Robert A. J. Gagnon Home Articles Available Online Response to Book Reviews Material for "Two Views" Material for "Christian Sexuality" Answers to Emails
Last Updated: 5/7/06 |
Robert A. J. Gagnon
is Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological
Seminary. He came to PTS in the Fall of 1994 after a one-year position as Visiting
Professor of Religion at Middlebury College in Vermont. He has a B.A. degree
from Dartmouth College, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and a
Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. His main fields of interest are
Pauline theology and sexual issues in the Bible. He is a member both of
the Society
of Biblical Literature and of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti
Societas [Society of New Testament Studies]. He is also an ordained elder
at a Presbyterian Church (USA) in Pittsburgh. He is the author of The
Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 2001; 520 pgs.); co-author (with Dan O. Via) of
Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views (Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
2003; 125 pgs.); has a 50-page article entitled "Does the Bible Regard
Same-Sex Intercourse as Intrinsically Sinful?" in Christian Sexuality
(ed. R. Saltzman; Minneapolis: Kirk House, 2003); and, as a service to
the church, provides a large amount of free material on the web dealing
with Scripture and homosexuality (www.robgagnon.net). In addition, he has published
scholarly articles on biblical studies in Journal of Biblical
Literature, New Testament Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Novum
Testamentum, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, Horizons in Biblical Theology, and The Christian
Century.
For a partial curriculum vitae of Dr. Gagnon
go here.
To contact Dr. Gagnon send an e-mail to:
gagnon@pts.edu. If you would like to
be included on his mailing list and notified once a month or so regarding
new materials on his website, e-mail Dr. Gagnon with the request.
The views expressed on this website are Dr. Gagnon's
own and make no claim to representing the official views of Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary.
Upcoming Engagements
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Dr. Gagnon will be presenting on
"The Bible and Homosexuality" at St. Stephen
Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday Apr. 30, 7-9 PM
(2700 McPherson Ave., 76109;
http://www.ststephen-pcusa.com/public/index.html,
817-927-8411). On Monday May 1 at noon at St. Stephen's Dr.
Gagnon will be meeting with area pastors.
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If you would like to hear online a
presentation that I gave on the subject of the Bible and homosexual
practice in 2005 go to
http://www.texascoalition.org/ (scroll
down). I presented at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston, Tex. on
Jan. 29, 2005. The talk runs 3 hours. The quality of the audio varies and
at least at one point the audio from a later portion of the talk
somehow skipped to an earlier portion. Nevertheless, this will give
listeners some idea of what I present. Each talk that I give is updated,
with some reconfiguration of the material.
NEW!
A Four-Hour Audio
Presentation on Four CDs
Robert Gagnon, "The Bible and Homosexuality at the
Church's Crossroads"
A Presentation Given at Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary on Oct. 18, 2005
(part of the
Pastor Builders series put out by
Gordon-Conwell)
For further description and to order a copy
click
here (http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/store/product_info.php?products_id=228)
(Note: Dr. Gagnon
receives no royalties from the sales of these audio CDs)
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Truth in Love: The Bible and Same Sex Behavior
(recorded June 2003; released June 2004)
A 2 DVD set of Dr.
Robert Gagnon presenting the biblical and theological case against
homosexual practice, interviewed by Dr. Merton
Strommen. The set contains seven 30-minute sessions (three-and-a-half hours total),
with discussion helps. Ideal for church or individual use.
An adult Sunday School class can set aside 7 sessions in which it
views a 30-minute segment of the DVDs and then has discussion around the
study questions for that segment.
Session One: Clarifying the Issue
Session Two: The Proper Use of Analogies
Session Three: Love and Grace According to Jesus and
Paul
Session Four: The Old Testament Witness
Session Five: The Witness of Jesus
Session Six: The Witness of Paul
Session Seven: Sexual Orientation and a Pastoral
Word
Within the United States, the 2-DVD set is available
for $25.00, plus $4 for shipping and handling per set (Minnesota
residents add sales tax of 6.5%). If you prefer to put your order on credit card,
specify Visa or Mastercard, the name on the card, the card number, and the
expiration date. Provide a "ship to" address and telephone and mail to:
New Creation: Marriage and Family Advocates, P.O.
