Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation

by Dale Martin (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006).

Dr. Martin is a biblical scholar and theologian and the chair of the Religious Studies Department at Yale University. This collection of his essays, some which have been previously published elsewhere, offers an excellent doorway into his innovative work in issues of sexuality and gender in biblical texts. The first chapter alone is worth the price of this book in which he helpfully reminds us that biblical texts don’t “say” anything about sexuality, or anything else for that matter. Texts don’t speak; people do. And the issue at hand in our debates today is how people use these texts in their arguments. The essays in this book will appeal to clergy, scholars and laity in equal measure and provide invaluable resources for anyone working for LGBT social justice as a matter of religious commitment.

Review distributed by the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies at the Pacific School of Religions