Okay, I haven’t actually read the above book in its entirety yet. Jessica at Faith Permeating Life is hosting a giveaway of seven copies of Torn just because she thinks it’s so important for people to read it, and I too hope it will be widely read. Here’s why.
Justin Lee, who blogs at Crumbs for the Communion Table and is the executive director of the Gay Christian Network, strives to practice patience, kindness, and peacemaking with an intensity that is all too rare in the Christian Church today. To give just one example, check out his unusual post on the passage of Amendment One in his home state of North Carolina. Although he disagreed with the amendment, which officially banned same-sex marriage in the state constitution, he wrote to urge those in the LGBTQ community and their allies not to resort to name-calling and stereotyping, casting North Carolina as a state of backwards bigots. No doubt personally heartbroken over the result of the vote, he nonetheless wrote with great humility: “[Amendment One] is not, as some have imagined, about intentional bigotry. It is about a lack of understanding, pure and simple—of who we are, what we want, and why it matters. Education is needed, and that is what I will keep dedicating myself to, every single day of my life.”
Torn is just another part of Lee’s work of education and promotion of understanding. With a striking lack of self-pity or blame, he relates his own struggle as a young adult who loved God, knew he was gay, and feared rejection from the Church that had always been his family. As someone who cares deeply about Scripture, he explains his reading of the relevant Bible passages. He is unafraid to take on what he sees as flaws in the theology of LGBTQ Christians as well as conservative Christians, always striving for respectful dialogue rather than aggressive argument. This is an important book because, unlike so many on the issue, it draws no line in the sand between Us and Them that, if crossed, will justify dismissing Them as bigoted or depraved. Lee continually affirms that each person has a story to tell that deserves careful attention.
I just pray people on both sides of that artificial line will read the book, learn a little more about each other, and start to rethink this crazy Gays-vs-Christians debate.
It's My Pleasure Reading! 