Box 390535, Minneapolis, MN 55439
To order by phone call toll-free: 1-888-696-1828
(Kirk House Publishers). (Some ordering from Canada have had trouble
getting through using this toll free number. If that is the case try
952-835-1828.)
To order through the internet: Contact Mr. Leonard Flachman
(publisher, Kirk House) at
leonard@kirkhouse.com.
Overseas orders: People ordering from outside
the United States can do one of two things: (1) Send the order via AIR
MAIL to New Creation, P.O. Box 390535, Minneapolis, MN 55439 U.S.A.
Include credit card information (card number, expiration date, and your
name on the card) and a "ship to" address. Indicate whether you want the
DVD sent Airmail or surface mail (4 to 6 weeks). (Note well: The shipping
and handling charge will likely be more than the $4 noted above for
shipping within the United States.) (2) Do an internet order. For this
contact Mr. Leonard Flachman (publisher, Kirk House) at
leonard@kirkhouse.com.
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Robert Gagnon on
The Mars Hill Audio:
"MARS
HILL AUDIO exists to assist Christians who desire to move from
thoughtless consumption of modern culture to a vantage point of
thoughtful engagement. . . .
We endeavor to encourage the
sensibilities and habits of thoughtful cultural engagement through
creative audio resources." To visit their website click here or go
to
www.marshillaudio.org.
A New
MARS HILL AUDIO Conversation
"Texts, Sex, and Sanctity: Robert Gagnon on
Homosexuality and the Bible. This
is a 50-minute audio conversation with Dr. Robert Gagnon
about the Bible and homosexual practice.
Gagnon’s discussion is
augmented with a reading of an article by theologian Philip Turner
called “The Episcopalian Preference,” in which he examines the
role of individual preferences in the Episcopal Church’s stance on
homosexual practices. "Texts, Sex, and Sanctity" (Conversation
20) is available on cassette ($7) or CD ($9). It may be ordered
online
(scroll down), by telephone at 1-800-331-6407, or in
writing to: Mars Hill Audio, P.O. Box 7826, Charlottesville, VA
22906-7826 (or fax to: 1-434-990-9090). Go
here
to print an order form. Add a
$3 shipping and handling for orders totaling up to $9; $4 for
totals of $10-19, and $5 for totals of $20-29. Sales tax is for
Virginia residents only (4.5%). Canada add $3; Foreign add $10.
(Note: Dr. Gagnon
receives no royalties from the sales of these Mars Hill Audio
tapes.)
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For online copies of articles on the
Bible and homosexuality go
here.
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To order a copy of The Bible and
Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (Nashville: Abingdon,
2001; 520 pp., paperback, list $39), at the unbeatable deal of 37% off
(down to $24.57) plus free shipping, click on the image below,
which will take you to Amazon.com.
Even better, buy the book from Amazon.com through the
Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD)
website. You will get the same low price and Amazon.com will rebate IRD, a
worthy organization, 10% of your payment.
If you prefer to order by phone or mail, and/or to do
business with a Christian retail outfit, you can order the book from
Christianbook.com, 1-800-247-4784, for a
25% discount plus shipping charge. Click
here if you prefer a mail order form.
For a list of endorsements go
here for pdf and
here for html. For responses to critiques go
here.
A comprehensive treatment of the subject.
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To order a copy of Homosexuality and the
Bible: Two Views (co-authored with Dan O. Via;
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003; 127 pp., paperback, list
$13), at 25% off, for only $9.75 (and free shipping, if combined with
other orders totaling over $25), click on the image below.
If you prefer to order by phone or mail, and/or to do
business with a Christian retail outfit, you can order the book from
Christianbook.com, 1-800-247-4784, for a
15% discount plus shipping charge. Click
here if you prefer a mail order form.
For endorsements go
here for pdf and
here for
html.
