Complete Booklist

ALISON, JAMES

Alison is a former Dominican priest, now practicing as an independent theologian and writer with an excellent reputation. Among his many books are three of particular importance for LGBT readers. For an appreciation of Alison’s work, see

FAITH BEYOND RESENTMENT: FRAGMENTS CATHOLIC AND GAY

Darton Longman Todd, 2001 (Sexuality, Theology)

Strongly Recommended by QTC;
Listed by Martin Pendergast;

The first in the series, this is valuable for the telling of parts of his own story, as well as reflections on dealing with the appropriate relationship of LGBT Catholics with the institutional church, and with God.

Reviews:

Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

On Being Liked
Darton Longman Todd, 2003 (Sexuality, Theology)

Strongly Recommended by QTC;
Listed by Martin Pendergast;

When I first read this book, I found a number of insights that struck me most forcefully. This is one I want to reread.

Undergoing God

From the cover blurb:

“It is not easy to come away from reasding James ALison wtithout a sense of being deeply moved, challenged, and grateful for his glimpse of the truth of things. Undergoing God sets our comfortable worlds on a new axis.”
- Martin Laird

“An original and challenging book which shows the ongoing relevance and dynamism of the Catholic faith for our most profound questions of desire, worship, sexuality and truthfulness.”
-Tina Beattie

Strongly Recommended by QTC;
Listed by Martin Pendergast;

JAMES ALISON, ELISABETH STUART, ET AL.

Forging Dialogue with the Churches
(LGCM 2000)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

BEATTIE-JUNG, PATRICIA (ED):

Patricia Beattie -Jung has worked as a lay theologian of the church for over two decades, specializing in the areas of sexual and medical ethics and issues foundational to moral theology. She is an associate professor of theology at Loyola University, Chicago.

Sexual Diversity & Catholicism

(The Liturgical Press, 2002)

From the back cover:

“Collected in this volume are essays exploring the relationship between contemporary biblical scholarship and Roman Catholic magisterial teaching about the morality of homosexuality…..The arguments foundational to magisterial interpretations of key biblical texts are explored. Are they corroborated by the best of biblical exegesis? Do they cohere with recent scientific studies and relevant human experiences of homosexuality? The biblicall and moral theologians, scientists and pastors who contribute to this volume wrestle faithfully with these issues.”

Listed by Martin Pendergast

CLEAVER, RICHARD

KNOW MY NAME: A GAY LIBERATION THEOLOGY
(WESTMINSTER JOHN KNOX PRESS, 1995)

Strongly recommended by QTC

Shows how the techniques of liberation theology can be used by us all to contribute to the development of a new, more realistic theology of sexuality. Also valuable for some scripture meditations on well known texts, approached from a gay perspective.

COMSTOCK, GARY DAVID, & HENKING, SUSAN E.

QUE(E)RYING RELIGION: A CRITICAL ANTHOLOGY
(CONTINUUM, 1999)

From Google Books:

“Que(e)rying Religion includes but moves beyond tradition-based experiential writing by turning to the academic study of religion. It includes work that compares or focuses on different religious traditions, such as various forms of Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Native American spiritualities. It also incorporates writing on various geographical areas and historical time periods. By assuming a wide definition of religion, it raises questions about the terms religion and religious themselves. Read together, the contents of Que(e)rying Religion provide access to a broad selection of work at the intersection of religious studies and lesbian/gay/queer studies.”

With a name like this, how can I not like it? “Queering the Church shares my own decelaring an advocacy I share, while “Querying” the Church is a critical stance I subscribe to.

(Queer Theology)

Cited by Elisabeth Stuart

GOSS, ROBERT:

Jesus Acted Up: A Gay & Lesbian Manifesto
(Harper & Row, 1993)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

QUEERING CHRIST: BEYOND JESUS ACTED UP

GRAMMICK, JEANNINE

GRAMMICK & FUREY, PAT (EDS):

The Vatican & Homosexuality
(Crossroad, 1988)

GRAMMICK & NUGENT, ROBERT:

Building Bridges
(Twenty Third Publications, 1992)

Voices of Hope
(Centre for Homophobia Education, 1995)

All listed by Martin Pendergast

HARVEY, JOHN

The Truth about Homosexuality
(Ignatius Press, 1996)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

HASBANY, RICHARD

HOMOSEXUALITY AND RELIGION
(HAWORTH PRESS, 1990)

Recommended by Dignity USA

HUNT, MARY:

Fierce Tenderness
(Crossroad, 1991)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

ISHERWOOD, LISA & STUART, ELISABETH

Introducing Body Theology
(Sheffield academic Press, 1998)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

A thought provoking look at the internal contradictions in the church’s stance, it examines the rhetorical and liturgical style, rather than doctrine, to make its case. Fascinating and memorable.

