The place of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in the Christian churches is a highly controversial issue. The stance of all the mainline churches is that homosexuality is sinful and incompatible with Christianity.  In seeking to respond to attacks on their lives, identities and relationships LGBT Christians have moved over recent decades from a defensive position to a more affirmative position which asserts that there is evidence in the Bible and the Jesus tradition of validated homoerotic experience.  This is the only book on the market which: presents a systematic overview of both the defensive and affirmative positions;   - is grounded in up to date Biblical scholarship and research; - deals with highly controversial issues such as Jesus' sexual orientation; - yet is written in accessible, easily readable style. In part one, The Defensive Testament, each of the so-called 'biblical texts of terror' used to demonise LGBT people is considered in turn and found wanting. None of them has anything to say about consensual same sex love.  In part two, The Affirmative Testament, homoerotic elements in various Bible stories including the healing of the centurion's servant, David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi are revealed to make visible the place of LGBT lives in the Biblical tradition, including the homoerotic relationship between Jesus and the Beloved Disciple reported in the Gospel of John. Taken together, these two testaments forcefully champion the equality of LGBT people in the Kingdom of God and represent a formidable challenge to ecclesiastical homophobia.  This is a life saving book for gay Christians. 'Everybody involved in the debate over the place of gay people in the Church and in society generally should read this book. It is a faith- and life-affirming book for the LGBT community, it is a terrific read and I recommend it wholeheartedly.' Ben Bradshaw MP, Former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the British Government 'The Gay Gospels is a welcome challenge to heterosexist attitudes wherever they may be found in the Christian Church.' The Very Reverend John Packham, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, United Kingdom This book was written to fill a gap in the market.The need for it was clear and the reasons are set out at:  thegaygospels.com.Please feel free to contact the author at:  keithsharpe@thegaygospels.com This book is designed as a self-help manual for LGBT people & their friends and families in the face of continuing attacks by Christian leaders. It takes seriously the promise in St John's Gospel: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16This promise is for all God's children, not just the heterosexual ones. In demonstrating how this joyous inclusive promise for everybody is borne out in the pages of the Bible, The Gay Gospels seeks, in the words of the great Biblical scholar, Theodore W Jennings, to 'relieve the wholly unwarranted spiritual agony which afflicts so many gay Christians worldwide.' This is a must-read for all LGBT people, and definitely Good News. I couldn't put it down....Keith Sharpe exposes the hypocrisy and cant of the anti-gay elements within the Christian church. Robert Orledge, Emeritus Professor, University of Liverpool The chapters on Jesus' lifestyle offer a vision of Christianity full of hope for gay and lesbian people. James Ledward, Editor Gscene magazine. The Gay Gospels The Gay Good News for LGBT People By Keith Sharpe O BOOKS Copyright © 2010 Keith Sharpe All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-84694-548-9 Contents Introduction.........................................................................................1Acknowledgements.....................................................................................4The Defensive Testament (LGBT Self-defence summaries follow each chapter)...........................5D1. The story of Sodom (Genesis 18,19)...............................................................14D2. Leviticus and the 'abominations' (Leviticus 18,20)...............................................15D3. The so-called 'creation ordinances' (Genesis 1,2)................................................28D4. St Paul and living 'beyond nature' (Romans 1)....................................................44D5. St Paul and pederasty (1 Corinthians 6)..........................................................57D6. Being possessed (Mark 10)........................................................................68D7. Textual abuse....................................................................................77The Affirmative Testament (LGBT Self-affirmation summaries follow each chapter).....................95A1. Jesus and the Beloved Disciple...................................................................95A2. Jesus' sexual orientation....................................................................