Study Conference 2013
Human Sexuality: honouring God with the body
SUGGESTED READING LIST
October 16-18, 2013
The following resources are suggested as preparatory research material for participants interested in
investigating further the topic of human sexuality for the Study Conference. Clearly this is a very selective
list; it would be impossible to incorporate the vast quantity of books, articles, and blogs devoted to the
various dimensions of human sexuality in Christian perspective. The books on the main reading list have
been read and reviewed by members of the Board of Faith and Life; the remaining materials are
recommended for their relevance to the topic at hand, but it should be noted that not all of the views
expressed in the materials have been examined by the BFL, and not all conform to the confessional
position of the CCMBC. The materials included on the list are intended to reveal the range of approaches
to human sexuality (some of the sources which express views contrary to the Confession of Faith are
noted in the annotations). Special thanks go to the organizers of the 2013 EFCA Theology Conference
for permission to incorporate their bibliography into this reading list.
Main Reading List
Comiskey, Andrew. Strength in Weakness: Healing Sexual and Relational Brokenness. Downer's Grove,
IL: IVP, 2003.
Gagnon, Robert A. J. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. Nashville: Abingdon,
2001.
Hershberger, Anne Krabill. Sexuality: God’s Gift. 2nd edition. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2012.
O’Donovan, Oliver. Church in Crisis: The Gay Controversy and the Anglican Communion. Eugene, OR:
Wipf & Stock, 2008.
Sayers, Mark. The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self
Obsession. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
Pastoral Resources
Ash, Christopher. Marriage: Sex in the Service of God. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2009.
Girgis, Sherif, Ryan T. Anderson, and Robert P. George. What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A
Defense. New York: Encounter Books, 2012.
Ed Boschman, “Sexuality and the Ministry,” Direction Vol. 18 No. 1 (Spring 1989): 33-42.
(http://www.directionjournal.org/18/1/sexuality-and-ministry.html)
Andy Crouch, “Sex Without Bodies,” Christianity Today Vol. 57, No. 6 (July/August 2013), 74.
(http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/july-august/sex-without-bodies.html)
Delores Friesen, “Sexuality Issues in Family and Congregation,” Direction Vol. 19 No. 1 (Spring 1990):
59–68. (http://www.directionjournal.org/19/1/sexuality-issues-in-family-and.html)
Gilkerson, Luke. Your Brain on Porn. (Internet e-book produced by Covenant Eyes internet accountability
software company). Free pdf download at http://www.covenanteyes.com/brain-ebook/
Gregoire, Sheila Wray. The Good Girl's Guide To Great Sex: (and You Thought Bad Girls Have All The
Fun). Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
Heimbach, Daniel R. True Sexual Morality: Recovering Biblical Standards for a Culture in Crisis.
Wheaton: Crossway, 2004).
Hollinger, Dennis P. The Meaning of Sex: Christian Ethics and the Moral Life. Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2009.
Jones, Stanton L. "How to Teach Sex: Seven Realities Christians in Every Congregation Need to Know."
Christianity Today 55/1 (January 2011), 34-39:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/january/34.34.html
Stan & Brenna Jones, the "God's Design for Sex" book series (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress)
contains five titles: How and when to tell your kids about sex: A life-long approach to shaping your child's
sexual character (Parent Handbook); Facing the facts: The truth about sex and you (Book 4; ages 11 to
14); What's the big deal? Why God cares about sex (Book 3; ages 8 to 11); Before I Was Born (Book 2;
ages 5 to 8); The story of me (Book 1; ages 3 to 5). Much of the information in the parent handbook is
available at www.Christiansexed.com as a free source of sexual education guidance for parents.
Keane, Christopher, editor. What Some of You Were: Stories About Christians and Homosexuality.
Kingsford NSW, Australia: Matthias Media, 2001.
Lewis, C. S. The Four Loves. Orlando: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1991.
Nouwen, Henri J. M. The Inner Voice Of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom. New York:
Image, 1998.
Sheh, Simon. Pure at Heart: A Man's Guide to Purity in a Sexualized World. (Revised and expanded)
Edmonton, AB: Simon Sheh and Associates, 2011.
Smedes, Lewis B.. Sex for Christians: The Limits and Liberties of Sexual Living. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1994.
Winner, Lauren F. Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006.
Yarhouse, Mark. Homosexuality and the Christian: A Guide for Parents, Pastors and Friends.
Minneapolis: Bethany, 2010.