Reviews:

Bob Minor, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas (Reviewed at “Other Sheep”)

Chuck Colbert (in The National Catholic Reporter, reprinted at “Other Sheep”)

MCGUIRE

Whose Church?

See the review on CCL Books online.

MCNAUGHT, BRIAN:

On Being Gay: Thoughts on Family, Faith and Love
(St Martin’s Press, 1988)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

MCNEILL, JOHN

John McNeill was a Jesuit Priest who was silenced by the Vatican after his first book, ”The Church and the Homosexual”, was published with the approval of the Jesuit order. After refraining from publication for several years, McNeill eventually left the priesthood to pursue a career as an independent theologian , spiritual director, writer and psychotherapist. For some impressive testimonials to his contribution to queer theology and LGBT mental health, see the collection of essaysforming the second half of his latest book, ”Sex as God Intended”.

The Church and the Homosexual (new ed)
Beacon Press, 1996

Listed by Martin Pendergast

Freedom, Glorious Freedom
(Beacon Press, 1995)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

Taking a Chance on God: Liberating Theology for Gays, Lesbians and their Lovers, Families and Friends
Beacon Press, 1988, 1996 (Scripture, Theology, Sexuality)

Strongly recommended by QTC;
Listed by Martin Pendergast

Lethe Press, 2008
(Scripture, Theology, Sexuality)

Strongly recommended by QTC

MOLLENKOTT, VIRGINIA RAMEY,

Omnigender: A Trans-Religious Approach

Mollenknott shows that many features of God’s incarnation and manifestation to humans, and many practices of the church, fall outside socially approved, binary ideas of gender. She also discusses numerous examples of canonised saints who have defied gender roles.

MOORE, GARETH OP:

The Body in Context: Sex and Catholicism
(Continuum Books, 2001)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

A Question of Truth : Christianity and Homosexuality
(Continuum Books, 2003)

From the back cover:

” A near incontrovertible demonstration that the antiathy of the Roman Catholic Church to homosexuality has no basis in scriture or the natural law. Cogently argued, elegantly written and brilliantly researched.” (Ben Summerskill, CE, Stonewall)

“In “A Question of Truth”, Gareth Moore, a Dominican priest, challenges the teaching of the Catholic Church on its own grounds. He scrutinizes the Church’s arguments, which are based on both the Bible and natural law, and finds them wanting. He subjects the Church’s beliefs to a meticulous and scholarly examination and concludes that there are no good arguments…against what have come to be known as homosexual relationships”.

Recommended by QTC;
Listed by Martin Pendergast

(Scripture, Theology, Sexuality)

NUGENT, ROBERT:

The Challenge to Love: Gay & Lesbian Catholics in the Church
(Crossroad, 1989)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

SCHINNICK, MAURICE:

This Remarkable Gift: Being Gay and Catholic
(Allen & Unwin, 1998)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

STUART, ELISABETH:

Stuart is a professor of theology at King Alfred’s College, Winchester, and one of the most prominent theologians in the field of gay and lesbian theology.

Daring to Speak Love’s Name - A Gay and Lebian Prayer Book
Hamish Hamilton, 1992

Just Good Friends: Towards a Lesbian & Gay Theology of Relationships
(Mowbray, 1995)

Christian Perspectives on Sexuality & Gender
(Gracewing, 1995 )

People of Passion: What the Churches Teach about Sex [Co-authored with Thatcher, Adrian]
(Mowbray, 1997)

Religion is a Queer Thing: Guide to the Christian Faith for Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgendered People
(Cassell, 1997)

All listed by Martin Pendergast

Gay and Lesbian Theologies: Repetitions with Critical Differences
(Ashgate, 2003)

Written by an academic theologian, but do not be put off by the academic tone and style. This is an excellent introduction to the different strands in the theology of LGBT sexuality. In this book, she

“presents the first critical survey of gay and lesbian theology arguing that its emergence was nothing short of miraculousGay and lesbian theologians managed to take a dominant Christian discourse and which rendered than sinful, sick and harmful to the common good and transform it into a theology which argued that a person’s sexuality provided the point of contact between God and themselves.” (Taken from the cover blurb).

