Jack Rogers’ book Jesus The Bible and Homosexuality: Explore the Myths, Heal the Church follows the path of one Presbyterian minister as he discovered that God was still speaking to him on the subject of homosexuality and the Christian Church. Initially opposed to the ordination of gay and lesbian people, Rogers describes the spiritual and theological journey that led him to conclude that Christ’s message teaches that the Christian Church should not only grant gay and lesbian people full and equal rights within the church (including marriage), but also that the Church should work for justice and equality for gay and lesbian people within the broader society. Rogers posits that the Church’s response toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people is the defining issue of our time, and chief among the factors that divide us into “red and blue” states. Although rooted in Rogers’ reflections on the Presbyterian Church, most of his observations are useful and relevant to people of all mainline denominations. Rogers advocates against the view that time will heal this controversy, noting that the Presbyterian Church took that attitude toward slavery until the nation and the church were finally torn in two.

Read this book if you want to study the biblical passages most often cited by “both sides” in theological discussions about marriage equality. Read this book if you are interested in learning about how leading theologians used the Bible to justify slavery and the subordination of women to men for more than two hundred years, and how a more “wholistic” approach to Scripture ultimately convinced mainstream churches to change course rather dramatically. Finally, read this book if you feel cynical about the power of the Holy Spirit to change minds. As Rogers put it: “It is helpful and humbling to realize that I can change my mind on something about which I was once so sure.”