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Can homophobia be cured? : wrestling with questions that challenge the church

Title: Can homophobia be cured? : wrestling with questions that challenge the church / Bruce Hilton.
Author: Hilton, Bruce
Publication: Nashville : Abingdon Press, [1992]

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	BR115.H6 H54 1992	Off-site

Details

Description

128 pages; 22 cm

Summary

In this book, the author focuses on the difficult questions Christians raise about the deeply divisive issue of homosexuality: What if the real sin is not homosexuality but homophobia--fear and hatred of lesbians and gay men? What will the church do with the growing scientific evidence that same-sex orientation is neither an illness nor a matter of choice? What will the church do with the increasing realization that gays and lesbians are not a "they" but a "we," including devout and dedicated laypeople and clergy; our children, sisters, and brothers; and people worshiping beside us in the pew?

Subject

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-125).

Contents

Preface. A mother writes -- 1. Asking the right question. 2. A question about feelings. Where do our strong feelings about homosexuality come from? -- 3. What do we know about gay people? Who are the homosexual people, anyway? -- Who are the bisexual people? -- Just how many lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals are there? -- Why is it so hard to get accurate data? -- What causes homosexuality? -- Why does so much of this research involve only men? -- Is homosexual sex unhealthy? -- What does it mean to be a "practicing" homosexual? -- Aren't some children seduced into homosexuality? -- Can gay people be cured or change their ways? -- Why all this interest in cause and cure? -- Is homosexuality natural? -- Is homosexuality a mental illness? -- I hear about the homosexual "lifestyle." What is it? -- Isn't the practice of homosexuality a threat to traditional family values? -- I don't know any gay people. How do I identify them?
4. What does the Bible say? But the Bible references used to justify racism were vague. Isn't the Bible much more clear when it comes to homosexuality? -- Then what does the Bible say about homosexuality? -- But aren't those references consistently negative? -- What are the Bible passages, then, about homosexual acts? -- Is that all the Bible has to say about homosexual acts? -- But what about sin? Are you suggesting that there are no standards for sexual conduct? -- Isn't there anything on this subject that the Bible speaks clearly on? -- 5. What does the church say? What is the United Methodist Church's historic stand on homophilia? -- How did the church arrive at its present position? -- After two hundred years of Methodism, why did this happen at this time? -- Is the "incompatibility" phrase the only official action on this subject in the Discipline? -- When was the ban on ordination of gay people passed? -- How were gay United Methodists reacting to all this?
6. What is our ministry to gay people? Why does the church have to get involved in this at all? -- But isn't the practice of homosexuality a sin? -- Why is there such furor over the ordination of gay people? -- Why are we being asked to perform "holy unions"? -- Shouldn't we concentrate on helping gay people change? -- Why would anyone object to the ex-gay movement? -- What is the reconciling congregation program? -- Our church isn't ready to think about such a step; isn't there room for other ministries? -- 7. Can homophobia be cured? When feelings are so deep, and so universal, is there any hope of change? -- How do we get started on change?

ISBN

0687046319
9780687046317

LCCN

92008588

OCLC

ocm25548596
25548596
SCSB-1950266

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library