Strongly recommended by QTC;
Listed by Martin Pendergast

Written by an academic theologian, but do not be put off by the academic tone and style. This is an excellent introduction to the different strands in the theology of LGBT sexuality. In this book, she

“presents the first critical survey of gay and lesbian theology arguing that its emergence was nothing short of miraculousGay and lesbian theologians managed to take a dominant Christian discourse and which rendered than sinful, sick and harmful to the common good and transform it into a theology which argued that a person’s sexuality provided the point of contact between God and themselves.” (Taken from the cover blurb).

SULLIVAN, ANDREW:

Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality
(Picador, 1995)

Love Undetectable
(Chatto & Windus, 1998)

Both listed by Martin Pendergast

VASEY, M:

Strangers & Friends

Vasey argues from an historical presentation of the sexuality and the family. He points out that far from being the ‘tradtional’ model, the family as idealised by modern Christians, especially the evangelicals, is a relatively modern invention. The gradual development of this model as normative, has largely been responsible for the parallel development of a distinct gay identity, largely in reaction. (The campaign against the ‘homosexual’ is attacking what it has itself created.) Conversely, the early church idealised male friendship and community life, rather than the familyas now understood.

WOODS, RICHARD:

Another Kind of Love (3rd ed)
(St Thomas More Press, 1988)

Listed by Martin Pendergast

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Welcome to QTC Book Club

Hello, and welcome to Sergius & Bacchus book club.

This is a specialist site for discussion of books on all matters relating to faith and homosexuality. My own experience in first coming out as a gay man many years ago, was that reading of all kinds around matters of sexuality was immensely helpful in developing my own self-confidence. Later, when I returned to the practice of my Catholic faith, I struggled initially to reconcile the two issues: faith and sexuality. Again, I found reading helpful.

Read more:

To my surprise, I found that the common perceptions of faith and sexulaity were misguided and often incorrect. Modern scholars have shown that traditional interpretations of scriptures are unsound; that the presentation of Church teaching as "unchanging tradition" is demonstrably false; that Church history shows that notable figures in the past, including saints and senior clergy, were known to have had homosexual relationships - and were accepted all thge same; and that for many centuries, the church in one way or another showed liturgical acceptance of some forms of same sex unions.

The problem I encountered along the way, was identifying and sourcing books which were reliable and readable. Over time, I read a fair number, and built up some indirect knowledge of others.

Now I want to put this knowledge to good use in helping others embarking on the same exploration.

I once had several years' good experience as a school librarian, experience which gave me some bibliographical skills in evaluating and recommending books which I had not necessarily read for myself.

I have here combined those skills with my own knowledge of the issues and of key works to put together a collection of titles that I feel I can offer with confidence, together with useful information to help each reader to decide for her/himself whether it is appropriate for individual needs.

The list is still incomplete, bit will be added to regularly, together with comment -mine, and I hope, yours too.

It is of course, no use knowing about a book unless you can access it - so I have included wherever possible links to Amazon for convenient purchasing if you wish. At present, these link are up mostly for Amazon.com (US), but I a updating additional links for the UK.

Finally, for wider discussion of all issues relating to faith and sexuality, including news, church teaching, spirituality and church history from an LGBT perspective, see my main blog "Queering the Church", where this site originated.

