The book “is not in itself an academic work” and its polemicism and anger are unconcealed. Why not? The author has read widely, and the presentation of his conclusions is timely, accurate, and very accessible. The work of Theodore Jennings, in particular, has been followed, and readers are introduced to an impressive body of evidence that the Hebrew  Bible, overall, is far from asserting heterosexual norms. Serious conservative responses are awaited. The book should bring a sigh of relief to LGBT people struggling on in an uncomprehending Church, and provide a useful introduction to the conclusions of particular biblical scholars. 

As a Minister in the Government which introduced civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, and as a committed Christian in the Anglican Communion, I believe it is important that Christians have the evidence and arguments to rebut the anti-gay approach of Biblical fundamentalists.  'The Gay Gospels' is a valuable contribution that will help us to do so.  Everybody involved in the debate over the place of gay people in the Church and in society generally should read this book.  It is a faith- and life-affirming book for the LGBT community, it is a terrific read and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

What the Bible really says about homosexuality gets another treatment by retired education professor and gay activist Sharpe. The first half repeats the typical discussion, contextualizing and thus disarming the verses and stories most frequently used to condemn homosexuality. The much less common approach of the second half is to uncover or reread stories that affirm same-sex relationships, such as Naomi and Ruth, David and Jonathan, and the Beloved Disciple. The latter half also challenges the concept of Christian "family values," arguing that it is nonbiblical and that current anti-LGBT positions mirror early Christianity's hesitancy to reach out to gentiles. This dual method provides LGBT Christians and their allies plenty of fodder for countering homophobic rhetoric. Although Sharpe oversells many of the more speculative arguments and leaves others incomplete, his writing is persuasive and engaging. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points, which greatly aids self-study. This work is a valuable introduction for LGBT individuals, supporters, and even detractors willing to consider the possibility of blending Christian belief and nonheterosexual desires and lives. (Sept.)

Keith Sharpe is to be congratulated on producing a very well-constructed, engaging and much needed book.  He has brought together a vast amount of previously disparate material and cleverly shaped it into a powerful manifesto for LGBT Christians. I think it is quite brilliant!

'The Gay Gospels' is a welcome challenge to heterosexist attitudes wherever they may be found in the Christian Church.

This book gives a succinct account of the results of modern scholarship on the scriptural and traditional basis for the condemnation of homosexual behaviour.   Certainly if this book prevents the suicide of any child poisoned by a false interpretation of the Gospel, then it will have succeeded.  I believe it has, with flying colours.  The author is to be congratulated on a simple and positive presentation.

As much as I greatly enjoyed reading `The Gay Gospels' and am deeply grateful to the author for putting together numerous key issues in a stimulating and clear way, I was torn between giving it four or five stars. It was the writer's conviction that he had arrived at the only conclusion that left me slightly disappointed in one or two places. For instance, the hotly debated issue around the disciple Jesus loved had no other interpretation than being a gay relationship - there's about five perspectives that various authors have taken on who the disciple was and each is worth some consideration for different reasons and have good to highly speculative augments to offer. Keith also seeks to interpret the word `love', when used between two men, as being more suggestive of a gay relationship than anything else, which in some cases it may be, but obviously not always. Putting these comments aside there is much in `The Gay Gospels' that needs to be read and reflected upon by a wide audience, though the fact that the book oversteps its case in places will make it less appealing to people who need to reassess their prejudices and Christian beliefs. The author has obviously put in a lot of work to make this book read well and not appear too academic in order to appeal more to lay readers. He splits it into two categories - The Defence Testament and The Affirmative Testament - and numerically summarises key points at the end of each chapter. He is also not afraid to address various contemporary Roman Catholic, Anglican and Evangelical perspectives and even manages to slip Elton John into the mix! As well as presenting some popularly accepted points about the Bible, such as Paul's `invention' of the word `arsenokoitai' (making it unclear as to what it really means) and his use of the word `malakos' (implying, amongst other things, the opposite of macho) and the Sodom and Gomorrah story being about punishment for `inhospitality' and interwoven with ancient beliefs of male dominance, Keith highlights other areas for consideration. For instance, how Jesus discarded barbaric laws of the Old Testament in favour of loving God and one's neighbour (though Jesus wasn't the only figure around that period to take similar views, as there were other influential teachers, such as the Jewish philosopher Hillel who taught that loving one's neighbour as one's self summed up the whole of the Torah), how `all' (meaning not just heterosexuals) who believe in Jesus will have eternal life, how Paul did not see homosexuality as sinful but as `shameful', just as he thought men with long hair were, and how our understanding of such words as `evil' and `abomination' have changed. We no longer live in societies that believe left-handed people are inferior or have something demonically wrong with them, Keith points out, and just as being left-handed is natural, so too are homosexual relationships that are loving and responsible. He also highlights how throughout the ages people have sought to demonize truths they did not want to hear and how even at a time of destruction of rain forests and global warming there are people who still want to argue about and focus on outdated prejudices instead, be selective in what contemporary knowledge they accept, and seek to close their minds off to contemporary readings and understanding of biblical texts. A much needed book I think. Reflect upon it and arrive at your own conclusions. ~ Stephen Wollaston 'Santoshan', http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1846945488/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

As Director of an evangelical outreach ministry to lesbian and gay people, I am constantly reminded of the way that church teachings on homosexuality have caused immense damage to human lives and relationships. With superb clarity of style and presentation, Dr Sharpe successfully demonstrates in 'The Gay Gospels' that these harsh teachings have no basis either in the Bible or in the mission of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This book will be of enormous value to all involved in the debate over homosexuality and Christianity currently raging in the church and wider society.  ~ Jeremy Marks, Director of Courage UK

Do you think that the Bible condemns LGBT people for wanting loving and intimate relationships with people of their own sex? At the London Lighthouse AIDS hospice it was evident that such homophobic distortion can and does blight lives. This humane and scholarly book helps us to a truer understanding of God's love for all human beings, and how those insights developed in the history of the Christian faith, chronicled in the Bible.

This is a must-read for all LGBT people, and is definitely Good News. I couldn't put it down. Through exhaustive research, Dr Sharpe exposes the hypocrisy and cant of the anti-gay elements within the Christian church past and present by placing the Biblical evidence in its proper context of an ancient society obsessed by procreation, and a Jesus who was certainly pro-gay and perhaps even gay himself. It is full of Revelations and, armed with its evidence, the LGBT community can now move confidently forward towards its own Resurrection within the Christian church.

In recent years the LGBT community has come under sustained attack from Christian leaders. This book will equip gay people to defend themselves against what Dr Sharpe shows convincingly is totally unjustified condemnation. In particular, the chapters on Jesus'  lifestyle offer a vision of Christianity full of hope for LGBT people.

In this polemical work Dr Sharpe presents a provocative and illuminating view of the radical and transfiguring character of Christ's mission, and analyses its implications in the context of the current debate in the Church about human sexuality. The book is written in coherent, assured and accessible prose, and the arguments are refreshing, invigorating and persuasive.

With its unique combination of defensive and affirmative arguments this important book lays bare the impoverished ideology which is the real foundation of Christian homophobia. It makes an extremely valuable contribution to the collapsing taboo against homosexuality.