Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction

Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction

Author: Thomas Hopko

Publisher: Blackbirch Press, Incorporated

Published: 2018-05-10

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 9781936270200

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Combining theological and pastoral insights with a humble and loving spirit, this small gem will aid pastors, those who experience same-sex desires, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of our identity and our sexuality. This 2015 edition includes a redesigned cover, a new foreword, and other minor revisions.


Book Synopsis Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction by : Thomas Hopko

Download or read book Christian Faith and Same-Sex Attraction written by Thomas Hopko and published by Blackbirch Press, Incorporated. This book was released on 2018-05-10 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining theological and pastoral insights with a humble and loving spirit, this small gem will aid pastors, those who experience same-sex desires, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of our identity and our sexuality. This 2015 edition includes a redesigned cover, a new foreword, and other minor revisions.


Single, Gay, Christian

Single, Gay, Christian

Author: Gregory Coles

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2017-08-22

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 0830890939

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Foreword INDIES Award Finalist IVP Readers' Choice Award In an age where neither society nor the church knows what to do with gay Christians, Greg Coles tells his own story. Let's make a deal, you and me. Let's make promises to each other. I promise to tell you my story. The whole story. I'll tell you about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. I'll tell you how I lay on my bed in the middle of the night and whispered to myself the words I've whispered a thousand times since: "I'm gay." I'll show you the world through my eyes. I'll tell you what it's like to belong nowhere. To know that much of my Christian family will forever consider me unnatural, dangerous, because of something that feels as involuntary as my eye color. And to know that much of the LGBTQ community that shares my experience as a sexual minority will disagree with the way I've chosen to interpret the call of Jesus, believing I've bought into a tragic, archaic ritual of self-hatred. But I promise my story won't all be sadness and loneliness and struggle. I'll tell you good things too, hopeful things, funny things, like the time I accidentally came out to my best friend during his bachelor party. I'll tell you what it felt like the first time someone looked me in the eyes and said, "You are not a mistake." I'll tell you that joy and sorrow are not opposites, that my life has never been more beautiful than when it was most brokenhearted. If you'll listen, I promise I'll tell you everything, and you can decide for yourself what you want to believe about me.


Book Synopsis Single, Gay, Christian by : Gregory Coles

Download or read book Single, Gay, Christian written by Gregory Coles and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword INDIES Award Finalist IVP Readers' Choice Award In an age where neither society nor the church knows what to do with gay Christians, Greg Coles tells his own story. Let's make a deal, you and me. Let's make promises to each other. I promise to tell you my story. The whole story. I'll tell you about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. I'll tell you how I lay on my bed in the middle of the night and whispered to myself the words I've whispered a thousand times since: "I'm gay." I'll show you the world through my eyes. I'll tell you what it's like to belong nowhere. To know that much of my Christian family will forever consider me unnatural, dangerous, because of something that feels as involuntary as my eye color. And to know that much of the LGBTQ community that shares my experience as a sexual minority will disagree with the way I've chosen to interpret the call of Jesus, believing I've bought into a tragic, archaic ritual of self-hatred. But I promise my story won't all be sadness and loneliness and struggle. I'll tell you good things too, hopeful things, funny things, like the time I accidentally came out to my best friend during his bachelor party. I'll tell you what it felt like the first time someone looked me in the eyes and said, "You are not a mistake." I'll tell you that joy and sorrow are not opposites, that my life has never been more beautiful than when it was most brokenhearted. If you'll listen, I promise I'll tell you everything, and you can decide for yourself what you want to believe about me.


Born Again This Way

Born Again This Way

Author: Rachel Gilson

Publisher:

Published: 2020-03

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781784983901

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Addresses some of the questions raised by Christians with same-sex attraction. As a Christian who experiences same-sex attraction, is it possible to live a life that's both faithful and fulfiling? Rachel Gilson wants to show you that it is and that it's not just a case of limping to the finish line, it's possible to run the race with joy. In this powerful and personal book, she describes her own unexpected journey of coming out and coming to faith... and what came next. As she does so, she addresses many of the questions that Christians living with same-sex attraction are wrestling with: Am I consigned to a life of loneliness? How do I navigate my friendships? Will my desires ever change? Is there some greater purpose to all this? What comes next, and next, and next? Drawing on insights from the Bible and the experiences of others, Born Again This Way provides assurance and encouragement for Christians with same-sex attraction, and paints a compelling picture of discipleship for every believer. Whatever your sexuality, this book is an inspiring testimony of how a life submitted to Jesus will be fulfilling and fruitful, but not always in the ways we might expect.