SIPE, A.W.R: Sex, Priests and Power

Anatomy of a Crisis

From every corner of this country and from countires around the world, reports of sexual abuse, exploitation, and ongoing sexual misconduct by Catholic priests have appeared in every major newspaper, magazine, and TV and Radio talk show. What was first denied by church officials finally turned into a deluge of overwhelming evidence played out in legal settlements and courtrooms. Richard Sipe startled the world in 1990 with his controversial book,A Secret World: Sexuality and the Search for Celibacy, which presented evidence of sexual activity by almost 50% of the Roman Catholic priesthood. In this book, Richard Sipe examines the continuing sexual crisis facing the Catholicm Church today. Has the storm of publicity and controvery caused the church to acknowledge any of the accusations? Will the church accept statistical evidence or alter the way in which it trains its clergy? How has it come to grips with reforming or retraining abusers? Has it acknowledged the spread of AIDS among its ranks?Why does the church oppress women and react with hostility and fear towards them?Sex, Priests, andPower: Anatomy of a Crisisaddresses these and other questions. The book substantiates its conclusions with many vivid and chilling stories of sexual abuse by clergy against children, women, and members of its own ranks... * Father James Porter victimized 200 children between 1960-1972 while an active parish priest. * A 52-year-old priest, under the guise of family friend and tutor, sexually abused two sisters for two years. They were ages six and eight at the start of the abuse. * A priest who teaches high school seeks out a sophomore student for a homosexual liaison. After two years he ends the relationship in favor of a new sophomore love interest. The priest has honed this continuing pattern of sexual exploitation to perfection. Not simply satisified with exposing the epic crisis, Richard Sipe analyzes the structure underlying the church's celibate/sexual system andpoiints out unsolved problems with the current teachings. He calls for an honest, open discussion of sexuality and celibacy within the church and offers a refined description of the practice. Sex, Priests, and Poweris an invitation to exorcise the demons that threaten to engulf a mighty institution. Richard Sipe argues convincingly for an honest examination of the power structure of the Catholic Church and a thorough search for the factors that diminish and distort religion.

Reviews:

by Anson Shupe, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

TANIS: Trans gendered

Tanis, Justin Edward

Trans gendered

Theology, Ministry and Communities of Faith

"A transgendered clergyperson seeks to explore the spiritual nature of transgendered persons, to listen to the stories of others like himself, and to give a positive voice to the community"

"Anyone dealing with theological issues and gender identity must read this book. Dr. Tanis provides the reader with a solid argument about the validity of gender variant people in our chrches and in our society through the use of personal stories of his journey and the journey of others as well as solid scriptural evidence. If you are grappling with your own gender identity or if you are trying to understand the gender identity of someone in your life this book will open your eyes in ways you could have never imagined. Be prepared to encounter new found courage and strength within its pages. Dr. Tanis also provides an excellent introduction to the transgender experience from a cultural as well as religious stand point. He breaks down the issues surrounding gender identity in simplistic terms so that the reader does not already have to be well versed in queer theory in order to hear his message. I strongly recommend this book."

WOODS, R: Another Kind of Love

Another Kind of Love (3rd ed)
(St Thomas More Press, 1988)

VASEY, Michael: Strangers & Friends

A new exploration of homosexuality and the Bible

Hodder & Stoughton, 1995

276 pages

Queer Scripture, History of the Family

Vasey argues from an historical presentation of the sexuality and the family. He points out that far from being the ‘tradtional’ model, the family as idealised by modern Christians, especially the evangelicals, is a relatively modern invention. The gradual development of this model as normative, has largely been responsible for the parallel development of a distinct gay identity, largely in reaction. (The campaign against the ‘homosexual’ is attacking what it has itself created.) Conversely, the early church idealised male friendship and community life, rather than the family as now understood.

WILLIAMS, C A: Roman homosexuality:

ideologies of masculinity in classical antiquity
Oxford University Press US, 1999

History, Roman, Sexuality, Homosexuality

This book provides a thoroughly documented discussion of ancient Roman ideologies of masculinity and sexuality with a focus on ancient representations of sexual experience between males. It gathers a wide range of evidence from the second century B.C. to the second century A.D. -- above all from such literary texts as courtroom speeches, love poetry, philosophy, epigram, and history, but also graffiti and other inscriptions as well as artistic artifacts -- and uses that evidence to reconstruct the contexts within which Roman texts were created and had their meaning. The book takes as its starting point the thesis that in order to understand the Roman material, we must make the effort to set aside any pre-conceptions we might have regarding sexuality, masculinity, and effeminacy.

“Williams' thorough, unrelenting demonstration of the active/passive paradigm and its indifference to female/male distinctions is a critical step in clearing away modern preconceptions and understanding Roman attitudes and values on their own terms. His broom effectively sweeps aside modern assumptions projected by progressive ‘essentialists' like Taylor — who identifies the cult of Cybele as a gay subculture but whose own comparison of Cybele's devotees with Indian hijras shows that these priests were not essentially same-sex oriented so much as transgender individuals — as well as by conservative classicists, who casually apply to Romans even such culturally laden expressions as “overt homosexual practice”. – James Jopes, International Gay & Lesbian Review

