| Revision as of 20:35, 4 June 2013 editAntinoos69 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,356 edits Undid revision 558341772 by FreeRangeFrog (talk)← Previous edit | Revision as of 20:47, 4 June 2013 edit undoStuartyeates (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers73,204 edits Undid revision 558342872 by Antinoos69 (talk)Next edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| '''Robert A. J. Gagnon''' (31 July 1958-) is an Associate Professor of New Testament at the ]. Professor Gagnon holds degrees from ], ] Divinity and the ]. Gagnon is most notable for his work in Pauline theology and sexuality. In particular Gagnon has focused on the issue of ] in relation to ] and the ], and has published several books and articles about the subject.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pts.edu/gagnonr|title=Faculty Bio|publisher=Pittsburgh Theological|accessdate=12/3/2011}}</ref> | '''Robert A. J. Gagnon''' (31 July 1958-) is an Associate Professor of New Testament at the ]. Professor Gagnon holds degrees from ], ] Divinity and the ]. Gagnon is most notable for his work in Pauline theology and sexuality. In particular Gagnon has focused on the issue of ] in relation to ] and the ], and has published several books and articles about the subject.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pts.edu/gagnonr|title=Faculty Bio|publisher=Pittsburgh Theological|accessdate=12/3/2011}}</ref> | ||
| ==Controversy== | |||
| Robert Gagnon has become a controversial academic and public figure due to some of his comments and views, his style and some of his methods, and his activism.<ref>For some appreciation of the controversy Gagnon has generated, see the sources in the external links section below.</ref> In his view, the “best analogies” for homosexuality are “adultery, prostitution, incest, and bestiality,” though he terms “incest” the “best analogy” of all,<ref>Dan O. Via and Robert A. J. Gagnon, ''Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views'' (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 48.</ref> arguing the point at some length.<ref>Via and Gagnon, ''Homosexuality and the Bible'', 48-50.</ref> “It is my contention,” he says, “that homosexual practice is a more serious violation of Scripture’s sexual norms than even incest” and “plural marriage.”<ref>Robert A. J. Gagnon, “How Bad Is Homosexual Practice According to Scripture and Does Scripture’s Indictment Apply to Committed Homosexual Unions?” , p. 1, accessed June 4, 2013.</ref> He also, on occasion, uses the term “homosexualist” of ]-related matters.<ref>See, e.g., , multiple emails, accessed June 4, 2013.</ref> Scholars have accused Gagnon of a belligerent and aggressive style, of overly selective argumentation and evidence, of an insufficient command of Ancient Near Eastern languages, and of an underdeveloped sense of hermeneutics.<ref>See, e.g., Dale B. Martin, ''Sex and the Single Savior: Gender and Sexuality in Biblical Interpretation'' (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 22-23, 25-28; Jean-Fabrice Nardelli, ''Aristarchus antibarbarus: Pseudologies mésopotamiennes, bibliques, classiques'' (Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert, 2012), 81-93, esp. 90-93; Nardelli, ''Le Motif de la paire d’amis héroïque à prolongements homophiles: Perspectives odysséennes et proche-orientales'' (Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert, 2004), 216; Nardelli, “Robert Gagnon’s ''The Bible and Homosexual Practice'' Ten Years After: A Non-Theological Assessment,” , accessed June 4, 2013.</ref> Also contentious has been Gagnon’s dismissal of the consensus of expert scholars on the history of sexuality in ].<ref>Robert A. J. Gagnon, ''The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics'' (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2001), 159-83, 347-60, 380-95. For the consensus view, see, e.g., ''The ]'', ed. Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, and Esther Eidinow, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), s.v. “homosexuality”; and Marilyn B. Skinner, ''Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture'' (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005), who provides a broad overview of scholarship. For an introduction by a biblical scholar, see Johannes N. Vorster, “The Making of Male Same-Sex in the Graeco-Roman World and Its Implications for the Interpretation of Biblical Discourses,” ''Scriptura'' 93 (2006): 432-54.</ref> Finally, in his activism, he supports widely discredited ] (SOCE), sometimes called ] or reparative therapy, and ] (The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality); Gagnon often supports his activism by citing the discredited science of ] and The ] (FRI), an ]-designated hate group.<ref>Gagnon, ''The Bible and Homosexual Practice'', esp. 408-13 and 418-28. For discussion of and sources on the activities, groups, person, and other claims referenced in this sentence, see the Misplaced Pages articles on them linked to therein.</ref> It was while alluding generally to such activism that the classicist Jean-Fabrice Nardelli listed Gagnon among the “academics turned ayatollahs.”<ref>Jean-Fabrice Nardelli, ''Homosexuality and Liminality in the'' Gilgameš ''and'' Samuel (Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert, 2007), vii; Nardelli, “Robert Gagnon’s ''The Bible and Homosexual Practice'' Ten Years After,” 38-39n100.</ref> Gagnon responded by calling the epithet an “insult” and “personal attack.”<ref>Robert A. J. Gagnon, “The Dogs Bark but the Caravan Moves On,” , p. 1, accessed June 4, 2013.</ref> | |||
| == Works == | == Works == | ||
| Line 12: | Line 9: | ||
| == External links == | == External links == | ||
| * | * | ||
| * | |||
| {{Authority control |VIAF=85485461}} | {{Authority control |VIAF=85485461}} | ||
Revision as of 20:47, 4 June 2013
Robert A. J. Gagnon (31 July 1958-) is an Associate Professor of New Testament at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Professor Gagnon holds degrees from Dartmouth, Harvard Divinity and the Princeton Theological Seminary. Gagnon is most notable for his work in Pauline theology and sexuality. In particular Gagnon has focused on the issue of homosexuality in relation to Christianity and the Bible, and has published several books and articles about the subject.
Works
- Gagnon, Robert A. J. 2001. The Bible and Homosexual Practice. Abingdon Press. ISBN 0-687-08413-X
- Via, Dan O., and Gagnon, Robert A. J. 2003. Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views. Augsburg Books. ISBN 080063618X
References
- "Faculty Bio". Pittsburgh Theological. Retrieved 12/3/2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)