Required reading: "Speaking of Homosexuality: Discussing the Issues with Kindness and Clarity" by Joe Dallas
about the book....
There's no escaping conversations about homosexuality, gay marriage, and LGBT legislation--so how does a Christian respond with love and biblical truth without adding fuel to the fire?
Drawing on nearly thirty years of counseling people struggling with homosexuality, former gay activist Joe Dallas takes you through virtually every argument you're likely to hear in favor of normalizing homosexuality and helps you respond with clarity, confidence, and compassion. He shows the most effective ways to engage the subject on social media and in everyday encounters with guidelines for talking points, dialogue, approach, and tone, and even provides sample dialogue. If you've been searching for ways to have productive, loving conversations surrounding this critical topic, you'll find this incredible resource a must-have.
my review....
I have to offer up a disclaimer here - I think that Joe Dallas is one of my favourite authors when it comes to the issue of human sexuality. Why, you may ask? Each book I've read by Dallas is just utterly readable, clearly laid out and easy to understand. So I was very pleased to see a new release from Dallas! And indeed, "Speaking of Homosexuality" certainly met my expectations, as the book has been written very well, is nicely organized, and is chock full of practical and Biblical wisdom when it comes to the issue of homosexuality.
There truly is no other issue in our modern day church that elicits such a wide variety of reactions from Christians, from confusion to anger to a (hopefully) loving response. Dallas will help you wade through the variety of messages that our culture is throwing at you, and he does so in a clear and engaging manner that keeps a high view of Scripture front and centre throughout. He is not afraid to tackle the most convincing of arguments the world throws at us, looking at both the Traditional views of homosexuality, and the revisionist views that are more in line with our culture rather than holding true to scripture. It is always surprising to me that people can acknowledge the existence of God, who exists outside of time, and then in the same breath say that the Bible can't possibly be speaking to loving, monogamous, homosexual couples today because these type of relationships didn't exist when the Bible was written. And yet if God is God, existing outside of time and knowing all things, surely we can believe that he would speak clearly about human sexuality of all kinds - and He certainly does! Dallas does a great job at examining the scriptures that speak to homosexuality. And, I love that Dallas can speak from personal experience as he was a former gay activist, so it would be impossible to accuse him of not understanding these issues. Rather, he can speak firsthand of how the Holy Spirit convicted his heart and how he stands firmly on the historical view of the church that the homosexual lifestyle is not congruent with scripture. Rather, he calls Christians to embrace those living in the homosexual lifestyle with love while speaking the truth of the freedom of Christ at the same time.
I highly recommend this intensely practical book for all Christians, whether those in the traditional or revisionist camps (or those somewhere in between). You will be challenged to think, will be pointed to the Word of God, and will finish the book with a much more well-developed sense of the conversations that are occurring around the world today about the Bible and what God has to say about our sexuality. I thoroughly and completely recommend this book and award it 5 out of 5 stars.
There truly is no other issue in our modern day church that elicits such a wide variety of reactions from Christians, from confusion to anger to a (hopefully) loving response. Dallas will help you wade through the variety of messages that our culture is throwing at you, and he does so in a clear and engaging manner that keeps a high view of Scripture front and centre throughout. He is not afraid to tackle the most convincing of arguments the world throws at us, looking at both the Traditional views of homosexuality, and the revisionist views that are more in line with our culture rather than holding true to scripture. It is always surprising to me that people can acknowledge the existence of God, who exists outside of time, and then in the same breath say that the Bible can't possibly be speaking to loving, monogamous, homosexual couples today because these type of relationships didn't exist when the Bible was written. And yet if God is God, existing outside of time and knowing all things, surely we can believe that he would speak clearly about human sexuality of all kinds - and He certainly does! Dallas does a great job at examining the scriptures that speak to homosexuality. And, I love that Dallas can speak from personal experience as he was a former gay activist, so it would be impossible to accuse him of not understanding these issues. Rather, he can speak firsthand of how the Holy Spirit convicted his heart and how he stands firmly on the historical view of the church that the homosexual lifestyle is not congruent with scripture. Rather, he calls Christians to embrace those living in the homosexual lifestyle with love while speaking the truth of the freedom of Christ at the same time.
I highly recommend this intensely practical book for all Christians, whether those in the traditional or revisionist camps (or those somewhere in between). You will be challenged to think, will be pointed to the Word of God, and will finish the book with a much more well-developed sense of the conversations that are occurring around the world today about the Bible and what God has to say about our sexuality. I thoroughly and completely recommend this book and award it 5 out of 5 stars.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
about the author....
A former gay activist, Joe Dallas is the author of seven books on human sexuality from a biblical perspective. A contributing writer for the Christian Research Journal, he has also written for Christianity Today, the Conversations journal of the Christian Association of Psychological Studies (CAPS), Cornerstone magazine, Focus on the Family's Citizen Magazine, and several other publications. He has appeared on the ABC Evening News, The Bible Answer Man, Focus on the Family, The 700 Club, The Laura Ingram Show, Janet Parshall Live, and many other media outlets. A popular speaker at men's conferences, he speaks regularly in the US and worldwide.
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