WILLS, G: Papal Sin

Structures of Deceit
Doubleday, 2001

326 pages

"The truth, we are told, will make us free. It is time to free Catholics, lay as well as clerical, from the structures of deceit that are our subtle modern form of papal sin. Paler, subtler, less dramatic than the sins castigated by Orcagna or Dante, these are the quiet sins of intellectual betrayal." --from the Introduction From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Garry Wills comes an assured, acutely insightful--and occasionally stinging--critique of the Catholic Church and its hierarchy from the nineteenth century to the present. Papal Sin in the past was blatant, as Catholics themselves realized when they painted popes roasting in hell on their own church walls. Surely, the great abuses of the past--the nepotism, murders, and wars of conquest--no longer prevail; yet, the sin of the modern papacy, as revealed by Garry Wills in his penetrating new book, is every bit as real, though less obvious than the old sins. Wills describes a papacy that seems steadfastly unwilling to face the truth about itself, its past, and its relations with others. The refusal of the authorities of the Church to be honest about its teachings has needlessly exacerbated original mistakes. Even when the Vatican has tried to tell the truth--e.g., about Catholics and the Holocaust--it has ended up resorting to historical distortions and evasions. The same is true when the papacy has attempted to deal with its record of discrimination against women, or with its unbelievable assertion that "natural law" dictates its sexual code. Though the blithe disregard of some Catholics for papal directives has occasionally been attributed to mere hedonism or willfulness, it actually reflects a failure, after long trying on their part, to find a credible level of honesty in the official positions adopted by modern popes. On many issues outside the realm of revealed doctrine, the papacy has made itself unbelievable even to the well-disposed laity. The resulting distrust is in fact a neglected reason for the shortage of priests. Entirely aside from the public uproar over celibacy, potential clergy have proven unwilling to put themselves in a position that supports dishonest teachings. Wills traces the rise of the papacy's stubborn resistance to the truth, beginning with the challenges posed in the nineteenth century by science, democracy, scriptural scholarship, and rigorous history. The legacy of that resistance, despite the brief flare of John XXIII's papacy and some good initiatives in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council (later baffled), is still strong in the Vatican. Finally Wills reminds the reader of the positive potential of the Church by turning to some great truth tellers of the Catholic tradition--St. Augustine, John Henry Newman, John Acton, and John XXIII. In them, Wills shows that the righteous path can still be taken, if only the Vatican will muster the courage to speak even embarrassing truths in the name of Truth itself.

Westley, Dick: Redemptive Intimacy

a new perspective for the journey to adult faith

The subtitle calls this a "new perspective for the journey to adult faith", and so it is: adult faith indeed. when I frist encoutnered it, reading and sharing on it in my CLC group (CLC=Christian Life Group) some 10 years ago, I was shaken beyond expectation, wiht ma ny of my ideas about life in the church turned upside down. In the years since, these ideas, then new to me, have become central to my thinking. Above all, Westley sets up a call for us to develop a personal relationship with the Lord parallel to our participation in the institutional church, to set up intimate relationships in faith with other people, and by honest and prayerful reflection on our experience of God in daily life, to discern God's continuing, direct revelation in our lives. Thereby, we collaborate with the professional theologians in developing new theology for our times.

The author issues the startlingly forceful challenge to walk with the Lord in an intimacy that beckons the reader beyond religion to faith and into a personal relationship with God. A wake-up call for adults to live their faith in intimate relationship with God and others.

-Google Books

YIP: Gay Male Christian Couples

Yip, K.T.

Gay Male Christian Couples

Life stories

Amazon User Review:

This book is wonderful! The world needs more stories like these which reveal the gay Christian soul, and the beauty and love may gay Christian couples share. This has been part of the motivation of my own work, especially my recent anthology of LGBT Christian poetry. I am glad to see that there are other books of this nature. This book is a tad expensive though, but a must have for every library or LGBT community center!

Welcome to Sergius & Bacchus Book Club!

Hello, and welcome to Sergius & Bacchus book club.

This is a specialist site for discussion of books on all matters relating to faith and homosexuality. My own experience in first coming out as a gay man many years ago, was that reading of all kinds around matters of sexuality was immensely helpful in developing my own self-confidence. Later, when I returned to the practice of my Catholic faith, I struggled initially to reconcile the two issues: faith and sexuality. Again, I found reading helpful. To my surprise, I found that the traditional, familiar arguments against homosexuality were not nearly as clear as I had supposed. Modern scholars are offering new interpretations of Scripture, theologians are developing entirely new disciplines of gay & lesbian theology and of queer theology, and historians are discovering a previously hidden history of gay & lesbian saints & prominent clergy in the Christian Church.