In this book I provide a 52-page, updated synthesis of
some of the key arguments of The Bible and Homosexual
Practice. I tackle such issues as: what constitutes a core
value of Scripture, the proper use of analogies, love and grace
from the perspective of Jesus and Paul, the pervasive 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,
contributes a 39-page essay that attempts to make a "biblical"
case for supporting homosexual unions. Via and I each contribute
a 6-page response to the other's essay.
Both my essay and response have note numbers that
key in to online notes,
here for pdf and
here for
html. Also online is
a substantial rejoinder to Via's response,
here
for pdf and here
for html;
as well as
an expanded bibliography of important works on both sides of the
issue (pdf
and html).
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New book just released in December 2003:
Christian Sexuality: Normative and Pastoral Principles (ed.
Russell E. Saltzman; Minneapolis: Kirk House, 2003; 165 pp., paperback,
list $15). To order a copy at 15% off, down to $12.75 (and free shipping if combined with
other orders totaling over $25), click on the image below.
For a flyer from Kirk
House Publishers advertising the book click
here.
I have a 50-page
article in this collection of essays: "Does the Bible
Regard Same-Sex Intercourse as Intrinsically Sinful?" (pp.
106-155). It can serve as a companion
piece to my essay in Homosexuality
and the Bible: Two Views (above). It treats two main
concerns: (1) the significance of Genesis 1-2 for establishing an
other-sex prerequisite in human sexual relations; and (2) a rebuttal of
the so-called "new knowledge" argument which contends that the church can
disregard Scripture's clear prohibition of homosexual practice because,
allegedly, homosexual orientation was unknown in antiquity. The
article also treats a third concern: the claim made by New Testament
scholar Mark Allan Powell (Trinity Lutheran Seminary) in an important
essay ("The Bible and Homosexuality" in Faithful Conversation:
Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality [ed. James M. Childs Jr.;
Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003], 19-40); namely, that the Bible allegedly
regards same-sex as only "normally contrary to God's will," not
intrinsically so.
For the unabridged version of sections I-III of my
article, as well as online notes to the most important sections of the
article, IV-VI, go
here.
Other
essays in the book include: Robert Benne, "The Limits of Tolerance:
Homosexuality and the ELCA's LPD (Liberal Protestant Drift)" (pp. 7-17);
James A. Nestingen, "Is There a Law? The Lutheran Reformation and
Homosexual Practice" (pp. 18-37); Russell E. Saltzman, "Clergy and
Divorce" (pp. 47-58); Amy C. Schifrin, "Ritualizing Life or Ritualizing
Death?" (pp. 59-72); and Merton P. Strommen, "Homosexuality: A Youth
Issue" (pp. 89-105).
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How to make a valid secular case against cultural
endorsement of homosexual behavior. Emphasize the following six
reasons:
1) The nature argument. Marriage is not just
about more intimacy. It is about
merging with one's sexual other half or counterpart, a complementary
sexual other. Erotic desire for what one is as a sexual being is sexual
narcissism or sexual self-deception: an attempt at completing oneself
sexually through merger with a sexual same. Most people intuit something
developmentally deficient about being erotically attracted to the body
parts and essential gender that one shares in common with another. . . .
Click
here for the continuation of this
essay.
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Why use the word "homosex"?
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OTHER RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
I recommend, in particular, four other books on the
subject, which can serve as companion pieces to my own work:
Alan Sears
and Craig Osten, The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat
to Religious Freedom Today (Broadman & Holman, 2003; $15)
Stanton
Jones and Mark Yarhouse, Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research
in the Church's Moral Debate (Intervarsity Press, 2000; $14)
Christopher Wolfe (ed.), Homosexuality and American
Public Life (Spence Publishing, 1999; $18).
Jeffrey Satinover, Homosexuality and the Politics of
Truth (Baker Books, 1996; $20)
Clicking on
the pictures below will take you to Amazon.com for discounts of 32% for
the Sears/Osten book ($10.19), 30% off for the Satinover book ($14) and
Wolfe book ($12.57),
20% for the Jones/Yarhouse book ($10.40), with free shipping for purchases totaling over $25.
For a fine collection of books on transformation out
of the homosexual life, go to
Regeneration Books.
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