Book Synopsis Born Again This Way by : Rachel Gilson

Download or read book Born Again This Way written by Rachel Gilson and published by . This book was released on 2020-03 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addresses some of the questions raised by Christians with same-sex attraction. As a Christian who experiences same-sex attraction, is it possible to live a life that's both faithful and fulfiling? Rachel Gilson wants to show you that it is and that it's not just a case of limping to the finish line, it's possible to run the race with joy. In this powerful and personal book, she describes her own unexpected journey of coming out and coming to faith... and what came next. As she does so, she addresses many of the questions that Christians living with same-sex attraction are wrestling with: Am I consigned to a life of loneliness? How do I navigate my friendships? Will my desires ever change? Is there some greater purpose to all this? What comes next, and next, and next? Drawing on insights from the Bible and the experiences of others, Born Again This Way provides assurance and encouragement for Christians with same-sex attraction, and paints a compelling picture of discipleship for every believer. Whatever your sexuality, this book is an inspiring testimony of how a life submitted to Jesus will be fulfilling and fruitful, but not always in the ways we might expect.


Washed and Waiting

Washed and Waiting

Author: Wesley Hill

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0310534208

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Wesley Hill's personal experiences and biblical reflections offer insight into how a nonpracticing gay Christian can "prove, live out, and celebrate" the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. For many who are on this path, it's a lonely one. The reality of loneliness and isolation of the celibate homosexual Christian is something that Hill lives and takes seriously in his pursuit of the gospel-centered life. To those on a similar journey, it's often a life of uncertainties and questions. In Washed and Waiting, Hill explores the three main struggles that have been part of his daily effort to live faithfully: What exactly does the gospel demand of gay and lesbian Christians, and how can it enable them to fulfill its commands? How do Christians who experience homoerotic desires live with the loneliness such desires entail? Is there any relief for it? What comfort does the gospel offer? Can those of us who struggle with homosexuality please God and truly experience his pleasure in the midst of sexual brokenness? Interspersed throughout these main sections are character sketches and stories of people who have experienced this journey's trials and triumphs. Hill offers wise counsel that is biblically faithful, theologically serious, and oriented to the life and practice of the church. As a celibate gay Christian, he gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to wrestle firsthand with God's "No" to same-sex sexual intimacy and contemplate serious and difficult questions.


Book Synopsis Washed and Waiting by : Wesley Hill

Download or read book Washed and Waiting written by Wesley Hill and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wesley Hill's personal experiences and biblical reflections offer insight into how a nonpracticing gay Christian can "prove, live out, and celebrate" the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. For many who are on this path, it's a lonely one. The reality of loneliness and isolation of the celibate homosexual Christian is something that Hill lives and takes seriously in his pursuit of the gospel-centered life. To those on a similar journey, it's often a life of uncertainties and questions. In Washed and Waiting, Hill explores the three main struggles that have been part of his daily effort to live faithfully: What exactly does the gospel demand of gay and lesbian Christians, and how can it enable them to fulfill its commands? How do Christians who experience homoerotic desires live with the loneliness such desires entail? Is there any relief for it? What comfort does the gospel offer? Can those of us who struggle with homosexuality please God and truly experience his pleasure in the midst of sexual brokenness? Interspersed throughout these main sections are character sketches and stories of people who have experienced this journey's trials and triumphs. Hill offers wise counsel that is biblically faithful, theologically serious, and oriented to the life and practice of the church. As a celibate gay Christian, he gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to wrestle firsthand with God's "No" to same-sex sexual intimacy and contemplate serious and difficult questions.


God and the Gay Christian

God and the Gay Christian

Author: Matthew Vines

Publisher: Convergent

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1601425163

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Reinterpretations of key Bible texts related to sexual orientation, written by a Harvard student, present an accessible case for a modern Christian conservative acceptance of sexual diversity.


