Just Published: “UNFAIR: Why the ‘Christian’ View of Gays Doesn’t Work”

Just published!

Kindle edition

NookBook edition

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This is the book I first wrote about in my post Gay Christians: Tell the World Your Story.

Many LGBT Chritians responded to that post—and here, in UNFAIR, are thirty of those stories, each more heartbreaking and inspiring than the last. Also in the book are seventeen of my own (revised) pieces on homosexuality and Christianity.

The book concludes with a piece, “Taking God at His Word: The Bible and Homosexuality.” In the 24-hours since the book was published, seven people have written me to say this chapter alone is worth the price of the book. (One reader, below, wrote it should come free with every new Bible.)

If you want to help the book succeed, the best thing you can do is leave a good review of it on its Amazon page. Also good is if you review it on your blog or website. If you do, send me the link to that review.

I’ll also be publishing UNFAIR as a print book. Should take about a month.

Here are some reviews thus far in for Wings:

“For most of us, the fact that young gay and lesbian kids growing up in evangelical homes are made to feel small, worthless, unloved and unwanted is just plain depressing. For John Shore (who, it’s clear, has a man-crush on Jesus) it’s a challenge—an opportunity to teach, to preach, to gently mock, and, most importantly, to throw the love of Jesus right back at evangelicals in a big, wet, very gay kiss.” — Randy Roberts Potts

“Amen! A book that gives voice to the thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people who have been told they must sacrifice their identity to be Christian. John Shore, by providing LGBT Chrstians a platform for sharing their experiences, has created a profound witness: both the expected kind—an opportunity to walk in another’s shoes—and the less-expected kind, the a-ha, light-bulb, revelatory kind, that will open eyes to the simple fact that the God vs. Gay construct is exactly that—human-made, fallible, wrong—and allow us to get about the business of spreading love, teaching justice and acting with compassion.” — Gwen Ashby, Associate Director, Believe Out Loud

“I haven’t read the whole book, because I just purchased it this morning. However, I flipped to the last chapter of Wings, where John and his wife Catherine present the whole case: why Christians are wrong for persecuting gays, and the REASON Paul condemned homosexuality. All of this is backed by scripture, so if you want to say “That’s not what the Bible says,” then you are wrong. the case presented here is so clear, so logical, it’s impossible to argue. Christians like to cherry-pick their scriptures to fit their cause, but this essay makes you think of the Bible as a whole, and does not allow you to do that. Incredible, really. This book is SO WORTH your ten bucks, even if the only chapter you read is the last one. The last chapter is so good I want to give a copy to every church in my town. When you buy The Holy Bible itself, it should be given “free with purchase,” just to get the conversation started.” – comment left on Mr. Shore’s Facebook page by reader Katy Gillette-Glover, 11/10/2011

“I have to say that this is an incredible book. It gives hope to know that people have experienced the same type of struggles and have come out stronger in their faith and have a closer walk with God for it. They begin to listen to God on their own instead of listening to what everyone else is saying that God says. I truly enjoyed the last chapter of the book. (Yes, I bought it and read it all on the same day.) Understanding the texts and meanings of the passages used to beat up the LGBT community allows for an opportunity to share this with others. I do not expect to change anyone but I do hope to be able to give people something to think about — Jamey Hooks, 11/10/2011

“John Shore is one of the leading lights of the Christian blogosphere, and this book really demonstrates why. Interspersed with heartfelt letters of testimony from LGB Christians—spanning the gamut from teenagers to grandparents; gay, lesbian, and bisexual; happily out and those still questing–are a number of John’s typically forthright and funny essays on the subject of Christianity and homosexuality. In this era of turmoil in the church, of bullied kids taking their own lives, and of the fight for gay civil rights, this book is exactly what is needed—for gay Christians looking for support, and for straight Christians questioning the issue. The final essay is, quite simply, one of the clearest, most brilliant, most faithful and biblically sound arguments for Christian affirmation of queer people you will ever read. ” — Anna R. Thorton, 11/11/2011

“John Shore gets right to the heart of this subject, reaffirming to all that God loves them and explains once and for all why the ones who use the Bible to condemn LGBT people are just plain mistaken. The personal essays written by a number of gay and lesbian Christians will touch your heart…unless your heart is missing or hard. This is a must read for any LGBT Christian or any LGBT person who thinks they can’t be both. I’d also recommend this book highly for any Christian trying to figure out what God really says about gays.” — A’isha Melbach, 11/10/2011