Biblical and Theological Resources
Berry, Wendell. Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community. New York: Pantheon Books, 1994. Berry’s
views on community conflict with many of the values of North American capitalist society, and his views
on same-sex marriage (though admittedly a minor note in this book) represent a corresponding voice of
protest against what he sees as the marginalization of gays by a heterosexual majority. While readers
may not agree with his views on same-sex practice, there are good insights to be gained regarding the
use of civil legislation to try to preserve moral order.
Campbell, Ken M., ed. Marriage and Family in the Biblical World. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,
2003.
Davidson, Richard M. The Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament. Peabody: Hendrickson,
2007.
Gagnon, Robert A. J. "Divorce and Remarriage-After-Divorce in Jesus and Paul: A Response to David
Instone-Brewer." 10 pages. Written June 2009; posted online 26 Sept. 2012. Online:
http://robgagnon.net/articles/DivorceOUPEntrySexualityS.pdf and
http://robgagnon.net/DivorceOUPEntrySexuality.htm.
____________. Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.
____________. "The Scriptural Case for a Male-Female Prerequisite for Sexual Relations," in
Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Church: Biblical, Counseling, and Religious Liberty Issues, eds. Roy E.
Gane, Nicholas P. Miller, and H. Peter Swanson, 53-161. Berrien Springs: Andrews University Press,
2012.
____________. "Sexuality," in The Oxford Handbook of Evangelical Theology, ed. Gerald R. McDermott,
449-64. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
____________. "What the Evidence Really Says about Scripture and Homosexual Practice: Five Issues."
7 pages. March 2009. Online: http://www.robgagnon.net/articles/homosexScripReallySays.doc.pdf.
____________. "Why Homosexual Behavior Is More like Consensual Incest and Polyamory than Race or
Gender: A Reasoned and Reasonable Case for Secular Society." 7 pages. May 2009. Online:
http://www.robgagnon.net/articles/homosexIncestPolyAnalogy.pdf.
Hollinger, Dennis P. The Meaning of Sex: Christian Ethics and the Moral Life. Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2009.
Grenz, Stanley J. Sexual Ethics: An Evangelical Perspective. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1997.
Grenz, Stanley J.. Welcoming but Not Affirming: An Evangelical Response to Homosexuality. Louisville
KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
Grimsrud, Ted, and Mark Thiessen Nation. Reasoning Together: A Conversation on Homosexuality.
Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2008. Ted Grimsrud and Mark Thiessen Nation each argue their case –
Grimsrud in favour of acceptance of homosexual practice and Thiessen Nation against – ostensibly in the
context of the authority of the biblical text. The conversation in this book reveals the necessary moves
inherent in voicing biblical arguments on either side of this debate.
Stanley Hauerwas. “Gay Friendship: A Thought Experiment in Catholic Moral Theology,” in Sanctify Them
in the Truth: Holiness Exemplified. London: T&T Clark, 1998.
Hays, Richard B.. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation, A
Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
Hopko, Thomas. Christian Faith and Same Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections. Chesterton:
Conciliar Press, 2009.
Instone-Brewer, David. Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible: The Social and Literary Context. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
Jeal, Roy R., ed. Human Sexuality and the Nuptial Mystery. Eugene, OR: Cacade Books, 2010.
Köstenberger, Andreas J., with David W. Jones. God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical
Foundation. 2nd ed. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010.
Pope-Levison, Priscilla, and John R. Levison, eds. Sex, Gender, and Christianity. Eugene, OR: Cascade
Books, 2012.
Roberts, Christopher Chenault. Creation And Covenant: The Significance of Sexual Difference in the
Moral Theology of Marriage. New York: T & T Clark, 2007.
Swartley, Willard M.. Homosexuality: Biblical Interpretation and Moral Discernment. Scottdale, PA and
Waterloo, ON: Herald Press, 2003.
Thielicke, Helmut. Theological Ethics, Vol 3: Sex. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
Webb, William J. Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis.
Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2001.
Rowan Williams, “The Body’s Grace.” (http://www.igreens.org.uk/bodys_grace.htm)
Wink, Walter, ed. Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches.
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1999. The contributors to this book attempt to argue for the
acceptance of homosexuality within the Christian community. Robert Gagnon’s work serves effectively as
a counterpoint to this book, and Wink and Gagnon engaged in written debate concerning the issue of
homosexuality in the context of Christian discipleship before Walter Wink died in 2012.
Biographies and Testimonies
Butterfield, Rosaria Champagne. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's
Journey into Christian Faith. Crown & Covenant Publications, 2012.
Hill, Wesley. Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
Lee, Justin. Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate. New York: Jericho Books,
2013.
J. I. Packer,"Why I Walked: Sometimes Loving a Denomination Requires You to Fight." Christianity Today
47/1 (January 2003), 46-50.