Book Synopsis God and the Gay Christian by : Matthew Vines

Download or read book God and the Gay Christian written by Matthew Vines and published by Convergent. This book was released on 2014 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reinterpretations of key Bible texts related to sexual orientation, written by a Harvard student, present an accessible case for a modern Christian conservative acceptance of sexual diversity.


Is God anti-gay?

Is God anti-gay?

Author: Sam Allberry

Publisher: The Good Book Company

Published: 2013-07-01

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1909559318

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A practical and sensitive exploration of the Bible's teaching on homosexuality. A practical and sensitive exploration of the Bible's teaching on homosexuality. It's the hot topic of the moment. Christians, the church and the Bible seem to be out of step with modern attitudes towards homosexuality. And there is growing hostility towards those who hold a different view to the culture's. So is God homophobic? And how do we relate to both Christians and non-Christians who experience same-sex attraction? In this short, simple book, Sam Allberry wants to help confused Christians understand what God has said about these questions in the scriptures. Drawing on his own experience, he offers a positive and liberating way forward through the debate. This revised and updated version includes answers to some new questions, including: * Should Christians attend gay weddings? * Isn't the Christian view of sexuality dangerous and harmful? * Is it sinful to experience same-sex attraction?


Book Synopsis Is God anti-gay? by : Sam Allberry

Download or read book Is God anti-gay? written by Sam Allberry and published by The Good Book Company. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A practical and sensitive exploration of the Bible's teaching on homosexuality. A practical and sensitive exploration of the Bible's teaching on homosexuality. It's the hot topic of the moment. Christians, the church and the Bible seem to be out of step with modern attitudes towards homosexuality. And there is growing hostility towards those who hold a different view to the culture's. So is God homophobic? And how do we relate to both Christians and non-Christians who experience same-sex attraction? In this short, simple book, Sam Allberry wants to help confused Christians understand what God has said about these questions in the scriptures. Drawing on his own experience, he offers a positive and liberating way forward through the debate. This revised and updated version includes answers to some new questions, including: * Should Christians attend gay weddings? * Isn't the Christian view of sexuality dangerous and harmful? * Is it sinful to experience same-sex attraction?


Still Time to Care

Still Time to Care

Author: Greg Johnson

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2021-12-07

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0310116066

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At the start of the gay rights movement in 1969, evangelicalism's leading voices cast a vision for gay people who turn to Jesus. It was C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, Francis Schaeffer and John Stott who were among the most respected leaders within theologically orthodox Protestantism. We see with them a positive pastoral approach toward gay people, an approach that viewed homosexuality as a fallen condition experienced by some Christians who needed care more than cure. With the birth and rise of the ex-gay movement, the focus shifted from care to cure. As a result, there are an estimated 700,000 people alive today who underwent conversion therapy in the United States alone. Many of these patients were treated by faith-based, testimony-driven parachurch ministries centered on the ex-gay script. Despite the best of intentions, the movement ended with very troubling results. Yet the ex-gay movement died not because it had the wrong sex ethic. It died because it was founded on a practice that diminished the beauty of the gospel. Yet even after the closure of the ex-gay umbrella organization Exodus International in 2013, the ex-gay script continues to walk about as the undead among us, pressuring people like me to say, "I used to be gay, but I'm not gay anymore. Now I'm just same-sex attracted." For orthodox Christians, the way forward is a path back to where we were forty years ago. It is time again to focus with our Neo-Evangelical fathers on care--not cure--for our non-straight sisters and brothers who are living lives of costly obedience to Jesus. With warmth and humor as well as original research, Still Time to Care will chart the path forward for our churches and ministries in providing care. It will provide guidance for the gay person who hears the gospel and finds themselves smitten by the life-giving call of Jesus. Woven throughout the book will be Richard Lovelace’s 1978 call for a "double repentance" in which gay Christians repent of their homosexual sins and the church repents of its homophobia--putting on display for all the power of the gospel.


