Openly Gay, Openly Christian: A Gay-Friendly Approach to Scripture [Paperback]

 

 

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This reader has encountered and pondered quite a number of books which discuss Christianity in regard to what the Bible says about sexuality and gays, even some works that are by gay "Bible-believing" Christians. Most books on the subject either take, on the one hand, a "liberal" view, i.e. modernist and revisionist, somewhat Bible-doubting approach to the Scriptures in favour a "feel-good" approach that negates the importance of what the Bible states (or seems to say) about divergent sexuality, or, on the other hand, a Bible-believing view that nonetheless asserts that the interpretation of the Bible by those who find it to be anti-gay is misguided, an approach which proffers new, "gay-friendly" interpretations of passages (often defectively translated into English and other languages) which "gay-bashers" long have used to chastise gay men and women, but, in the end, without necessarily convincing many readers that the new interpretations, for all their good and orthodox intentions, really are sound rather than a bit too arbitrary.

This book is different. It tackes head-on the passages in the Bible that have been deemed to condemn homosexuality, but it offers a depth of examination, especially in regard to linguistic analysis and the historical practices, sexual and social, of ancient times with which the Old and New Testament writers were dealing. Other passages find a sexual meaning, a gay and positive one at that, very convincingly in accounts (e.g., the love of Jonathan and David, which, incidentally, the Bible does not condemn as adulturous on the part of these men, both of whom already were married to women) that some writers have defended as affirming homosexual love but that others, disagreeing, have dismissed as not really dealing with that matter at all; again, Samuel Kader's analysis of the vocabulary of Semitic languages and of Greek in such cases seems to vindicate, better than any writer to my knowledge has done previously, the pro-gay (or, in some cases, gay-neutral) meaning in these biblical passages.

I find the whole of Kader's exegetical analysis mostly very convincing. He demonstrates that all of the verses, passages, and accounts with which he deals either have nothing to do with homosexuality apart from idolatrous abuses, or that they actually, in some instaces, extol love between two males or, at the very least, show great and compassionate toleration of gay men's sexuality. Alas, there is one passage in the New Testament that resists fully definitive absorption into a pro-gay analysis, that being St. Paul's words about "natural" heterosexual and "unnatural" gay sex between members of the same gender in Romans 1:26-28. However, even here, Kader goes beyond the shaky arguments that others usually have adduced to neutralise this seeming condemnation of putatively "unnatural" gay sex by citing Jesus' words which indicate that He revealed, in St. Matthew 19:12, that gay persons (whom He referred to as "eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb", in one of the many senses in which the Bible, in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, uses the word "eunuch") have a natural, non-heterosexual destiny in life, one that God blesses. (Certainly such "eunuchs" are not born castrated, something that requires a knife at the loins at some point in life after birth, but, rather, they are born unsuitable to "straight" sexual activity.) Although I feel still a bit uneasy about the meaning that Kader states about Rom. 1:26-28, not finding his analysis beyond doubt or above reproach, his comments that link born inclination to gay sexuality, as Jesus Himself mentions in St. Matt. 19:12, do go a long way to justify the view that some men are born gay and that their sexual relations with other men are not "unnatural". It is also pertinent to consider the context of the condemnation of idolatry just preceding these famous verses in Rom. 1, the same sort of context that, when taken into consideration for exegesis, so undermines any widely-aimed, anti-homosexual intended meaning in various O.T. passages.

