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From: pmd@cbscc.UUCP (Paul Dubuc)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: modern Christianity's lack of responses to Boswell
Message-ID: <4785@cbscc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 12-Feb-85 09:09:16 EST
Article-I.D.: cbscc.4785
Posted: Tue Feb 12 09:09:16 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 14-Feb-85 00:57:43 EST
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[From Steve Dyer:]

>Uh, Paul, you dredged up a lot of old stuff in your reply to me unrelated
>to this particular issue, so I'll take that up with you "off-line", as we
>like to say.

Whether or not it's unrelated to the issue of communication on these sorts
of issues is a matter of perspective, I guess.  I was giving you my 
perspective.  "Off-line" it is, then.

>Regarding the purpose of summaries, I would expect them to act much like
>trailers for movies, to stir up interest in actually reading Boswell's work.
>On the more mundane level of debate, they also are doubtlessly an attempt
>to address those peculiar few who are wont to use quotes from the Bible
>even more carelessly.  I don't think that Ron Rizzo assumes that the
>debate is finished, only that it has not been addressed, and the arguments
>used previously need not be responded to still one more time.

Fine, I agree that if Christians are going to oppose homosexual practice
on biblical grounds they should answer Boswell's arguments and not ignore
them.  It did seem like Richard Brower expected Christians to be convinced
by Ron's summary, however, and it was in response to him that this discussion
has gotten started.

>The publication of Boswell's work was a major event in 1980.  It was
>reviewed in most newspapers and literary magazines.  Why then the lack
>of attention from any of the Christian press?  Clearly it cannot be
>their lack of interest in the subject.  No one is claiming "victory"
>as you describe, but the silence is disturbing (wasn't it Thomas More who
>claimed that "silence implies assent"?  That didn't help him either.)
>In any event, you are right to note that with enough pressure and PR,
>the work will eventually have to be addressed.  I hope this has encouraged
>you.

While it is technically true that there has been no response to Boswell's
book, it's not true that his arguments have not been taken in to account.
There is one book that appears to have anticipated Boswell's book:

	_What You Should Know About Homosexuality_,
		Edited by Charles W. Keysor
		Zondervan, 1979  220pp. $6.95 (paper)

Each chapter is written by a different person qualified to write in
the particular areas of Old Testament, New Testament, Church History,
Biology and Psychology, Civil Rights, and Church Ministry.  Keysor is
the founder of *Good News* magazine, a forum for evangelical renewal in
the United Methodist Church.

While the book is obviously not a direct response to Boswell's book,
one of the authors does respond to some Boswell's previous writing in
the United Methodist publication *News*.  The rest of the book seems
to pretty much deal with the same issues Boswell raises.  It will be
be interesting to see if Boswell takes the argument of this book into
account.  There probably wasn't time.  The manuscript of Boswell's book
was probably in its final form by the time this book came out.  Still,
it should provide a good contrast to Boswell.  There are some very
strong admonitions against homophobic attitudes in the book and critique
of the bad attitude the Church has had toward gays.  A much needed
madate for changes in the Church here.

Anyway, one interesting thing in the book was the reference to Boswell
as a clergyman.  Is this true?  In what church was he ordained?  Did he
leave the ministry to take his post at Yale?
-- 

Paul Dubuc	cbscc!pmd
... or is it Paul DuBois?  Oh! Now *I'm* confused!