Scripture, Mercy and Homosexuality

by Mary Healy

Our God is a God of mercy: ever ready to love, forgive, and embrace us as his sons and daughters. Yet some of the Bible’s teachings on sexual morality can seem harsh and discriminatory. How can biblical teaching about homosexuality, especially, be compatible with the loving mercy of God?

Some people answer that question by dismissing such teachings as outdated—even embarrassing. Surely the ancient Levitical laws, or the letters of St. Paul, merely reflected the prejudices of their time and place?

In Scripture, Mercy, and Homosexuality, Mary Healy explores all those passages and more in light of the revelation of God’s mercy. She provides a scholarly yet readable explanation of how Scripture actually offers a fully harmonious message about God’s plan for human love and happiness, and shows how the Bible can help us fulfill our call to be the face of God’s mercy to all.

 "In this concise and readable work Dr. Healy offers a lucid account of the Biblical teaching on homosexuality, setting this doctrine within the rich context of the teaching of the Old and New Testaments on human sexuality, sin and redemption, and the mercy God offers even as he calls us to holiness. This short work is an invaluable resource for everyone faced with the challenge of presenting Christ’s teaching on sexuality as Good News for our age." —His Eminence Allen H. Vigneron, archbishop of Detroit

""Who do you say that I am?' Is this not the most important question ever asked in human history—first, by Jesus to the apostles, and then by each of us to Jesus?  Dr. Healy wisely and charitably helps us to recognize our true identity by examining Sacred Scripture as it touches not only the question of homosexuality, but also more widely God’s gift of sexual love. In doing so, she provides a great service to the whole Church, and in particular to those striving to better understand themselves and their sexual attractions in the light of God’s grace, mercy, and peace." —Fr. Paul Check, director of Courage