Robert A.J. Gagnon - The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics

"This is a brilliant, original, and highly important work, displaying meticulous biblical scholarship, and indispensable even for those who disagree with the author."James Barr, Distinguished Professor of Hebrew Bible, Emeritus, Vanderbilt University

"Gagnon has offered a learned, judicious, and comprehensive examination of the biblical testimony.... His book is fair and compassionate, and should become a major resource for those taking the scriptural witness seriously."Brevard S. Childs, Sterling Professor of Divinity (Hebrew Bible), Emeritus, Yale Divinity School

"Gagnon makes his point clear in defending the non-acceptance of homosexual relationships on biblical grounds. In its learnedness, his book will without doubt be in the vanguard of its position and cannot be ignored in future debate even by proponents of discordant views."Martti Nissinen, Professor of Hebrew Bible, University of Helsinki (author of Homoeroticism in the Biblical World)

"This work contains the most sophisticated and convincing examination of the biblical data to date and puts the data in the context of ancient culture. The implications for the present are drawn in a prudent and well-argued manner. The book thus makes an essential contribution to defusing the emotionalism that surrounds the discussion. Even someone who advocates a different position will be able to appreciate this advantage of the book."Jrgen Becker, Professor of New Testament, Christian-Albrechts University

"Gagnon's work provides, in my judgment, the most thorough and satisfying analysis and evaluation of the biblical texts yet produced. It is abreast of the latest literature, scrupulous in its exegesis, and sensitive to hermeneutical questions. It is a study that no serious scholar will want to ignore."David F. Wright, Senior Lecturer, Ecclesiastical History, The University of Edinburgh

"I know of no comparable study of the texts and interpretive debates that surround homosexual behavior.... Gagno's approach to the issue grasps the complexity of the debate, and does so with much compassion. Although the work is not polemical in tone, it also becomes clear that some widely quoted authorities and contemporary advocates of sexual liberation in this area have misread the historical and textual data and misused contemporary scientific, classical argument and pastoral evidence." Max L. Stackhouse, Stephen Colwell Professor of Christian Ethics, Princeton Theological Seminary

"This is an impressive study that moves the discussion forward in an important and hotly contested area of Christian ethics. It articulates and defends the traditional view, but is delightfully free of tired traditional arguments. Nothing is taken for granted.... The book is at one and the same time hard-hitting, carefully nuanced, irenic, practical, and fair. It is a necessary read for any who are seriously concerned with Christian sexual ethics."John Nolland, Professor of New Testament, Trinity College

"Gagnon's book is an extremely valuable contribution to the current debate and deserves to be read very widely.... The biblical exegesis is distinguished by rigorous scholarship, while the discussion of how the biblical material speaks to the modern church and to secular society is characterized by balanced and sober judgment, and by a sympathetic understanding of the present situation. I recommend this book wholeheartedly."C. E. B. Cranfield, Professor of Theology (New Testament), Emeritus, University of Durham

"This is probably the fullest and best presentation of the conservative position. Amid the many publications on the Christian attitude to homosexuality, Gagnon's book stands out by reason of its wide learning and rich detail which characterize it as a serious work of scholarship, expressing the case against same-sex intercourse sympathetically and convincingly."I. Howard Marshall, Professor of New Testament Exegesis, Emeritus, University of Aberdeen

"This is one of the very best exegetical/theological treatments of the issue now available.... All who are concerned with the issue will need to reckon with it."Douglas J. Moo, Blanchard Professor of New Testament, Wheaton College

"I believe that this volume will become a classic in the ongoing discussion of the church's understanding of and response to homosexuality."Duane F. Watson, Professor of New Testament, Malone College

"In its comprehensiveness and rigor, Gagnon's book gives a most helpful, much needed, timely, and novel contribution.... The book is so well organized that ministers can easily use it as a reference work, and it is so clearly written that interested laity can follow the argument."Ulrich W. Mauser, Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology, Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Gagnon's book is well written, well organized, well and closely argued. I hope it will be widely read."C. K. Barrett, Professor of Divinity (New Testament), Emeritus, University of Durham

"Gagnon's book is extraordinarily satisfying, being based on the author's impeccable scholarship and a compassionate pastoral approach to the subject."Bruce M. Metzger, George L. Collard Professor of New Testament, Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary

"Gagnon's study of the relevant biblical data is thorough, and its debate with the contemporary range of views on these texts is very well informed. Its argument deserves a full hearing within the full debate."James D. G. Dunn, Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, University of Durham

"This is the most thorough examination of the scriptural and theological (and a variety of other) perspectives on same-sex relations that I have seen.... a tour de force that cannot be easily set aside by anyone who reads it and reacts to it in anything other than a superficial and prejudiced way.... It has the potential to bring discussion of this topic to a new level."Marion L. Soards, Professor of New Testament, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary

ROBERT A. J. GAGNON

THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUAL PRACTICE TEXTS AND HERMENEUTICS

Copyright2001 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to Abingdon Press,

P.O. Box 801, Nashville, TN 37202.

This book is printed on recycled, acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gagnon, Robert A. J., 1958

The Bible and homosexual practice : texts and hermeneutics / Robert A.J. Gagnon.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-687-02279-7 (alk. paper)

1. HomosexualityBiblical teaching. I. Title.

BS680.H67 G34 2001
241'.66dc21

00 049341

ISBN 13: 978-0-687-02279-3
Translations of biblical texts are the authors, unless otherwise noted.

Excerpts from Homoeroticism in the Biblical World, by Martti Nissinen, copyright 1998, reprinted by permission of Augsburg Fortress.