May 2, 2003

Minneapolis - Bitter battles over the churches' stance toward its gay and lesbian members have tested the churches' fundamental orientation and even threatened to split whole denominations apart. The blessing of homosexual unions and ordination of gays and lesbians have proven to be special flashpoints at both local and national levels.

Part of the widespread perplexity over the issues stems from their complexity. They not only involve questions of personal ethics and church polity but also of Christian history, conflicting readings of the biblical data, and uncertainty over basic anthropological frameworks, especially as driven by findings of the social sciences.

"Faithful Conversation: Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality," commissioned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seminary presidents in response to a churchwide mandate for study of the issues, is aimed at engendering real reflection and conversation by providing Christians with the basic tools to engage the many dimensions of this question for themselves and with each other.

Based on sound scholarship but written in a readable fashion for a broad audience of laypeople and pastors, the volume contains four essays, a "table talk" about how specific issues in the church are affected by these perspectives, a select bibliography of further readings, and directions about how this resource might be used.

"This book should generate some solid discussion in our church. The variety of perspectives will challenge readers, whatever their viewpoint, to examine their own thinking about homosexuality. While acknowledging the subject's importance and potential divisiveness, the authors recognize, refreshingly, that our unity in Jesus Christ is a far more important reality. The spirit of respect and civility that permeates this book is a powerful model for each of us."
    – Paul Jersild, Professor Emeritus, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC, Author of Spirit Ethics (Fortress Press, 2000)

"Building on a quarter century of learnings from studies and deliberations in the U.S., these authors probe for fresh insights in how the church's responses can be grounded in what is central in the Christian faith. Their insights are worthy of consideration."
    – Karen L. Bloomquist, Theology and Studies Director, the Lutheran World Federation, Co-editor of The Promise of Lutheran Ethics (Fortress Press, 1998)

Contents:
Introduction, James M. Childs Jr.
The Witness of the Bible, Mark Allan Powell
The Resource of Our Tradition, James A. Nestingen
Culture and Theology, Richard Perry and Jos. David Rodriguez
Experience as a Teacher, Dan Olson
Ethical Dimensions, Martha Stortz
Authors' forum

General readers: Christians of all denominations, but especially Lutherans; clergy and lay leaders; college, university, seminary classes in Christian ethics or sexuality

Level: College

Outlets: Religious, academic, and general bookstores; church, academic, and public libraries

Key Features:

• A timely vehicle for churches' reflections on issues surrounding homosexuality

• Specifically crafted to contribute to the 5-year ELCA study of these issues

• Both historical and theological, it aims to get people beyond the usual divides

"Faithful Conversation" is edited by James M. Childs Jr., Sittler Professor of Christian Ethics at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. Among his many works are Faith, Formation, and Decision, Ethics in Business: Faith at Work, and Greed.

Format: 142 pp; 5-1/2 x 8-1/2"; paper; perfect; 4-c cover; ISBN: 0-8006-3580-9; Price: $9.00

Fortress Press