Publisher's Synopsis
The writings collected in this little book seek to address this risk of idolatry, of idolatrous use of the Bible in the vital spiritual task of discerning the will of God in the specifics of daily life and doing ones utmost to live accordingly. They seek to make clear that, however trustworthy and revered the Bible can be in the search for clear understanding of God's will in any life situation, it can never be regarded as God's final word concerning any contemporary matter. Texts in the Bible may rightly guide the search for God's present will; but God's divine freedom must not and cannot be constricted or constrained by what God has been remembered to have said or done in the past-even yesterday's past, to say nothing of the past recorded 2000 years ago or more!When the Bible is granted idolatrous authority, great evil can be done in the name of God-and all too frequently has been done. Chattel slavery, religious tyranny, patriarchal oppression and abuse of women and children, the abuse and even slaughter of vulnerable minorities-the list could go on and one! Many cruel and destructive things have been done in the name of God, justified by one Bible text or another. The particular writings gathered together here focus upon one such minority: persons who do not experience themselves as heterosexual; and the focus is specifically upon the United Methodist Church, of which the author is a retired ordained minister. Yet the principles identified here apply equally to all who rightly look to the Bible for guidance regarding any matter of moral or ethical concern in relation to any human activity or relationship.