Yuan, Christopher and Angela Yuan. Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God, A Broken
Mother's Search for Hope. Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Multnomah, 2011.
Cultural Trends/Issues/Engagement
Armstrong, Kurt. Why Love Will Always Be a Poor Investment: Marriage and Consumer Culture. Eugene,
OR: Wipf and Stock, 2011.
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield , “DOMA and the Rock.” Desiring God web site. (July 11, 2013).
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/doma-and-the-rock
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (of which the CCMBC is a member) has addressed with a number
of social issues, including sexual abuse, age of sexual consent, pornography, human trafficking, marriage
and family, and sexual orientation. Resources are available at
http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/page.aspx?pid=315
Jones, Stanton L. "Same-sex Science." First Things 220 (February 2012), 27-33; also at
www.firstthings.com/article/2012/01/same-sex-science. For an expanded version of this article cf. Stanton
L. Jones (January 2012), "Sexual Orientation and Reason: On the Implications of False Beliefs about
Homosexuality," digitally published at http://www.wheaton.edu/CACE/CACE-PrintResources/~/media/Files/Centers-andInstitutes/CACE/articles/Sexual%20Orientation%20and%20Reason%20%201-9-20122.pdf
Jones, Stanton L. "Please Tell." Inside Higher Education (5/23/11). Digitally published at
www.insidehighered.com/views/2011/05/23/essay_defends_the_way_christian_colleges_treat_gay_stude
nts
Jones, Stanton L. and Mark A. Yarhouse, "Anthropology, Sexuality, and Sexual Ethics: The Challenge of
Psychology,” in Richard Lints, Michael S. Horton, and Mark R. Talbot, ed., Personal Identity in
Theological Perspective, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006).
Kimball, Roger. The Long March: How the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s Changed America. New
York: Encounter Books, 2001
National Association of Evangelicals, "Theology of Sex":
http://www.nae.net/images/content/Theology_of_Sex.pdf
Smith, Christian. Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2009.
Paris, Jenell Williams. The End of Sexual Identity: Why Sex Is Too Important to Define Who We Are.
Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2011.
Sociological Resources
Jones, Stanton L. and Mark A. Yarhouse. Ex-gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change
in Sexual Orientation. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2007.
Jones, Stanton L. and Mark A. Yarhouse. “A Longitudinal Study of Attempted Religiously-Mediated
Sexual Orientation Change.” The Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 37 (5) (2011), 404-427.
Penner, James. Hemorrhaging Faith report – available at http://tgcfcanada.org/hemorrhagingfaith/
Throckmorton, Warren. “Initial Empirical and Clinical Findings Concerning the Change Process for ExGays." Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 33/3 (2002), 242-248.
What Mennonite Brethren Have Written About Human Sexuality
David Ewert, “A Christian Approach to the Problem of Homosexuality.” unpublished paper, 1987.
Waldo Hiebert, “Christian Ideals in Marriage and Sex.” Study Conference, Herbert SK, 1959.
H. D. Mathies, MD. “Biblical View of Sexuality.” A report presented to members of the Board of Spiritual &
Social Concerns, April 29, 1972.
Paul Patterson, “Medical & Moral Dilemmas in the Church: Homosexuality.” Institute for Church Ministries,
March 1,1989.
John Regehr, “Reflections on the Nature of Human Sexuality.” MBBC Institute, March 1989.
“Resolution on Homosexuality.” General Conference Yearbook. General Conference of MB Churches,
1981.
Delbert L. Wiens, “To Move the Homosexuality Discussion to Another Level.” Personal paper sent to
Canadian Board of Faith and Life, April 1995.
Current MB Conference Resources on Human Sexuality
BFL pamphlet series; title include “A more excellent way: Christian marriage in the world,” “Making our
weddings Christian,” “When marriages fail,” “Why not just live together?” and “Homosexuality: A
compassionate yet firm response.” Pamphlets can be ordered from Kindred Productions or are available
for download at http://www.mennonitebrethren.ca/resource/faith-and-life-pamphlet-series/
The Confession of Faith of the Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches contains an
excellent statement on human sexuality. See especially article 11 – “Marriage, Singleness and Family.”
Available from Kindred Productions or for download at http://www.mennonitebrethren.ca/resource/mbbeliefs/
There are many valuable resources in the MB Herald. Those interested can purchase a flash drive
containing the entire collection of the first fifty years of the Herald (1962-2012), along with a searchable
index, from the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies in Winnipeg for $30.
http://www.mennonitebrethren.ca/news/the-mennonite-brethren-herald-goes-digital/