Why our fundamental values support, rather than oppose, equality for sexual minorities. "It is not good for a person to be alone" : intimate relationship heals the primary flaw in creation -- "I am not asleep but my heart is awake: the voice of my beloved knocks" : a loving God could never want the "closet" -- "Love your neighbor as yourself" : love demands authentic compassion for others -- "By the word of God were the heavens made" : sexual diversity is natural and part of God's creation -- "Thou shalt not bear false witness" : honesty and integrity are sacred, "coming out" as a religious act -- "Justice, justice shall you pursue" : inequality is an affront to religious values -- What the "bad verses" really say about homosexuality. Leviticus : one form of male intimacy is related to worship of foreign gods -- Sodom : cruelty and inhospitality are the "sins of Sodom" -- The Gospels : what Jesus didn't say about homosexuality -- Romans : men not being dominant is a consequence of turning from God -- Corinthians and Timothy : Christians should not mingle with a pagan, idolatrous, lascivious society -- David and Jonathan : love between men in the Bible -- Sexual diversity in Christian theology : how did we get here from there? -- Why inclusion of sexual minorities is good, not bad, for religious values. "You shall be holy, for I am holy" : equality for LGBT people is good for families, marriage, and sexual ethics -- "When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me" : the growth of religious values is good for individuals and religious communities -- "Everyone whose spirit moved him brought an offering to God" : sexual diversity, like other forms of diversity, enriches religious lives and communities -- "And I have filled him with the spirit of God ... to devise subtle works in gold, silver, and brass" : what is homosexuality for? -- "For nothing in creation can separate you from the love of God" : postscript.
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