People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an Issue
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
Christians who are confused by the homosexuality debate raging in the US are looking for resources that are based solidly on a deep study of what Scripture says about the issue. In People to Be Loved, Preston Sprinkle challenges those on all sides of the debate to consider what the Bible says and how we should approach the topic of homosexuality in light of it. In a manner that appeals to a scholarly and lay-audience alike, Preston takes on difficult questions such as how should the church treat people struggling with same-sex attraction? Is same-sex attraction a product of biological or societal factors or both? How should the church think about larger cultural issues, such as gay marriage, gay pride, and whether intolerance over LGBT amounts to racism? How (or if) Christians should do business with LGBT persons and supportive companies? Simply saying that the Bible condemns homosexuality is not accurate, nor is it enough to end the debate. Those holding a traditional view still struggle to reconcile the Bible’s prohibition of same-sex attraction with the message of radical, unconditional grace. This book meets that need.
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Short Review: While I don't think it is perfect, I do think People to be Loved is the best presentation of the traditional position on homosexuality. Sprinkle sets up the book as being about people more than theory, we care about this issue because we care about real live people that are gay.
The bulk of the main book is then dealing with the main six bible passages that could be about homosexual activity. This is occasionally technical language stuff, but it is accessibly written.
The end of the book walks through ministry implications.
I think this is the best book I have read from a traditional position. But I think there are some problems. First it uses the traditional six passage format. That has been done over and over, and while this is better than most, it feels a bit overdone. Second, while I do think the tone is better than most books I have read from a traditional position, there are multiple places where I think cultural bias creeps in, even though I think he tries to be fair. Third, I think it would be better to mix up the structure a bit. Even though I read a fair amount of bible and theology, I got a bit bored in the middle of the bible section.
My slightly longer review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/people-to-be-loved/
