Is God Anti-Gay, Sam Allberry - Spring 2023

Sam Allberry’s book "Is God Anti-Gay?" is a thoughtful exploration of what the Bible teaches about same-sex attraction and how Christians should respond to people who experience it. Allberry writes from personal experience, as he himself is a Christian who experiences same-sex attraction. He uses his own story as a framework for examining biblical teaching on sexuality and how Christians can engage with the LGBTQ+ community in a loving and compassionate way.

My favorite observation that Allberry makes in this book is that there is no real difference in the way that a heterosexual and a homosexual intersect with the Gospel. The truth is that God is just as much against me (Joel Nielsen) and my nature as God is against a person who is same-sex-attracted and their nature. While I may feel no temptation towards same-sex sin, I do experience temptations to many other varieties of sin ‘by (corrupted) nature’ (including sexual sin) and succumb to any number of them, earning me God’s just wrath. The good news of the gospel is just as necessary for sinful Joel as it is for a practicing homosexual. Allberry continues his emphasis on the parallel course of all mankind by establishing that just as I recognize that following Jesus requires me(Joel Nielsen) to deny temptations formed by natural urges, impulses, reactions, even identity - so too following Jesus will make the same demand of a same-sex attracted individual. As a result of the fallen state of our world, none of us are naturally inclined towards sexual holiness, but all who follow Jesus must lay down their inclinations in pursuit of holiness as revealed in God’s word.

In Chapter 5, Allberry presents a strong and succinct survey of the issue of homosexuality in scripture where it is identified as a perilous sin. However, throughout the book, Allberry is careful to avoid a simplistic or judgmental approach to these issues. He acknowledges the complexity of human sexuality and the reality that people experience same-sex attraction for a variety of reasons. He also recognizes that many people in the LGBTQ+ community have experienced profound pain and rejection at the hands of the church, and he calls on Christians to repent of any mistreatment of LGBTQ+ individuals and to show them the love of Christ.

here are some quotes from the book that stuck out to me:

The kind of sexual attractions I experience are not fundamental to my identity. They are a part of what I feel but are not who I am in a fundamental sense. I believe i am far more than my sexuality.(17)

Ever since i have been open about my own experiences as a same-sex-attraced man, a number of Christians have said something like this “the gospel must be harder for you than it is for me,” as though i have more to give up than they do. But the fact is that the gospel demands everything of all of us. 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. (emphasis mine) (18)

It is not the teaching of Jesus that tells you that life is not worth living if you cant be fulfilled sexaully - that a life whout sex is no life at all. It is no biblical Christianity that insists someone’s sexual disposition is so foundational to who they are and that to fail to affirm their particular leaning is therefore to attack who that person is at their core. All this comes not from biblical Christianity but from Western culture’s highly distored view of what it means to be a human. When an idol fails you, the real culprit turns out to be the person who has urged you to worship it - not the person who has tried to take it away. (64)

Paul’s point in Romans 1 is that our “nature” (as we experience it) is not natural (as God intended it). All of us have desires that are warped as a result of our fallen nature. Desires for things God has forbidden are a reflection of how sin has distored me, not of how God has made me… as we reject God, we find ourselves craving what we are not naturally designed to do. This is as true of a heterosexual person as of anyone else. (100)

If you’re wondering about the answer to the question that Allberry poses in the title of the book, it is “no.” He waits for the final sentence of the book to say as much. His point is that the Gospel is GREAT news for everybody (just as good of news to the homosexual as it is for the heterosexual) and:

The invitation is there for everyone. And so precious is this gift that God cannot be truly said to be “anti” anyone to whom this wonderful gift is being offered. (117)

Overall, "Is God Anti-Gay?" is a thoughtful and compassionate exploration of what the Bible teaches about same-sex attraction and how Christians should respond to it. Allberry writes with humility and grace, and his personal experience lends an authenticity and depth to his reflections. The book is a helpful resource for Christians who want to engage with these issues in a way that is faithful to the Bible and loving to all people.