Rating: 
Summary: White eliminates the wedge between sexuality & spirituality
Review: Being a gay Christian youth, I cannot describe the angst I shared with Mel and his early years. This thorough, engaging autobiography reaches out to Americans, both gay and straight, across the country and shows them how distorted a doctrine of hate and fear has made them. An engaging and candid story
Rating: 
Summary: Natural desires aren't necessarily Godly desires
Review: Finally a real answer to the hatred that has been the responce of the religious right! For way too long the mainstream leaders have put forth a dogma of mis-information and fear. Finally a book has been written to expose the hatred and fear that has become previlant in main stream evangelical thinking. Mel takes you through his personal life and shows what many gay and lesbian christians have known and felt all along. Wether you are gay or not, I believe that this should be required reading for every christian. It will challenge the notions that have been coming out about a gay agenda. Challenging the notion that one is gay by choice, it embraces the understanding that few would choose a gay lifestyle, but rather are simply following the course of natural desires. Mel will challenge all that you may have heard about being both a Christian and gay.
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Summary: An insight based upon grace !!
Review: Finally a real answer to the hatred that has been the responce of the religious right! For way too long the mainstream leaders have put forth a dogma of mis-information and fear. Finally a book has been written to expose the hatred and fear that has become previlant in main stream evangelical thinking. Mel takes you through his personal life and shows what many gay and lesbian christians have known and felt all along. Wether you are gay or not, I believe that this should be required reading for every christian. It will challenge the notions that have been coming out about a gay agenda. Challenging the notion that one is gay by choice, it embraces the understanding that few would choose a gay lifestyle, but rather are simply following the course of natural desires. Mel will challenge all that you may have heard about being both a Christian and gay.
Rating:
Summary: Don't try and twist the Bible
Review: Here is a great example of someone trying to make God's Word fit his life instead of making his life fit God's Word. Homosexuality is clearly a sin. Period. Another reviewer posted some of the verses that clearly demonstrate this so I won't repost them. Instead of trying to conform God to what they want Him to be so they can convice themselves that their sin is OK, homosexuals should realize their sexual desires are sinful and conform themselves to what God wants them to be."No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - I Corinthians 10:13
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Summary: Convinced me that being gay is not a choice.
Review: I am a christian mother of a gay son. I searched all through the Bible for answers to many questions I had when he first came out to us. I read every word Jesus said in the new testament and didn't find anything that he said against gays( and he said many things about what he was against) and that helped me realize that He wasn't against gays. But it was Mel White's book that convinced me that being gay is not a choice and it also helped me to understand who it was that taught me to hate them. This book is a must read for all sociologists who study our society and why we think the way we do. I also recommend it for anyone that hates gays. It will change your mind if you have any intellegence in that mind.
Rating: 
Summary: I enjoyed the story
Review: I enjoyed the story. I was fascinated at how so many people can think like the Religious Right. I didn't necessarily like the writing. Some parts were fast-moving and other parts seemed repetitious.
Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed the story
Review: I enjoyed the story. I was fascinated at how so many people can think like the Religious Right. I didn't necessarily like the writing. Some parts were fast-moving and other parts seemed repetitious.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping real- life story with a vital message.
Review: I first became aware of this book via Philip Yancey's "What's So Amazing About Grace", in which he devotes a chapter to his friendship with Mel and the issues arising from that. Since several close Christian friends of mine have, over the last few years, revealed their homosexual orientation to me I have taken deep interest in the issue of homosexuality and also of the attitude of the church towards gay men and women. You can probably well believe me when I say that it has been almost impossible to find any CHristian viewpoint on the matter that does not take one of the two most extreme views - either that all aspects of homosexuality and homosexual behaviour should be accepted and that the classic Biblical texts have just been misinterpreted - or that every homosexual is an evil harbringer of doom to our depraved generation! Where has the objectivity gone?! Mel's story is by far the clearest and easiest to relate to of any that I have read from the "acceptance" side of the debate. I would strongly recommend that anyone with an honest desire to get to grips with the issue should read this book. It helped me to understand more fully the tremendous torment involved in growing up in a largely heterosexual world with a homosexual orientation - I identified with his struggles, since I have struggled with similar situations and issues in a heterosexual context. It is the first time that I have really been able to identify with and understand someone telling the story of their homosexuality. Even when speaking openly with my friends I found it difficult to understand their struggles properly. I would also recommend "Straight and Narrow?" by Thomas E. Schmidt for a compassionate look at homosexuality and evangelical Christianity from a more scholarly viewpoint - although he refers the stories of a number of friends and acquaintances, which helps keep it from being too detached.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping real- life story with a vital message.