Book Synopsis Still Time to Care by : Greg Johnson

Download or read book Still Time to Care written by Greg Johnson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the start of the gay rights movement in 1969, evangelicalism's leading voices cast a vision for gay people who turn to Jesus. It was C.S. Lewis, Billy Graham, Francis Schaeffer and John Stott who were among the most respected leaders within theologically orthodox Protestantism. We see with them a positive pastoral approach toward gay people, an approach that viewed homosexuality as a fallen condition experienced by some Christians who needed care more than cure. With the birth and rise of the ex-gay movement, the focus shifted from care to cure. As a result, there are an estimated 700,000 people alive today who underwent conversion therapy in the United States alone. Many of these patients were treated by faith-based, testimony-driven parachurch ministries centered on the ex-gay script. Despite the best of intentions, the movement ended with very troubling results. Yet the ex-gay movement died not because it had the wrong sex ethic. It died because it was founded on a practice that diminished the beauty of the gospel. Yet even after the closure of the ex-gay umbrella organization Exodus International in 2013, the ex-gay script continues to walk about as the undead among us, pressuring people like me to say, "I used to be gay, but I'm not gay anymore. Now I'm just same-sex attracted." For orthodox Christians, the way forward is a path back to where we were forty years ago. It is time again to focus with our Neo-Evangelical fathers on care--not cure--for our non-straight sisters and brothers who are living lives of costly obedience to Jesus. With warmth and humor as well as original research, Still Time to Care will chart the path forward for our churches and ministries in providing care. It will provide guidance for the gay person who hears the gospel and finds themselves smitten by the life-giving call of Jesus. Woven throughout the book will be Richard Lovelace’s 1978 call for a "double repentance" in which gay Christians repent of their homosexual sins and the church repents of its homophobia--putting on display for all the power of the gospel.


Why Mission?

Why Mission?

Author: Dean Flemming

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2015-11-03

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1426759371

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Recent years have seen heightened interest in how to read scripture from a missional perspective. This book addresses that question by exploring both how the New Testament bears witness to the mission of God and how it energizes the church to participate in that mission. It also makes a distinctive contribution by applying a missional reading to a variety of New Testament books, offering insights into New Testament theology and serving today’s discussions about mission and the church. “Dean Flemming has written a game-changing book on the interpretation of scripture for the mission of the church. This relatively slim but rich volume is absolutely mandatory reading for all serious students of the New Testament and for all who wish to understand the church's participation in the mission of God. It should be on the syllabus of every ecclesially focused course on the New Testament and every biblically attuned course in ecclesiology and in missiology.” —Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology, St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, MD “I am always grateful when another book by Dean Flemming appears. His writing arises out of his significant cross-cultural experience, his outstanding scholarship, and his careful listening to the Spirit in the text. This book is written clearly and is full of nourishing insight.” —Michael W. Goheen, Professor of Missiology, Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI; former Geneva Chair of Worldview Studies, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC; and Teaching Fellow in Mission Studies, Regent College, Vancouver, BC “‘Why mission?’ is a critical question, one not asked or understood often enough. Here is a stirring reading of the New Testament that demonstrates a living triune God on mission, bringing redemption to the world through a living apostolic church. So much rich theological interpretation packed into a small book!” —Nijay K. Gupta, assistant professor of New Testament, George Fox Evangelical Seminary, Portland, OR “Since writing The Mission of God, I have felt guilty that it paid so much more attention to a missional reading of the Old than of the New Testament. This fine book relieves me of that guilt. This is an outstandingly clear and faithful exposition of what it means to read the New Testament from the perspective of, and with the intention of participating in, the mission of God as revealed in the whole Bible.” —Christopher J. H. Wright, International Ministries Director, Langham Partnership


