I recently read “Is God anti-gay?” by Sam Allberry. This book, I believe, is a very helpful contribution to the ongoing discussion among Christians about homosexuality, gender, and the Christian community. Of course, there are numerous related issues in the discussion, and this book does not address them all. However, in my view, this book’s greatest help comes from its candor and brevity. Sam Allberry seems to have intentionally written something that is easy to read and something that gets straight to the point.
Introduction
Sexual activity, marriage, gender, the Gospel, and Gospel-formed community (the local church) are all interwoven subjects. Each one not only impacts the other, they are inseparably part of the same fabric. A discussion on any of these topics will inevitably be a discussion that must include the others.
Sam Allberry, in this short book, made an effort to discuss these related matters with just such an understanding in mind. Furthermore, the author introduces the book and himself in a fashion that allows the reader to see this complex tapestry in living color. Allberry strikes at the heart of nominal and superficial Christianity (which often separates these subjects) when he says,
“If someone thinks the gospel has somehow slotted into their life quite easily, without causing any major adjustments to their lifestyle or aspirations, it is likely that they have not really started following Jesus at all” (12).
Summary
Allberry begins the book by doing the groundwork of looking to the Bible for a view of God’s design for gender and sexuality. Indeed, this is the place one must begin when questions of human activity arise. If we are asking about what we can do, then we must ask at least something of what God says we ought to do.
The author affirms the freedom of expression but not the freedom of definition when he says, “[Gender] is something we humans interpret and lend cultural expression to, but it is not something that we invent or fully define” (19). This challenging statement must be weighed and considered by the honest participant in our culture today.
Allberry also addresses some specific objections that sometimes arise in the discussion of homosexuality and Christianity. One might claim that homosexuality, especially the kind of monogamous same-sex partnerships promoted today, is not a major focus of the Bible. And, therefore, it may also be demanded that Christians at least stop being so dogmatic about this issue, or possibly even acknowledge that the traditional view of homosexuality is harmful and dangerous.
However, Allberry points out that this type of thinking is in error for at least a couple of reasons. The Bible is not about homosexuality specifically, or even sex or sexuality generally. The Bible is focused intently on God’s promise of and activity in the redemption of guilty humans. Because this is true, Christians would do well to understand Allberry’s point when he writes,
“Christians who want to explain the Christian faith to gay friends need to know that what the Bible says about homosexuality is not the only thing they need to explain, and it is probably not the first thing, or even the main thing, they need to focus on” (26).
This is not to say that homosexuality is unimportant, but as the author writes elsewhere, “We need to love [the homosexual] more than they love their homosexuality” (81). In our love for others, regardless of their sexuality, we must make the priority of our focus align with the priorities of the Bible. As our perspective is shaped by the Bible, rather than social norms and confusion, we will discover that Christianity calls all people to deny themselves and follow Christ as a Lord. Allberry says, “We will want gay friends to know that allegiance to Christ for a gay person is as costly and glorious as it is for anyone else” (82-83).
The author concludes his book with a call to the local church to live as a truth-teller from the platform of life-transformation. Allberry says, “For the church to be an effective pillar, it needs to be an effective family” (84). Indeed, credibility does and will hinge on the local church’s ability to practice what it preaches.
While some would look at the moral decay around us with a fearful inclination to withdraw, Allberry challenges Christians to see a great opportunity instead. He writes,
“This is no time for pessimism, and as society moves further and further away from its Christian moorings, the church is getting more and more of an opportunity to model a countercultural alternative… We might not have the best celebrities, the most attractive spokes people, the most impressive resources for the most acclaimed thinkers, but we should have the most wonderful and attractive relationships” (83, 85).
So, is God anti-gay? It seems that Sam Allberry would say that God is not “anti” anyone who will acknowledge and pursue Christ as the deepest satisfaction of the soul.
Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I believe that Sam Allberry provides both a unique and a truly biblical perspective. I also believe that he and I have the same understanding of the value of the local church and the opportunity it has to be a beacon of shining light in our culture today.
In my estimation, this book would be one of the most helpful on this subject for many Christians. It is short, easy to read, and quite pointed in its approach. There are even several specific questions addressed in easily noted sections throughout the book.
Christians interested in thinking more biblically on matters of sexuality, the Gospel, and the posture of the local church would do well to read this book.
Bibliography
Allberry, Sam. Is God Anti-gay?: And Other Questions about Homosexuality, the Bible and Same-sex Attraction. Questions Christians Ask. Good Book Company, 2015.
Holding the Line 