Homosexuality: The Straight Agenda
Edited by Brian Edwards
Series Editor: Andrew Anderson. Day One Publications (in association with the FIEC). 263 pages. £8.99
ISBN 0 902548 81 6
In spite of its somewhat misleading title, this well researched and well edited volume has much to commend it to a wide audience. Each of the main 11 chapters is written by a different author, all of whom have given much careful thought to the topic assigned to them.
Inevitably there is some overlap in the themes touched upon by the authors, but this adds to the overall coherence of a book that successfully covers a great deal of ground, including a contribution to the 'nature or nurture' debate about the origins of homosexuality and reaching those caught in a homosexual lifestyle. All the chapters are worth reading. This reviewer particularly enjoyed reading Kenneth Brownell's succinct and masterly overview of the history of the churches' attitude to homosexuality since 155 AD to the present day and Brian Edwards' vigorous critique of Michael Vasey's controversial book Strangers and Friends.
