In this 127-page book, two New Testament scholars offer different perspectives on the issue of the Bible and homosexuality. Robert A. J. Gagnon, associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Abingdon, 2001; 520 pages), provides a 52-page updated synthesis of some of the key arguments of his earlier book for a pro-complementarity position against homoerotic unions. Gagnon tackles such issues as: what constitutes a core value in Scripture, the proper use of analogies, love and grace from the perspective of Jesus and Paul, the pervasive stance of the Old Testament witness, the Levitical proscriptions and the issue of purity, the witness of Jesus, the witness of Paul against three hermeneutical counterarguments (the exploitation, orientation, and misogyny arguments), and concluding thoughts about the structural incongruity of homosexual unions. Dan O. Via, professor emeritus of New Testament at Duke University writes a 39-page essay that presents a case for supporting committed homosexual unions, including a discussion of: the authority of the Bible, the problem of interpretation, Old and New Testaments, the issue of homosexual orientation, a rebuttal of the traditional position, and a proposal for recovering a biblical witness for homosexual behavior. Each author has a six-page response to the other's essay. This book provides a thoughtful and spirited dialogue on a vital and contentious issue in American church life....