As I explored books for myself, and started recommending my favourites on my main blog "Queering the Church", I found I was wanting to offer more detail than I could conveniently handle within the bounds of a general blog. So, I developed this specialist space. This site is entirely devoted to discussion of books: some are only about sexuality, some are only about matters of religious faith - but most are about some aspect of each in combination.

For each of the titles in my collection here, I aim to provide basic publication & cataloguing details; some idea of content and style (e.g. "academic" or "introductory"); extracts from and links to reliable reviews; and where possible links to Amazom.com where you can find reader reviews and if you wish, purchase the book.

I have not personally read every book in this collection, nor do I necessarily endorse the viewpoints expressed. I have, however, in every case at least read about every book, and have included only those which I at least believe to be respected by others, and have been recommended by people or sources I trust. I have deliberately excluded hostile books based on bad science or selective interpretations of Scripture. I have included books which endorse traditional Catholic teaching (which I personally dissent from), provided that they also respect the full teaching, which emphasises respect and dignity of the homosexual person, and provided that the books have been well regarded as important contributions to the debate.

Where I am able to make a personal recommendation, I state this as "QTC Recommendation". Where I would like to make a recommendation at second hand that I have not yet read but want to, I do so as "Widely recommended" .

Each book is discussed in a separate post. This makes it difficult to organise into thematic lists of grouped titles: the order as it stands is entirely arbitrary. I wil be exploring ways to improve navigation

If you want organised lists of recommendations, have a look at my original Book Club at Queering the Church, where you can find opinion and pages on all matters of faith and sexual orientation: LGBT Church history, (including popular sections on gay and transgendered saints); queer readings of Scripture and dealing with the infamous "clobber texts"; commentary on church teachings; the practice of spirituality and prayer from a gay/queer perspective; and snippets of LGBT religious news.

Happy reading.

Where to begin?

With such a wealth of titles available, and the field constatnly expanding, the obvious question is where to begin? To which the obvious reply is, where are you starting from?

The question matters. You need to be clear on whether you want a simple introduction, a general but comprehensive overview for playpeople, or a scholarly tome filled with notes, sources and all the necessary qualifications, ifs and buts. Are you looking for approaches rooted in scripture, or Church teaching, or both? From a gay male, lesbian, or trans perspective? All these questions, and more, will influence your choice. In my detailed posts for each book, I have attempted to provide answers to these questions. The labels included in each post will help you to find books on a specific topic. With time, I will be building in thematic lists, a search engine, and other means to access exactly what you personally will find helpful - but all these refinements take time, while I am simultaneously trying to expand the number and range of books included. I crave your patience.

In the meantime, I offer some suggestions of what might be the most useful fro specific purposes.

For a very simple, introductory overview of Scripture and Church teaching, I was impressed by "The Bible, The Church and Homosexuality", by Nicholas Coulton. Written from an Anglican perspective, but also more widely applicable.

Also tackling both Scripture and Church teaching, but going into more detail, former Jesuit John McNeill's "The Church and the Homosexual", was one of the very first and is still a classic. "A Question of Truth" by the Dominican priest Gareth Moore covers much the same ground, and is much more recent.

On Scripture specifically, I think the best for the general reader is "Dirt, Greed and Sex" by the Episcopalian L. William Countryman. If you are ready to tackle a more scholarly treatment, then read the chapter on Scripture in the landmark "Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality" by John Boswell. (This is also of fundamental importance for gay church history, and the development of theology.) If you are put off by the excessive footnotes and Greek & Latin quotations, you will find summaries of his arguments in many of the other books).

The priest, theologian and psychotherapist Daniel Helminiak has written that McNeill, Countryman and Boswell (noted above) were the three books that nmost influenced his own thinking and understanding. Helminiak's "What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality". Helminiak's book is often listed alongside those three.

Note:

I realise that all the above titles are written by men, and have a clearly male focus, although all do also try to cover lesbian relationships as well as gay male. There are good books by women, but I am not aware of any (yet) that I can reommend at this general level. I will make a pint of highlighting books written from lesbian, bi or trans perspectives when I discuss some more specialised topics.

McCLORY, R: In The Beginning

The Coming Democratisation of the Catholic Faith