UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Question

I have read quite widely in the literature of Christianity and the LGBTQ community; as a Gay Christian myself, and a member of the United Methodist Church's Reconciling Ministries Network, it is a subject both deeply personal to me and interesting on an intellectual level as well. The challenge for any writer who attacks this topic is to deal with the intellectual points while keeping the focus on the heart of the matter: that Christianity is about Love with a capital L. You can yammer about the various laws, rules, regulations, and all that mess that you find in the Bible, but when you come down to deciding on what to do in a given situation, the question remains: "What is the LOVING thing to do?" It's the old "What would Jesus do?" question re-framed in the absolutely personal.John Shore is a great writer. He writes an extremely popular blog that deals with the issues facing Christians and the LGBTQ community in a down-to-earth manner that requires no particularly deep knowledge of Scripture to understand, yet those who DO have knowledge of Scripture will find themselves challenged. That is the man's gift, and it is magnificently on display here.The book is laid out in three parts: An introduction and opening chapter called "Taking God at His Word; the Bible and Homosexuality," both by Shore; followed by about a hundred pages of letters from LGBTQ Christians telling their personal stories, a carefully culled selection that ranges from the amusing to the heart-warming to the tear-jerking to the bone-chilling. The letters section is followed by a collection of essays by Shore himself, essays that reveal him to be a man of a deep and abiding Christian faith with a heart for people, and an understanding of the Jesus message that would put a good many clergy to shame.One of the best things about this book is its accessibility: I am a voracious reader, and I've tackled everything from comic books to Thomas Hardy at his most obscure, but I read this wonderful book in a single sitting (and I can only hint at the roller coaster of emotions I experienced), and then after letting it sit a day or two, sat down with it again, and lingered over it just to let its message feed my soul.In a word: splendid. My advice to anyone dealing with, or interested in, this issue (or not, it's a great read any way you slice it), is GET THIS BOOK ASAP. It will make a proud addition to anyone's library.

In short, this book is an excellent balance of emotional, logical, and theological persuasion that God accepts gay people as he created them and welcomes them into his church. Truly, a must-read if you are gay or christian, or both.Shore presents a collection of letters that he's received over the years from GLBT individuals who have had a first hand experience of the Church's discrimination against gay people, interspersed with essays written by himself, all ultimately demonstrating "Why the 'Christian' View of Gays Doesn't Work". The last chapter is an essay written by Shore and his wife entitled Taking God at his Word: The Bible and Homosexuality, which addresses the 7 specific verses in the Bible that appear to refer to homosexuality.The letters themselves are what I found most powerful about this book. Personal accounts of people who have lost relationships, livelihood, and love because of the Church's insistence on defending the lie that God does not accept gay people as they are. Some of them lost hope and lost their faith. But a very good many of them learned to separate the Church (humans) from God, and found that God loved them and wanted to have a relationship with them. It is really beautiful, and this testament supports the overwhelming truth of this book. God loves everyone, he created everyone to be exactly who they are, and he intended gay people to belong in his Church body.Shore's essays are sharp and clairvoyant. He has a gift for seeing the true nature of things, and expressing it concisely with words. He clears the cloudiness in our minds of why this issue makes people uncomfortable, why they fight it so strongly, why this topic, hardly discussed in the Bible, is blown SO COMPLETELY out of proportion as to destroy people's lives. He exposes the blatant hypocrisy in the church on this issue, that should leave just about anyone who identifies as Christian, not just a little embarrassed. He is confident that things are changing, and that it is only a matter of time before the church hardly remembers a time when it excluded gay people.

A little short of the comprehensive apologetic concerning the 'clobber' verses I was looking for; however, the litany of letters from those in the LGBTQIA community suffering from the condemnation from churches across the world is so powerful. Where is condemnation when God's love abounds? A good book to share

Where do you start on an issue like human sexuality? This book starts with human beings in their unique situations and gives us also very thoughtful essays on the issues. Well written and well worth reading

Really good book on an issue that Christians do not want to debate. Should be used in the churches.

Though I was not a fan of the author's personal essays at the beginning or end of the book, I REALLY enjoyed the compilation of stories in the middle of the book. Each one revealed a different aspect of the lgbt struggle within the church; however, there were also positive reflections of inclusion, growth, and hope. Overall a good book.If you are looking for something more academic / supportive / argumentative of lgbt inclusion in the church I would recommend "Bible, Gender, and Sexuality: reframing the churches debate on same sex relationships" by James Brownson, or "God and the Gay Christian" by Matthew Vines

This book asks the tough questions, and more importantly answers them from a Christian point of view. The short stories of peoples experiences being gay/coming out are heartbreaking but important stories that need to be told. One of the questions answered in the book is, "Would Jesus attend a gay wedding?" which is something a lot of Christians struggle with but cannot answer themselves. A great read for Christians wanting answers to the tough questions regarding homosexuality.