Whether you’re just understanding being LGBTQIA+/SGL/SOGIE and Christian, on the journey of integrating your faith and self, or have been part of a church community for years, there’s always more to learn. ALWAYS. So we’ll be building out resource pages, starting with books.
BOOKS ABOUT THE BIBLE
Clobber the Verses by Mel White.
I just finished this book last night (06/22/24). It’s a quick run through the 7 verses out of the whole bible that people twist to make money and make our lives harder. There’s also information about health risks, suicides, heterosupremacist and trans hostile violence, and other ways this directly impacts our lives. Also, I learned that both Oral Robert’s son and grandson were/are gay. His son died by suicide, but his grandson was able to come out. Here’s the excerpt from the kindle ebook:
“I met but did not know the televangelist, Oral Roberts. His 37 year old son Ronald Roberts was a closeted gay man who shot himself in the heart and died alone in his car, parked beside a busy Tulsa highway. Ronald was another suicide victim of the clobber passages. His father, Oral Roberts was also a victim who condemned homosexuality never knowing that he was condemning his own son to death. Almost 30 years after his son’s suicide, Oral Robert’s grandson, Randy Roberts Potts, survived his own coming out story but barely. “In my family of evangelical Christians,” Randy says, “coming out was really, really, really bad.” So bad that years later his evangelical mother still refuses to talk to him. Randy had to get tickets to his grandfather’s funeral through a distant relative and was not allowed to sit with the family during the public service.“ During the public event,” Randy remembers, “my mother looked right at me as she talked about how gay people were going to hell.”
The Rainbow Colored Sheep by Glenn Slade Clark Jr. (Based on John 21:15-17). This is a quick book. It takes maybe 5 or 7 minutes to read. But it tore me up inside. It’s one of the first books that seemed to know feelings I had about my experiences with churches. Wanting to stay and change minds, deciding to leave, worrying about what will happen to me on my own. It’s not the happiest book, but it soothed my heart.
“This division has torn me, and I know that my master would never have approved. He loved me, I know, so why don’t they?” (from the Kindle edition)
Valiant or Virtuous? Gender Bias in Bible Translation. By Suzanne McCarthy. This book is vital for your shelves/kindle reader. Especially if you’re just starting to understand that Bible verses have been and are being misused. She does show you how words in original languages get twisted up over time. But it’s done in a way that’s easy to follow. She writes a balanced blend of history, culture, and action that walks us through this issue. If you’re not quite ready to dive into unpacking scriptures used against LGBTQIA+ people, read this book. Working out gender bias will teach you how to read Scripture in context.
“Women need to see themselves represented fairly in scripture. Unfortunately, we cannot assume that most popular Bible translations represent women fairly. I wish it were otherwise. Rotherham and Montgomery, both strong scholars, agree on this: that Phoebe was named a “deacon” or “minister” (diakonos in Greek) of the church of Cenchrae, and was not just a servant.”