An important book by Christian ethicist David Gushee about his thoughtful journey of how he changed his mind about the same-sex marriage controversy and why the collective Church should also change its mind. This would be another wonderful book to read with an adult Sunday School class, but a study guide would definitely be helpful. We used this in our Sunday School class in spring of 2016 and took 11 weeks; we could have easily stretched it to 15. Gushee includes statistics on LGBTQ individuals as well as LGBTQ youth who are at high risk for homelessness, mental health concerns, and suicide. His overview of changes towards LGBTQ persons that both traditionalist and progressive Christians would support is important. He has a short but strong chapter on bitterly contested theological and moral issues that the Church has been in conflict about during its history. He looks, in depth, at the verses traditionalists use (and he once used) and then challenges them with thoughtful, precise detail. After those chapters, he alters course somewhat to focus on transformative encounters, paradigm leaps, and more on his own personal reasons for changing his mind. Finally, the last chapter is brilliant and deserves to be read aloud in class. If you are a progressive Christian who takes the Bible seriously or if you are a traditionalist Christian who takes the Bible seriously, you should read this to understand the verses that are so important and why it matters today as the Church endeavors to fulfill Christ’s call for its mission.
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