Instead, it is men and women, according to Kader's interpretation of St. Paul's words in Rom. 1, who innately and as born have a "natural" inclination to heterosexual orientation and sexual activity, but who turn with stubborn and wanton willfulness against their usual (innate, inborn, "natural") "straight" sexual orientation to seek out same-sex copulation for the sake of the "kinky kicks" in which they can indulge with those who are of their own sex with the divergent excitement that such activity can offer, merely for the additional "thrill" that it supplies as variety in copulatory activity, as being those whom St. Paul really condemns. Linking the meaning of "natural" gay sexuality in St. Matt. 19:12 with the deviant and (for an heterosexual) "unnatural" thrills that Rom. 1:26-28 describes, thus gives more solid grounds for regarding same-sex activity to which thrill-seeking heterosexuals turn in their depravity as "spice" to spruce up and to enliven their jaded sex lives and carnal appetites, as being what St. Paul condemns, not gay men or women who act responsably on their innate (and thus inborn, "natural") homosexual impulses and affections. Bringing Jesus' words in St. Matt. 19 into account in interpreting Rom. 1 is a great contribution to understanding what the Bible really means in "natural law" contexts, something that Kader furthers with analysis of other passages (e.g., Daniel 1:3-9, where the O.T. describes without condemnation the genuine and ardent homosexual love that Daniel's keeper had for him and which Daniel accepted (though it is not clear that the prophet Daniel fully reciprocated the man's affections or went so far as to have sex with him).

There is only one of the passages that Samuel Kader discusses, even if Kader surely succeeds in making his pro-gay case for interpreting it, which nonetheless irritates me. This is his handling of a passage in one of St. Paul's pastoral epistles, 1 Tim. 6:9-10. Kader did not need to "load the dice" by resorting to an insistance to render the Greek word romanised as "arsenokoites" as "lift-chair" (or, perhaps, "lift-bed", one would supppose), which, indeed, is quite a peculiar word or phrase, but which others, e.g. Joe Dallas, more pertinently insist should be rendering St. Paul's word combining the LXX's "arsenos" (or "arsenes") and "koite" as something like "men-bedders" (that is, men who "bed down" to have sex with other men, my choice of the transation possibilities that conform with Dallas' explanation) for 1 Tim. 6:10. Dallas' kind of construction is based on the use of the base words that form "arsenokoites as the two words occur in the Septuagint ("LXX", the pre-Christian Greek Old Testament, mostly translated from Hebrew and Aramaic, partly compiled from Greek originals for the deutero-canonical books). Kader still could make his point, even if with less crushing force, by being more reasonable about the meaning of "arsenokoites". Read what Kader says, on p. 60-68, and what Joe Dallas explains in his book, "The Gay Gospel?" (Harvest House Publishers, 2007), p. 208-213, and reconcile for yourself Dallas' linguisitcs with Kader's logic, which most gay (or other) men should not have too much difficulty in doing. For Joe Dallas' part, he should be censured for not even acknowledging that Kader's book exists! This kind of "two solitudes" in which determined anti-homosexuality advocates like Joe Dallas (who, at least, is a compassionate and temperate one) and pro-gay advocates (Kader, his predecessors, and successors) still tend not adequately to account for each other's scholarship; this is an intellectual scandal and sign of bias-in-action that should not continue any longer. Joe Dallas, for example, from not having read such a defense of David and Jonathan's homosexual love so masterly as that of Samuel Kader, merely dismisses off-handedly any claim that these two bisexual married men had a sexual relationship; Dallas could not have been so cavalier about the claims for David's and Jonathan's deep and faithful identity as male lovers if he had bothered to read more widely and thus to have discovered Kader's book. Gay readers can do their part by reading, for example, both Samuel Kader's and Joe Dallas' books, to end this kind of self-defeating isolation of one side from the other!

It is a pity that Kader did not adduce and analyse passages in the deutero-canonical books of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Old Testament canon, or which Anglicans, Lutherans, and some other Protestants include in the "Apocrypha", for there is valuable ammunition for his interpretations in some of those books, especially regarding the proper way to interpret God's condemnation of Sodom and Gamorrah, not for homosexuality per se but for several other sins.