Review: I first became aware of this book via Philip Yancey's "What's So Amazing About Grace", in which he devotes a chapter to his friendship with Mel and the issues arising from that. Since several close Christian friends of mine have, over the last few years, revealed their homosexual orientation to me I have taken deep interest in the issue of homosexuality and also of the attitude of the church towards gay men and women. You can probably well believe me when I say that it has been almost impossible to find any CHristian viewpoint on the matter that does not take one of the two most extreme views - either that all aspects of homosexuality and homosexual behaviour should be accepted and that the classic Biblical texts have just been misinterpreted - or that every homosexual is an evil harbringer of doom to our depraved generation! Where has the objectivity gone?! Mel's story is by far the clearest and easiest to relate to of any that I have read from the "acceptance" side of the debate. I would strongly recommend that anyone with an honest desire to get to grips with the issue should read this book. It helped me to understand more fully the tremendous torment involved in growing up in a largely heterosexual world with a homosexual orientation - I identified with his struggles, since I have struggled with similar situations and issues in a heterosexual context. It is the first time that I have really been able to identify with and understand someone telling the story of their homosexuality. Even when speaking openly with my friends I found it difficult to understand their struggles properly. I would also recommend "Straight and Narrow?" by Thomas E. Schmidt for a compassionate look at homosexuality and evangelical Christianity from a more scholarly viewpoint - although he refers the stories of a number of friends and acquaintances, which helps keep it from being too detached.
Rating:
Summary: inspiration for everyone
Review: I found Dr. White's journey to be inspiring for anyone who is struggling with a seemingly impossible situation. Considering all the people and beliefs involved, he resolved everything very gracefully, in my opinion. I feel that I can't say much in favor of the book that hasn't already been said, so I'll address a few of the criticisms. Some have said that it's overly-emotional and redundant, and though this is true of some parts, it isn't hard to understand why. The life of someone who goes back and forth from denial to acceptance is bound to be a bit repetitive, and certainly dramatic. I think he provides the reader with the whole story, and that story is often frustrating and painful for a reader who has experienced pain almost identical to his. Some have said that this book does not examine the Biblical passages that refer to homosexuality very thoroughly. I beg to differ, since I don't think there is all that much to say to begin with. The Bible never addresses sexual orientation specifically, and shows no understanding of what we know as homosexuality in modern times. Also, White points out that the infamous verse in Leviticus is right alongside numerous absurd verses that are impossible to honor in this day and age. Aside from that, the idea of taking the entire Old Testament literally is absurd in itself, as it would require discounting science, such as the fact that the Earth does indeed revolve around the sun. Some reviewers have criticized White for divorcing his wife without hesitation, when, in fact, he stayed with his wife for many years after he was already aware of his homosexuality. Some might have left the marriage abruptly and without remorse. Instead, White supported his wife as much as possible, and remained supportive of his family even after he was divorced and had a partner. He was as faithful to his wife as any gay man should be expected to be. I constantly encounter people who are completely unaware that there is a such a thing as gay Christian, and that is why this book and others like it are so important. I've also encountered many gays who might practice Christianity, but have come to believe that Christian gay or Christian lesbian is an oxymoron. I hope that White can and has convinced readers otherwise. Even those gays who do not identify with Christianity or any other religion should be able to relate to White's struggle. And you don't have to be gay to be able to relate to a battle that is fought by every human being at one time or another--to accept yourself for who you are in the face of a society that can be unwelcoming of anything remotely unordinary.
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