Author Jonathan Dudley Examines What the Bible Really Says About Gay Marriage (and Other Surprising Revelations)

BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwire - Oct 28, 2011) - Whether the topic is gay marriage, abortion, evolution or environmentalism, evangelical Christian politicians often tout the Bible in support of restrictive policies. In his new book, "Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics," author Jonathan Dudley (www.jonathan-dudley.com) finds their interpretation fundamentally flawed -- or, at least lacking either biblical or scientific support.

"Many conservatives use the Bible as a definitive source for why gays shouldn't be afforded the right to marry," said Dudley, a Johns Hopkins medical school student who holds a master of arts in theology from Yale Divinity School. "The problem is that there is very little in the Bible about same-sex pairings, and what's there can easily be interpreted in multiple ways."

Though he was raised to believe the views of conservative evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell and James Dobson, Dudley said his advanced science studies -- he holds a bachelor's in biology -- combined with his religious studies made him begin to question the origins of those beliefs.

For all four topics, Dudley researched fact, history and precedent and presents the cases for each in a conversational, albeit footnoted, format.

A sampling?

On gay marriage: "If the goal is legislation that both preserves marriage and reflects the Bible's teaching, it is far easier to argue that divorce should be illegal than it is to condemn gay marriage."

On abortion: "Although the potential to become a person may warrant significant respect -- perhaps enough that embryos should not be deliberately created and destroyed for research purposes -- being able to become a person does not make one a person any more than being an acorn makes one an oak tree."

About Jonathan Dudley

Jonathan Dudley holds a bachelor's in biology from Calvin College, a m (B.S., Biology) and Yale Divinity School (M.A. Ethics, summa cum laude), and is currently an M.D. student at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He has provided medical care to underserved Hispanic populations in Grand Rapids, Mich., Guatemala, and Ecuador and has worked as an ethical consultant for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This book began as a column series in the Yale Daily News.