I was recently sent a copy of the newly revised and expanded edition of Jack Rogers’s “Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church.” For those of you who have been following my blog for awhile, you’ll know that I have written a lot about homosexuality and the church [this post has a record 244 comments]. Back in January and February of 2009, I did an in-depth review of the first edition of this book; I found it to be incredibly helpful and worth your time to read.
For more information about the series, you can read the first post here. I also did individual chapter reviews, and you can find them here: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 and Chapter 7. Finally, a summary of my thoughts can be found here. I was looking forward to reading the new portions of this book, and I found them to be very helpful and a wonderful update to the first edition.
Rogers shares some wonderful stories from his book tour as he traveled all around the United States. He also shares some more reflections on biblical stories that can help lead us toward a position of openness and inclusion toward LGBT folk in the church, particularly the Presbyterian Church (USA). However, he also offers an appendix that speaks of new movements of openness in other denominations, which makes it appeal to people who are not Presbyterian. The revised and expanded edition includes all of the material from the first edition plus:
- A new preface with “stories from the road” as a result of my two-year book tour in support of the first edition;
- Updates on recent developments within the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A.);
- A new chapter that examines God’s radical welcome for all who have faith as revealed in Scripture;
- A new appendix that maps the recent progress toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality in major U.S. denominations; and
- A study guide for group or personal reflection.
Here is some of the recent praise Rogers has received for his book:
“Rogers offers both a rigorous yet accessible theological study and a model of spiritual discernment that is essential reading for anyone struggling to reconcile their faith with the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.”
—Harry Knox, Director, Religion and Faith Program, The Human Rights Campaign“The compelling biblical and theological case Jack Rogers makes for the full acceptance of gay couples is simply impossible to ignore.”
—William Stacy Johnson, Princeton Theological Seminary, author of A Time to Embrace: Same-gender Relationships in Religion, Law, and Politics“I’m overflowing with gratitude for this work. Jack Rogers continues ‘to equip the saints for the work of ministry,’ directing his gifts as prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher to building new understandings and relationships in the church.”
—Rev. Deborah A. Block, Pastor, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee, WI
If you didn’t purchase this book before when I mentioned it, I’d strongly recommend it if you have any interest in this extremely important topic for our church. You can purchase the book on Amazon. I encourage you to take some time to read about this incredibly important issue in the church today, and in my opinion, there is no one better to learn about this from than Dr. Jack Rogers.