Christian Living, Gender & Sexuality, Devotionals, Gay & Lesbian 

The workbook has daily devotions and activities for nine weeks. Some of the devotions help one identify some of the cultural, historical, and familial influences on one's spiritual perspectives. At times, the activities and reflections might challenge one's perspective of God, of the Bible, or of certain Bible texts. The general purpose of the workbook is to help gay and lesbian Christians reconcile their spirituality and sexuality, and to live their lives as people reconciled both to God and to their sexual orientation. There are times when queer Christians attempt to resolve the tension they feel between their sexuality and spirituality only by conducting an intense study of a handful of texts that are used to condemn gays and lesbians. Studying the Bible is not a mistake, but relying only an intense examination of a few passages of the Bible might not be enough to reconcile Christianity and a homosexual or bisexual orientation. This devotional workbook approaches the Bible after readers have taken the time to understand the factors that influenced their image of God, and understand what it means to be reconciled to Christ. Readers outline the significant personal and world events, relationships, values held, images of God, and authority figures in one's life. Exercises help readers trace the influences on spiritual development going through a person's entire life. Important people and events can be very powerful forces in shaping our image of God. In some cases, gay and lesbian Christians build an image of God that has more to do with their families, society, or religion than it does with God. Queer Christians are vulnerable to building Christian imagery on destructive parenting. Reactions to God and to other authority figures can become confused. By working through the workbook, people understand what being reconciled in Jesus Christ means. - from Amzon