For all of the clarifications that Kader and some other astute scholars have brought to the passages that gay-bashers usually adduce as anti-homosexual, one is left, nevertheless, on accepting Kader's analysis and evaluation, with a curious void in the Bible explicity regarding the ethics of what would constitute a good and godly homosexual life. It would seem surprising, if homosexuality indeed is acceptable to God, that there would be so little guidance in the pages of the Bible for a devout homosexual's way of living out his sexuality. Kader really should have addressed this matter. On the other hand, it is clear, when one accepts that Jonathan and David and some other same-sex couplings loved each other with sexual yearning and even surely with sexual gratification, in such pure, self-sacrificing devotion, that God accepts sexual love and affection between two men. It is also clear from the example of Jonathan and David that their homosexual love does not entail adultury, even though both had been wedded to women before their pact of love... Read more ›

Unfortunately the comparison above shows you modern day translations and does not go into the fact that language changes over time and words that mean one thing today meant something completely different 2000 years ago. Take the time to read this book. From a theological perspective it is very thought provoking and something the churche would not like the masses to know. If it were revealed on a greater level, one would have to admit that untruths have invaded the church and the bible. But, then again there was the inquisition and many poeple have died in history in the name of a religious cause. Enjoy the cerebral effect. It can bring about a feeling of frustration with many theologians and the church. But, it will remind you to think and not follow like sheep to the slaughter (you can reads more about that in Revelations).

This is an excellent book which presents irrefutable research. It clearly illustrates where the modern day biblical translations are flawed by showing you the original Hebrew or Greek text so you can see for yourself how the REAL words of God have been distorted. Once you read this book carefully and see these distortions, you will clearly understand that the bible can no longer be used to support discrimination against homosexuals. Love between two people is something which God believes is beautiful--- irregardless of gender.

Which is why I found it disturbing that some reviews (including one by a Top 1000 Reviewer) are obviously from people who did not actually read the book. I also find it disturbing that some of the Recommended Items that have been suggested here are also from people who have obviously not taken the time to read this book either. Our sexual identity is a gift from God (so we don't need therapy) and "Openly Gay Openly Christian" clearly shows that the King James bible is flawed (therefore not an appropriate recommendation either)!

People should read this book so they can see that the only people God condemns are those who persecute others. If you still carry bigotry and hatred in your heart, please read this book so that the healing can begin!

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1.0 out of 5 stars The Greek/Hebrew say the same as the English
This book claims that the original languages in which the Bible was written do not condemn homosexuality, and that it is our modern English translations which are at fault for... Read more

Published on Nov 5 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 Timothy 2:15
For those in need of a Scriptural explanation regarding the confusion about homosexuality and the Bible, this is a must have book.

Rev. Read more

Published on Jan 26 2003 by presson

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about bloody TIME!...
Many years ago, I came to know of the salvation message of Christ, on Halloween night. That was about when I was eight. Read more

Published on Oct 24 2002 by dlcstories1977

5.0 out of 5 stars Openly Gay, Openly Christian
I am reading this book and I think it is really great. I believe that this book can help a lot of families. Read more

Published on Aug 27 2002 by Tony Stewart

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Rev. Kader
This book has allowed the Christ spirit to fill the void in me that so many want to create. I feel whole again. Read more

Published on Nov 20 2001 by n4jon

5.0 out of 5 stars Openly Gay Openly Christian - How the Bible Really is Gay Fr
When my 18 year old daughter came out as a lesbian two years ago I began desparely seeking guidance from God. Read more

Published on Aug 21 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars The Bible isn't the Great Kahuna
In Christianity, the Bible is not the final arbiter of belief or of faith. These two essential features arise from a synergy of episcopal collegiality, consensus of the faithful,... Read more

Published on July 8 2001 by D. S. Heersink

5.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual Self-Defense for GLBT Christians
Sam Kader does an excellent job of explaining the "true meanings" of anti-gay clobber passages in his book "Openly Gay, Openly Christian". Read more

Published on Mar 26 2001 by R. Michael

5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY!
Many presentations of arguments of this kind tend to make some points strongly, while glossing over other areas unconvincingly--making their whole argument easily vulnerable to... Read more

Published on April 24 2000 by jim_nc

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good for Christians wondering how to reconcile this
Rev. Kader does a very good job. Every Christian should read this book. It answers those hard questions and brings hope! Read more

Published on Mar 1 2000

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