Book Synopsis Why Mission? by : Dean Flemming

Download or read book Why Mission? written by Dean Flemming and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have seen heightened interest in how to read scripture from a missional perspective. This book addresses that question by exploring both how the New Testament bears witness to the mission of God and how it energizes the church to participate in that mission. It also makes a distinctive contribution by applying a missional reading to a variety of New Testament books, offering insights into New Testament theology and serving today’s discussions about mission and the church. “Dean Flemming has written a game-changing book on the interpretation of scripture for the mission of the church. This relatively slim but rich volume is absolutely mandatory reading for all serious students of the New Testament and for all who wish to understand the church's participation in the mission of God. It should be on the syllabus of every ecclesially focused course on the New Testament and every biblically attuned course in ecclesiology and in missiology.” —Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology, St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, MD “I am always grateful when another book by Dean Flemming appears. His writing arises out of his significant cross-cultural experience, his outstanding scholarship, and his careful listening to the Spirit in the text. This book is written clearly and is full of nourishing insight.” —Michael W. Goheen, Professor of Missiology, Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI; former Geneva Chair of Worldview Studies, Trinity Western University, Langley, BC; and Teaching Fellow in Mission Studies, Regent College, Vancouver, BC “‘Why mission?’ is a critical question, one not asked or understood often enough. Here is a stirring reading of the New Testament that demonstrates a living triune God on mission, bringing redemption to the world through a living apostolic church. So much rich theological interpretation packed into a small book!” —Nijay K. Gupta, assistant professor of New Testament, George Fox Evangelical Seminary, Portland, OR “Since writing The Mission of God, I have felt guilty that it paid so much more attention to a missional reading of the Old than of the New Testament. This fine book relieves me of that guilt. This is an outstandingly clear and faithful exposition of what it means to read the New Testament from the perspective of, and with the intention of participating in, the mission of God as revealed in the whole Bible.” —Christopher J. H. Wright, International Ministries Director, Langham Partnership


A War of Loves

A War of Loves

Author: David Bennett

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0310538122

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At 14, David Bennett came out to his parents. At 19, he encountered Jesus Christ. At that moment, his life changed forever. As a young gay man, David Bennett saw Christianity as an enemy to freedom for LGBTQI people, and his early experiences with prejudice and homophobia led him to become a gay activist. But when Jesus came into his life in a highly unexpected way, he was led down a path he never would have predicted or imagined. In A War of Loves, David recounts his dramatic story, from his early years exploring new age religions and French existentialism to his university experiences as an activist. Following supernatural encounters with God, he embarked on a journey not only of seeking to reconcile his faith and sexuality but also of discovering the higher call of Jesus Christ. A War of Loves investigates what the Bible teaches about sexuality and demonstrates the profligate, unqualified grace of God for all people. David describes the joy and intimacy he found in following Jesus Christ and how love has taken on a radically new and far richer meaning for him.


Book Synopsis A War of Loves by : David Bennett

Download or read book A War of Loves written by David Bennett and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At 14, David Bennett came out to his parents. At 19, he encountered Jesus Christ. At that moment, his life changed forever. As a young gay man, David Bennett saw Christianity as an enemy to freedom for LGBTQI people, and his early experiences with prejudice and homophobia led him to become a gay activist. But when Jesus came into his life in a highly unexpected way, he was led down a path he never would have predicted or imagined. In A War of Loves, David recounts his dramatic story, from his early years exploring new age religions and French existentialism to his university experiences as an activist. Following supernatural encounters with God, he embarked on a journey not only of seeking to reconcile his faith and sexuality but also of discovering the higher call of Jesus Christ. A War of Loves investigates what the Bible teaches about sexuality and demonstrates the profligate, unqualified grace of God for all people. David describes the joy and intimacy he found in following Jesus Christ and how love has taken on a radically new and far richer meaning for him.


Gay Girl, Good God

Gay Girl, Good God

Author: Jackie Hill Perry

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2018-09-03

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1462751237

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“I used to be a lesbian.” In Gay Girl, Good God, author Jackie Hill Perry shares her own story, offering practical tools that helped her in the process of finding wholeness. Jackie grew up fatherless and experienced gender confusion. She embraced masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could? At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel. Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.


Book Synopsis Gay Girl, Good God by : Jackie Hill Perry

Download or read book Gay Girl, Good God written by Jackie Hill Perry and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2018-09-03 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “I used to be a lesbian.” In Gay Girl, Good God, author Jackie Hill Perry shares her own story, offering practical tools that helped her in the process of finding wholeness. Jackie grew up fatherless and experienced gender confusion. She embraced masculinity and homosexuality with every fiber of her being. She knew that Christians had a lot to say about all of the above. But was she supposed to change herself? How was she supposed to stop loving women, when homosexuality felt more natural to her than heterosexuality ever could? At age nineteen, Jackie came face-to-face with what it meant to be made new. And not in a church, or through contact with Christians. God broke in and turned her heart toward Him right in her own bedroom in light of His gospel. Read in order to understand. Read in order to hope. Or read in order, like Jackie, to be made new.