his Moral Vision chapter but Miner has me convinced now that Hays was wrong-headed in his ethical four-pronged approach and that there are some wonderfully revolutionary concepts jesus declared in the fourfold gospel that should shape our ethics. Malakoi and arsenokoitai do NOT mean simply "homosexuality". There's a contextual meaning that YHWH and later Paul are trying to tell the true Israel they should not behave sexually like the Canaanites or the Hellenes and Romans.
January 30, 2021
I enjoy reading this well written and informative book. It described views and interpretations that you normally do not hear within the church system, yet we need to hear these various views to help us decide what God might have been really saying on the issue. There are certainly more than one interpretation based on words and meanings at the time of writing, and this books looks at a few other ways of looking at what is written in the Bible. Interesting and easy reading.
March 12, 2021
This was intriguing; I've never read anything before that suggests the Bible is actually pro-LGBT lol. (A lot of it felt to me like the authors were grasping at straws.) But! They also offered some unique and challenging perspectives on the topic which I hadn't come across before. Overall, it makes some strong points but I would probably not recommend it to someone who isn't already affirming.
September 17, 2020
Short and to the point, this book shows how the Bible has been continually misinterpreted to conform to the prejudices of church leaders to enable and justify persecution of LGBT individuals. Very well written and an easy read for anyone.
April 13, 2018
Thought-provoking. Important. Perhaps a bit reaching, but in a good way.
February 14, 2024
Excellent book!
October 13, 2012
This is really a bible study guide. I have such an issue with the seeming anti-homosexual elements in the Bible that my mom gave this to me as a suggestion. I am still not completely convinced and I wanted to be.
Chapter one: the passages that condemn gays.
Chapter two: the passages that celebrate committed loving gay relationships
Chapter three: the way to read the bible from Jesus's point of view
Chapter four: the passages that suggest the struggle of early church between Jewish Christians and gentile Christians. Using that as a context and comparison with our struggle today. and as an added bonus.... the passages that point out that a bad tree can't grow good fruit.
Chapter one: the passages that condemn gays.
Chapter two: the passages that celebrate committed loving gay relationships
Chapter three: the way to read the bible from Jesus's point of view
Chapter four: the passages that suggest the struggle of early church between Jewish Christians and gentile Christians. Using that as a context and comparison with our struggle today. and as an added bonus.... the passages that point out that a bad tree can't grow good fruit.
August 27, 2015
One of the best books I have read on the subject. The authors take the Bible seriously and treat it with respect as worthy of study. They allow the Bible itself to provide the best evidence of how God felt about Gay/Homosexual relationships . It should make any reader who still, in this day and age, that these relationships are "unnatural" or "condemned by the Bible" have pause for thought and hopefully, the recognition that they have been misled by haters and bigots. The Bible celebrates all relationships based on love.
February 12, 2016
Very well written and thought out review of what the Bible and Jesus says of loving gay relationships. Looks at the "clobber" sections...the most common quoted anti-gay scriptures (ex. Sodom and Gomorrah) and puts them in context (that same section also condones sending virgin daughters out to be "sacrificed" to a crowd...). Also mentions references to loving gay relationships in the Bible (ex. David and Jonathan), as well as discusses the 613 laws the Bible has and how a modern Christian should decide which laws are relevant based on the teachings of Jesus. Very quick read.
September 9, 2016
In having many of my Christian friends start to come out and in living away from home where I have to develop my own opinion to things, I wanted to find something that would be a good balance to the other book I was reading that demonstrated homosexual relations was against the Bible. This book was recommended by one of my friends and it was a good counter to that book and demonstrated how the authors believed the Bible supports a covenant based relationship between a homosexual couple.
It's definitely given me some things to think about.
It's definitely given me some things to think about.
Read
June 5, 2007written from a Christian perspective, faithfully studies the root and context of the stereotypical, commonly referenced instances of homosexuality in the Bible and offers an inspired way to discern specifically what those references condemn - consequently offering hope for those homosexuals in loving, committed relationships struggling today with their faith/sexuality dichotomy.
maybe i should write book reviews for a living...
maybe i should write book reviews for a living...
May 17, 2013
Good, introspective book. The section on the centurion, I felt, sort of fell apart due to what I can only assume was an unlabelled dramatization of the source scripture. But overall, as someone who is trying to figure out where I stand, this helped me, and gave me tons of references for further reading
May 13, 2014
This is an amazing argument filled with substantial evidence from scripture! In a format that is easy to read and understand, it addresses the problem of condemning homosexuality in the church by promoting Jesus's additional commandment: love one another. Whether straight, gay, bi, or lesbian, each person can take something from this book and apply it to better themselves in their faith.
August 17, 2016
Turns out the bible isn't as anti-gay as I'd always thought. There are surprisingly few passages that actually are used to teach against it, and a lot of bible stories that can be seen as very pro-gay. This book shows that when you put the anti-gay passages in proper context, they actually aren't as anti-gay as you thought. Highly recommend to anyone.
June 13, 2008
This is the best book I have read on the subject of same-sex relationships and the Bible. It is fairly brief and easy to read. A simple and straightforward look at the six "clobber passages" often used to argue against gay relationships.
January 27, 2009
Excellent book. Easily accessible even to those without theological background. Examines the arguments from the Bible used to support anti-homosexual beliefs, as well as some stories that could be used to support the legitimacy of homosexual relationships.
September 11, 2011
Evaluating this book strictly on the cogency of the argument as presented, it flatly fails. If one is arriving at a conclusion about what the Bible says about homosexuality based on emotional appeals, then the author presents a very earnest emotional appeal.
February 23, 2012
Wonderfully written! The book is well research and thoughtfully put together. It brings different aspects to the readers mind on not only same sex relationships but also Christian living as a whole. Highly recommended read.
January 10, 2015
A compelling (if not faulty) Scripturally-based argument FOR homosexuality. Can't say I agree with it in the least... Seems to me the authors read as little or as much as they want into Scripture to make their case. Should make for a well-rounded research paper on the subject, though.
September 18, 2014
Clear, concise (it's almost short enough to be called a pamphlet), rooted in knowledge of Biblical languages and times, and ultimately convincing. This helps me to reconcile what I already felt in my heart.
March 12, 2009
Good explanation of the positive Christian perspective on LGBT equality and same-sex marriage.
March 11, 2013
Very informative & helpful for those struggling with or know someone with gay/lesbian issues & God's attitude toward them & the role of LGBT people in the church.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews