Book Description
As rhetoric continues to heat up on both sides of the debate over same-gender unions, clearly reasoned statements are in short supply. Watching this debate unfold, William Stacy Johnson found that he could be silent no longer.
In A Time to Embrace Johnson presents a brilliant analysis of the religious, legal and political stakes in the debates over gay marriage, civil unions, and the place of committed gay couples in a democratic society.
The book begins by laying out the church's seven different responses, from outright prohibition to full ecclesial consecration, testing the arguments of each along the way. Johnson then focuses on gay rights in recent court battles, detailing the arguments made from both liberty and equality. Finally, he assesses the different types of gay marriage and civil union arrangements and suggests how deliberative democracy can create a society in which all citizens can rely on principles of equality and liberty.
Weighing the pros and cons from across the moral and religious spectrum, A Time to Embrace is a thought-provoking and well-argued treatment of one of the most controversial issues in the West today. This book is sure to stir readers to reflect more deeply on religious truth and the meaning of marriage.
Customer Reviews:
Thoughtful, closely reasoned, Biblically supported exploration.......2007-08-28
Stacy Johnson is a good man and a deep thinker; the church is indebted to him for this book. He avoids polemic on either side of his discussion of the issues of homosexuality in the church.
Stacy's first career was as an attorney, and his closely reasoned examination of the biblical imperatives surrounding these issues speaks to his capacitiy for logical and disciplined research and reasoning.
This book is a gift to all of us who would rather focus on what unites us in the church (Christ's sacrifice for us, the Biblical mandate to feed the hungry, comfort the grieving, bind up wounds and work for justice) than what divides us.
I puzzle over all those who think that this is the one, central issue on which our salvation hinges. Perhaps Stacy's voice can be one that helps the church move beyond these issues to the central call of the Gospel: To Love God with all that we are, and our neighbors as ourselves.
In the grace of God may it be so.
THE best book yet on homosexuality.......2007-07-03
From my vantage point, as a Ph.D. in Church History and on the farthest heterosexual side of Kinsey's spectrum, I regard Johnson's book as far and away the best book yet on the subject. As the sub-title says, he deals with homosexuality from the sides of religion, law, and politics--as a respected theologian on a top-notch theological seminary faculty and also with a degree in law.
He rightly gives most space to the opening section of religion, since here is, and always has been, where the most controversy has been. Respected biblical scholars have always said we must deal with puzzling passages in the context of the rest of the Bible--and yet, with that approach--have wound up on opposite conclusions. Where Johnson outshines all others is that he also studies the much-used biblical texts in the wider context of the cultural surroundings of the biblical authors--their Sitz im Leben. This is especially where he differs so critically from the widely-read work of Gagnon--and accordingly comes out on the opposite side.
The book's succeeding sections on law and politics are equally thoroughly handled, though at less length.
Granted, I had already moved, slowly through decades of study, to come out on Johnson's side of affirmation--although as a very hetero youth I hated the very thought of homosexuality, since I had been molested by a homosexual teacher. But as a church historian I have written a short treatise surveying twelve highly controversial issues through twenty centuries of church history in which the Christian church has changed its mind, showing that the trajectory indicates that homosexuality is the thirteenth big issue on which the Church is now in process of changing its mind. The wheels of church history change slowly--but they do change!
Johnson's book should add to and hasten this sorely-needed change.
Thoughtful, well-supported and challenging!.......2007-06-27
I teach at a Christian university which takes an official position that marriage is only between a man and a woman. All in our university community do not agree with that position, and debate continues.
This book fleshes out all the different positions that are taken within the Christian community. Johnson, as a Princeton Theological seminary professor, takes seriously the biblical passages cited against homosexual relationships and provides thoughtful exegesis of those passages, concluding that they cannot be used to oppose homosexual relationships.
Drawing upon his background as a lawyer, he then analyzes the legal basis for same-sex marriage, and ends with a thought-provoking discussion of what it means to live in a "welcoming democracy", drawing upon the work of political scientist Amy Guttman (president of the University of Pennsylvania) and Harvard philosophy professor, Dennis Thompson, who have written about deliberative democracy.
Christians who swear by Robert Gagnon's The Bible and Homosexual Practice should balance it with Johnson's book. Although Johnson's exegesis of the biblical passages is not necessarily new, the connection of it with a discussion of what it means to live in a democracy is unique.
The selected bibliography is extensive and the footnotes are extremely detailed.
Excellent and Biblical.......2007-05-20
Johnson spent much of his time in Church listening to people on both sides of the issue about same sex relationships and discovered that while people had "sides" they didn't all agree why they were on that "side". Everyone had their reasons, and Johnson describes at least 6 different positions very honestly, discussing the positive and negative aspects of each. His final position that Johnson agrees with is an affirming, yet ordered position called "Consecration". He agrees with non-affirming people that we should love and affirm the person, and not affirm or celebrate an orientation. We celebrate marriage of a man and a woman because of their commitment and relationship, not because they are heterosexual. So, too, he argues biblically, we can celebrate a commited, exclusive-only, lifelong relationship of two people of the same sex.
I enjoyed this book because we get a better view of all the dimensions of positions facing the issue of same sex relationships. And what always bothered me was it seemed that if someone was affirming, they must also be super liberal with scripture, open to any and ALL relationships as long as "they are not harmful" even if they lack fidelity, agape love and commitment like God shows to us. I am proud that William Stacy Johnson fills in that gap by saying we as Christians need to be welcoming, affirming, AND ordered in how we deal with people who are not heterosexual. We need not throw all our values and traditions about marriage and fidelity out the window.
This should be a classic.......2007-05-09
As a pastor who currently has 47 books in my library on sexual ethics, sexuality, and the like (yep, I counted them!), this book will now be the one that I will recommend to others who are interested in a thorough, theologically sound and accessible study of the various issues that arise when we discuss same-gender relationships.
The first reason is that it passes the "fairness" test. William Stacy Johnson examines critically all of the various ways that people of faith might approach homosexuality. We tend to think in bi-polar ways about gays and lesbians...either we are for or against ordination; or we see it as an abomination or celebration; yet Professor Johnson examines seven different possible viewpoints, and he is fair to all of them. Though he makes a very effective case for his stance, (one which I have come to agree with after a lifetime of questioning, changing, and hopefully growing) he views all of them critically, pointing out the biblical and theological basis for each, but opens each one up to thoughtful critiques.
The second uniqueness to this book, and another reason why it is so valuable, is that it contains not only the religious aspects of same-gender relationships, but also puts forth in a very clear manner the legal and political implications that the judiciary and legislative branches of government have established, including the very latest in court cases. As a non-legal type, I found Dr. Johnson's analysis quite helpful. (He is uniquely qualified to write on both aspects, as a lawyer and seminary professor.)
Finally, I found this book accessible to those who are genuinely interested in discerning where the church might be led in these issues. This is a book written for the religious and the legal community. Academia will certainly profit from it; but the author's style and skill in writing is a particular gift to the church.
I feel that this book is destined to be a classic. I see it being used in the foreseeable future as a foundation upon which to begin an honest search for meaning and purpose in these areas for anyone whose faith is grounded in grace. It is not for the close-minded on any particular side, but is for all of those who seek to combine head and heart in the journey to a deeper faith in which we are to love God and love one another, all the while forming a more beloved community.
Average customer rating:
- You'll think about this again and again
- Embrace the difference in life
- Brother to brother
- Couldn't put it down.
- excellant read
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The Same Embrace
Michael Lowenthal
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
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Binding: Hardcover
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Avoidance: A Novel
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ASIN: 0525944168 |
Amazon.com
The endless conflict between sameness and difference is at the heart of Michael Lowenthal's novel The Same Embrace, in which identical twins Jacob and Jonathan battle themselves and one another to become individuals even as they are inextricably linked through genes, family, and history. Empathetically close as children, the brothers begin to separate in their teen years, most decidedly by Jacob's decision to come out and Jonathan's turn to Orthodox Judaism. The conflict of brother against brother, biblical in its resonance yet filled with contemporary image and idiom, is also the grounding that allows Lowenthal to write about his main concern: how humans must create themselves as individuals while remaining part of a larger social fabric. Just as Jacob and Jonathan wrestle with one another over questions of sexuality and religion, The Same Embrace embodies two distinct and not usually conflated genres: the novel of gay identity and the Jewish family novel. Like the brothers' move towards reconciliation, one of the novel's strengths--along with its understanding of the human heart--is its ability to join these themes into a unified, extremely satisfying entirety that both moves and enlightens us. --Michael Bronski
Book Description
This moving and contemporary portrait of two brothers' estrangement and journey to reconciliation addresses the larger themes of family and sexual identity. It is the story of second-generation American Jews, identical twin brothers Jacob and Jonathan, who have chosen radically different lives. Jacob is a gay activist in Boston, while Jonathan lives the strict life of an Orthodox student at a Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Weaving together themes of sibling rivalry, assimilation, the Holocaust, and AIDS, The Same Embrace is a stunning debut novel that depicts a quintessentially American search for belonging.
Customer Reviews:
You'll think about this again and again.......2006-03-20
I read this book when it first came out years ago, and, like Lowenthal's other book, "Avoidance" I kept recollecting some of the dramatic dilemmas and situations he presents. I decided therefore to re-read it, and see if it held the same interest as it did originally: it did.
Lowenthal has written only two books that I know of, but he is a talented writer who has been masterful in both novels at presenting different but complementary plot lines, and at the end the reader is left with the sense that a big lesson about life has been vicariously but vividly experienced. Just don't expect wrenching story-telling.
Read this and "Avoidance", and see if you aren't also haunted by these books and characters for years to come.
Embrace the difference in life.......2005-06-03
THE SAME EMBRACE tells the story of identical twins, Jacob and Jonathan, who once shared an unbreakable bond and synchronized their breathing, had gone separate ways divided by religious faith, desire, and sexual identity. Jonathan has taken up Orthodox Judaism, settled in a yeshiva in Jerusalem, and scrupulously observed all religious creeds. Halfway around the world at home, Jacob, also at the age of 24, is a gay activist in Boston who has just mourned the death of his partner and assumes little hope for a heartwarming reconciliation with his estranged brother.
Jacob has always blamed the church and its invidious indoctrination for his brother's isolation from family. The novel begins with Jacob's mission to convince Jonathan returning home from Israel, at least for a visit. The trip, as promising as it initially seems to be, with both brothers being unusually polite to each other, meets a disastrous conclusion as Jacob's inappropriate (borderline lewd) behavior with Jonathan's study partner sends him packing homeward. What has attempted to break the ice between the brothers causes a breach that teeters on the edge of hatred.
The narrative in THE SAME EMBRACE alternates between the present and Jacob's childhood memories. Entwined with family anecdotes and Jewish traditions are Jacob's own reflections of his coming out to his family. Lowenthal writes about Jacob's indecipherable fear and insecurity of his sexual identity as well as his guilt of his self-censorship with an insurmountable adroitness. The novel sets against the backdrop of a time that is struck by the convergence of so many momentous happenings: the initiative campaign, the Bush/Clinton/Perot presidential debate, the Columbus quincentenary (1992) and the launch of AIDS quilt display. In the heat of a politics-dabbled milieu, Jacob contrives to rebounce from anger and alienation toward reconciliation and acceptance. An unexpected arrival of an unheard-of relative during a family mourning spurs him onto love and hope in reconciling with his twin brother and rekindles a hopeful future.
THE SAME EMBRACE embraces the essence of a young gay man's inner struggle: a prickling dilemma of wanting to tell the truth but lacking the courage. Jacob finds himself caught in the hypocrisy that his relationship with his family is superficial and even fake because people are not seeing the real him. THE SAME EMBRACE evokes the love the that allows families to embrace the difference of one another.
Brother to brother.......2003-01-18
Reading this again four years after I first read it, I'm still amazed at the scope and impact of the story. "The Same Embrace" centers on Jacob, gay and Jewish, whose twin brother Jonathan has embraced Orthodox Judaism and now lives in Israel. While mostly about the struggle of the two brothers to reconnect after years apart, the book also deals with the legacy of the Holocaust, the impact of family secrets, and the essence of family. For me though, it is the story of the two brothers that resonates so clearly and brilliantly. And by having the brothers be so similar and yet so different, Lowenthal presents the reader with a fascinating portrait of what could almost be two halves of a whole: one man trying to bring together his sexuality and his religious beliefs. Even without this context in mind (whether it's intended or not), "The Same Embrace" is a marvelous, insightful, and ultimately joyous story that expands past the genre distinctions of Jewish fiction and gay literature to a wholly American novel of family.
Couldn't put it down........2002-06-21
Now this is a good book. I don't share Lowenthal's perspective, so hopefully it's of some value that as a "general reader" I found this an utterly compelling read. He holds his own with my favorite classic novelists.
excellant read.......2000-10-04
From start to finish the writer holds you with his tale of life. His Jewish background parallels so many of our lives that are gay and Jewish. Michael Lowenthal does a superb and gripping job of a not so uncommon struggle for today's gay Jewish male. Hopefully, he will continue the story where he leaves off, as he has left me hungry for more details of what happens between jacob/danny/jonathan/their father/aunt ingrid etc!
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on December 20, 2003. The length of the article is 2076 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Civil union, civic divide.(Politics)(Same-sex couples embrace recent ruling, but await political repercussions)
Publication:
The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: December 20, 2003
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: A1
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Instructor (1990), published by Scholastic, Inc. on March 1, 2002. The length of the article is 1614 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: We're all different (We're all the same): teach children to embrace diversity and give them a gift they can use throughout their lives.
Author: Bruce D. Perry
Publication:
Instructor (1990) (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2002
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 111
Issue: 6
Page: 37(3)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This omnibus features two classic, long-unavailable Darkover novels-Darkover Landfall and Two to Conquer-in one volume for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I've expected, but not that bad..........2006-12-08
When I`ve attempted to tackle the Darkover saga in Chronological order, Landfall was the first place to go (I`ve already had read a few of the novels). I was expecting an "origin" story, where all the mysteries were solved or hinted, but instead, this is a stand alone novel, that is vaguely connected to the rest of the saga. In it self not a very good one.
One the other hand "Conquer" is very long book, set at the end of the Ages of Chaos, with a very complex story. Sometimes you feel like quiting during the reading, but I must say that the last chapters made my journey trough all this novel very rewarding, at the end you end up loving this wounded characters.
Customer Reviews:
The Saga Begins.......2006-03-04
If you like sci fi you will like this book. Extremly fast short easy read that instantly makes you want to read the rest. I have read this book over and over and I highly recommend the author and this book in particular.
the origins of Darkover.......2003-09-13
A Darkover novel.
Chronologically, this is the first Darkover novel. Here we are introduced to the founders of Darkover. We see how humans first came to the planet, and how they began to adapt to their new surroundings. Unlike many other fantasy series, humans were not created on Darkover, but rather there was a space ship on a trip to begin a colony on another planet when the ship had troubles and crashed on an uncharted planet. Granted, that is not a terribly original idea either, but the how Bradley treats the topic is very original, and very well done.
The crew is faced with the dilemma of whether to try to rebuild the ship (which will take several years at best) or to try to settle in and adapt on the unnamed planet (the planet does not get the name Darkover for at least a hundred years of its history). The crew and colonists are divided on this. Before anything else can be done there must be preliminary exploration of the planet so that they will be able to survive for as many years as necessary and also because if they are to be trapped on the planet for a while they must know what kind of planet it is.
We are given glimpses of an ESP power that will be refined throughout the series and are introduced to an alien (though native to Darkover) race. We are shown the Ghost Wind, which induces humans to release their inhibitions. ...
This novel serves as an introduction to Darkover (I believe it was the first novel in the series that I read years ago) as well as an important time in the history of Darkover (obviously, it is the founding). Darkover Landfall may not be the best novel in the series, but it provided enough interest for me to want to read more in the series.
This series is a thrilling blend of Sci-fi and Fantasy!.......2003-06-25
Heroines: varied
Colonists journeying to a new home make an emergency landing on an inhospitable planet and are stranded there. The once technologically advanced people regress to a medieval type of feudalism but acquire some impressive psi powers along the way thanks to intermarrying with the planet's natives, a large supply of a psychic ability boosting flower called Kireseth, and matrix crystals.
The Darkoverans' still spacefaring Terran cousins rediscover them a few thousand years later and culture shock ensues as they try to become members of a galactic Imperial society.
What worked for me:
You may already know her as the author of "The Mists of Avalon" and "The Firebrand", but Marion Zimmer Bradley was also an excellent writer of science fiction as well. I got into the "Darkover" series as a teen and slurped them up quite eagerly. (Bear in mind these novels were written from the early 1960s onward, so some of them have a heavy dose of pro-woman thinking. But I can live with that, as there were no stories of this sort in that day and age. DARKOVER was groundbreaking when it came to putting women at the forefront of science fiction and fantasy novels instead of relegating them to the cast of supporting characters behind a "more capable" male protagonist.)
Size-wise the women come in every shape, size, and ability.
What didn't work for me:
Opinion is divided as to how to sort out all these books. There are 20+ novels set in this world, but the author did not write them "in order". You can go to her home page and see both the publication order and the chronological order of the books and decide for yourself how to read them. If you choose to start with the chronologically earliest novel be forewarned it's good and will give you a great sense of background on the world, but it isn't the very best of the series so read a few more titles as well before making your decision about the universe of DARKOVER. (There lots of enjoyable short stories about this world as well, but I suggest reading at least a few novels before trying an anthology.)
Overall:
Princess Leia meets Xena Warrior Princess in this blend of science fiction and fantasy where laser pistol shootouts occur alongside sword fighting. A must-read for fans of those two genres.
Warning: There are some references to homosexuality in some of the books.
If you liked the Darkover series you might also enjoy "Cosm", "HomeGoing", "A Civil Campaign", "Memory", "Mirror Dance", "Channeling Cleopatra", "Time Pressure", "Ascendant Sun", "StarKissed", "Star-Crossed Lovers", or "Oracle".
Best science fiction series ever.......2000-09-15
I recommend that a new reader of science fiction in general or of Marion Zimmer Bradley begin with this book, since it is chronologically the first Darkover novel. The series is my all time favorite, closely followed by the Riverworld series of Pilip Jose Farmer and the Dune Series. Anyway, the best book of all is "The Heritage of Hastur" but they are all terrific. MZB liked "The Heritage of Hastur" best, herself, I remember reading somewhere. This is a REAL science fiction series, not a fantasy series, and it is the best of the best.
Too Short!.......2000-08-01
Really, that's my only serious complaint about the book. I would have liked to see MZB spend more time on the founding of what became Darkover. Given that I haven't become bored with Darkover books more than twice as long (Stormqueen! comes to mind, for example), she obviously would have been capable of it. Also, in the short novel with a teeny little 14-years-later epilogue, we're presented with at least as large of an ensemble cast as the one found in Stormqueen!, and I couldn't develop the same amount of affection for the characters because there just wasn't TIME. I would have loved to know more about Judy and her daughter Lori, or about what Father Valentine did after initially beginning his "penance," but it just wasn't there.
That depressed me.
Otherwise, the book is quite good. I particularly enjoyed the evolution of the names that become important in later novels. (Del Rey becomes Delleray, New Skye becomes Neskaya, etc.)
Average customer rating:
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Darkover Landfall
Manufacturer: Daw Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000H0DP8C |
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
Product Description
Science fiction
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