Book Description:

“The Queer Bible Commentary” brings together the work of several scholars and pastors known for their interest in the areas of gender, sexuality and Biblical studies. Rather than a verse-by-verse analysis, typical of more traditional commentaries, contributors to this volume focus specifically upon those portions of the book that have particular relevance for readers interested in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues such as the construction of gender and sexuality, the reification of heterosexuality, the question of lesbian and gay ancestry within the Bible, the transgendered voices of the prophets, the use of the Bible in contemporary political, socio-economic and religious spheres and the impact upon lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Accordingly, the commentary raises new questions and re-directs more traditional questions in fresh and innovative ways, offering new angles of approach. This comprehensive, cutting-edge commentary is prefaced by an introductory essay by Professor Mary Tolbert. Contributors draw on feminist, queer, deconstructionist, utopian theories, the social sciences and historical-critical discourses. The focus is both how reading from lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender perspectives affect the reading and interpretation of biblical texts and how biblical texts have and do affect lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender communities. The commentary includes an extensive bibliography that directs the reader to a full range of literature relating to queer interpretation of scripture.

The Queer Bible Commentary was named #1 on the list of  the 50 Greatest Theological books published by SCM Press during the last 50 Years.

Co-Editors

Hebrew Scriptures:

Deryn Guest received a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, UK, where she currently lectures. Her research interests are focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. Prior to her academic career, Deryn worked as a Salvation Army minister, and she retains a keen interest in the biblical hermeneutics operative within faith communities, She is author of When Deborah Met Jael: Lesbian Biblical Hermeneutics and lives in the West Midlands, UK, with her civil partner Fiona and their two children.

Mona West is the Senior Pastor of the Church of the Trinity MCC in Sarasota, Florida. Originally, she was ordained in the Southern Baptist denomination in 1987 and transferred her credentials to the Metropolitan Community Church in 1992. She holds a M.Div and Ph.D. (Old Testament/Hebrew Bible) from Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. After teaching in colleges in the South, she became the Academic dean for Samaritan Institute, the school that trained MCC clergy for ministry. Dr. West has also served as pastor of the Cathedral of Hope and Midway Hills Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In 2000, she co-edited Take Back the Word: A Queer Reading of the Bible.

Christian Scriptures:

Robert E. Goss serves as Pastor/Theologian of the MCC Church in the Valley in North Hollywood, CA. He received his M. Div. from the Jesuit Weston School of Theology and was ordained a Jesuit priest. He received his Th.D. in Comparative religion from Harvard University. Goss served as Co-Chair of the Gay Men’s Issues in Religion Group of the American Academy of Religion and won the 2000 Templeton Course Prize in Religion and Science. Revd. Goss is the author of Jesus ACTED UP: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto and Queering Christ: Beyond Jesus ACTED UP (a Lambda Literary Finalist for Spirituality). He is co-author of Dead But Not Lost: Grief Narratives in Religious Traditions. Goss is co-editor of A Rainbow of Diversities, Our Families, Our Values: Snapshots of Queer Kinship, Take Back the Word: A Queer Reading of the Bible, and Gay Catholic Priests and Clerical Sexual Misconduct: Breaking the Silence.

Thomas Bohache has been a clergy with the Metropolitan Community Church since 1988, pasturing congregations in California, Virginia, and Delaware. He has undergraduate degrees in classical languages and theology and two Master of Arts in Religion from the University of Virginia and Georgetown University. He is currently pursuing D. Ministry degree from the Episcopal Divinity School. Among his publications are an essay in Take Back the Word: A Queer Reading of the Bible and a book on contextual theologies, Christology from the Margins (SCM Press).

Review of The Queer Bible Commentary by Stephen Moore, Drew University