Status Updates From Two Views on Homosexuality,...

There is a heavy emphasis in early christians writting on attacks and critics against the horrible pratice (in their own terms and views) of sodomy as a male intercourse.

"Effeminate and unjust, evil city, ill-fated above all. Alas, city of the Latin land, unclean in all things, maenad, rejoicing in vipers, as a widow you will sit by the banks, and the river Tiber will weep for you, its consort".

"Neither have they [the righteous] disgraceful desire for another's spouse, or for hateful and repulsive abuse of a male." Sibyllines V.167

This text is notably referenced as a solid evidence that the Bible have serious issues with the pratice of Homosexuality in all it's form and consider it a physical and religious abuse, as harmful spiritually as it is matter of factly.

The book analyse how on the bible there is evidence of "trans people" at the time due to the prohibition of such pratice on how males should never crossdress and how that fact alone is a heavy sin. It also adress how the writtings which founded the bible vilify the pratices of romans and others as heavily ethically wrong (homosexual pratices)

The book seems to take a more or less strongly progressive stance toward social issues regarding sexuality and gender , which I am not sure how to feel about it, but regardless it's surprising.

The book list all the authors who participated in the work (and surprisingly the main contributors have very VERY progressive views and interpretation of the biblical work compared to what I expected)

The book start off by saying that the views on homosexuality in the Bible within scholarly circle have deeply evolved even in the pure theological aspect they start by refering John Boswell the theologian, saying the later work on homosexuality while being extremely questionned on various aspects did brought up some solid points which even today among scholars are meet with agrement.

The book start off with an interesting and pleasing paragraph saying that the issue cannot be merely looked as a theological/biblical study but as a profound and very serious debate involving psychology, sociology, biology and philosophical questions which must take into consideration the fact that we are talking about real people, real humans with real issues.

Wesley Hill’s “spiritual friendship” is a rather interesting solution to the issue of same-sex attracted Christians who are forbidden (prevented?) from engaging in same-sex genital activity.

I thought I knew what I thought about this subject. I was pretty sure I was in line with the first author, but I struggled to support his argument. His essay struck me as not compelling. Meanwhile, I oppose the other authors, but I find their essays very readable. I’m not convinced to change my mind, but I am convinced of the power of editing and the need for dialogue.