not because ​of any anti-homosexual propaganda, media – what Christians have said. It’s what Christians have not said. Yes, there’s plenty of gay-bashing Christians in the media, some of them crazy. They know it’s part hype. But there’s usually silence from the majority of Christians and churches. There’s no welcoming, no embrace, the topic is avoided altogether. Among their Christian “friends,” there’s no condemnation, but neither is there acceptance. It’s like they’re walking on egg shells, so just avoid that path of discussion. Pretend it’s not an issue and ignore the elephant in the room. That leads to superficial conversations and superficial relationships.
No wonder they don’t want to come to church.

So how should Christians and churches respond? How do we act around our homosexual friends and neighbors? And what do we talk about? And foundationally, what do you think about the issue, Biblically? Social commentary and logical arguments abound on the internet, some wrapped in religious clothes, but where does your Biblical understand lead you in light of all the scientific and social information about homosexuality and transgenderism (including genderqueer, pangender, gender fluid, etc)?

In her new book, Love Thy Body, Nancy Pearcey shows us a well-balanced description of the issue and how to approach it Biblically and socially. Pearcey is a highly intelligent philosopher, well read in secular and theological literature, and is a good writer.

In chapter 1, Pearcey makes it clear that all these issues pertaining to sexuality is really a war of worldviews. What is the human body? Is there a sense of self regardless of the body? She first uses Abortion as an example to discuss the philosophy of worldviews, and how they affect everything we talk about.

In all my theological studies, I have never studied the theology of the body. It was a given, a non-issue. Well, due to a critical misunderstanding of the body, as God’s creation, Christians have no theological response to the modern issues of sexuality, e.g. Homosexuality, Transgender. I expected to read mostly social commentary, but this book is theologically and biblically based, because both deal with worldviews, which is the very foundation of the author’s points.

Biologically speaking, the male human body is designed to be in union with the female body. But the postmodern society is asking, “Why should my body direct my psychological identity?” There is a disconnect. “When a person senses a dissonance between mind and body…the body is dismissed as irrelevant.”

Today’s thinking of gender and sexual identity has evolved from even 10 years ago. Sexuality and Genderism is not based in science or even a scientific search. 10 years ago, people were looking for a gene that influences homosexuality in the DNA, or a gender identity influenced by chemistry in the brain. Now, the leaders of the movement proclaim that is a moot point. Regardless of my male physical body or what goes on in my brain, I could declare my preference to be considered a female. I don’t have to undergo a sex change operation, nor do I have to alter my physical appearance to look female (like the old drag queen stereotype). Who I am in the inside has nothing to do with biology.
When factual science, based on biology and chemistry (as opposed to social science), is taken out of the equation, gender and sexual preference is all subjective. Employers must recognize these preferences or face heavy fines, all without any proof of surgery or hormone treatment. With the rise of postmodernism, physical traits or biology takes a back seat to the inner feelings. These feelings are not innate since birth, unchangeable. They are in constant flux, even among the leaders of the movement. It’s not about being recognized as queer or homosexual or pangender by the mainstream. It’s about not having to check a box - male, female, or trans. They don’t want to be put in a box. I can be male today but female tomorrow.

Then how are these feelings formed? Some of them seem quite unchangeable. Pearcey says we must take “individual responsibility for our identity,” and we interpret our identity by “sifting through” our cultural grids, through the norms therein. Is it weird for a little boy to be gentle, sensitive, and emotional (instead of shouting with army toys)? Does this indicate he may be transgender or homosexual? No! Boys can be sensitive, just like girls can be take-charge, assertive, and adventurous. Instead of letting gender stereotypes play out, Christians must speak out against this subversive type of meta-bullying. The “speaking out” isn’t against this little girl who is questioning herself why she doesn’t play with dolls like all the other girls. It’s against society and the laws that want to question what a “male” or “female” is. Identity is based on biology, not social culture. When this cultural grid better reflects reality, people will have a healthier barometer by which to discover their identity. It should be socially acceptable for a girl to like “manly” things and want to fight like a soldier. She’s not “in the wrong body.” Nor is she supposed to “act like a girl” because of her biology. These gender stereotypes end up confusing people when they think there’s another option: they’re “in the wrong body.”

The Bible is against the old Gnostic teaching that the physical body is not part of the authentic self. “Male” and “female” are not mere social constructs. They are rooted in biology and creation. There’s a need for Christians to speak up and present the Biblical worldview, not for moral condemnation, but rather to present “a more appealing, more life-affirming worldview,” because they care about people. She continues, “holding up a moral ideal for sexuality has nothing to do with self-righteousness, [but] it stems from the conviction that certain acts are healthier and more fulfilling because they are in line with the way God created humanity.”

Instead of speaking out against male-bodied transgenders who go into womens’ shower rooms at the gym, Christians must show compassion to those who are struggling with their sense of self. They “despise their own bodies and reject their biological identity.”
​
I encourage everyone to read this new book by Pearcey. It really tackles all the good arguments raised by these issues of sexuality. In addition, not just on an intellectual level, her motive stems from the desire to build strong relationships with the real people struggling with these deeply personal issues. Far from a stance of religious condemnation, this book is a call to reach out and actively help.
​

First off, the number 50 is highly subjective, because it could’ve easily been 40 or 55 with the same exact content. For example, the chapters Final Judgment and Eternal Punishment could’ve been the same Core Truth, whereas the chapter on the Church: Nature and Marks could’ve been two separate chapters. But let’s just go with it.

​Let me preface by saying that my theology falls very close in alignment with Horton, Erickson, and Grudem, who are 3 of the 7 resources for this book. This is not a Systematic for a seminary student. This book is for the general audience and is very easy to read. It’s also handy as a reference book.
 
Each chapter (Core Truth) has 10 sections: It starts with a one-sentence Summary. The Main Themes has its main points, followed by Key Scripture. Major Affirmations describe the doctrine in less than 2 pages, followed by Biblical Support, which is the Biblical proof of the doctrine. Major Errors describe the several heresies that come from denying or modifying the doctrine. Enacting the Doctrine section seems new when dealing with a book like this. This means: How does this doctrine help you practice godly living? Then there’s the Teaching the Doctrine section which is like a teachers guide on how to approach this topic with students. The Teaching Outline is really just an outline of this chapter, not how you would teach it to your class. Then in every Resource section, the same 7 theology books are used. This section shows what chapter or pages pertain to the same topic in each of those 7 books.
 
This book is much more thorough than some internet list or even Sproul’s Essential Truths. This is more like a very short-hand, notes version of a thick Systematics book. That’s great for most purposes, but sometimes deeper terms are not explained, like the “Creator-creature distinction” (chapter 8), which would require another 2 paragraphs to explain. I don’t think the book assumes some theological training in the reader. Rather, these chapters were probably created from cutting down much larger source material. This is more evident in the next two chapters, where God’s many Attributes are covered so quickly it doesn’t do them justice. But this book isn’t meant to be an exhaustive theology book.
 
This book is meant to be clear and concise, the keyword being the latter. This is most evident in its treatment of the Trinity, a difficult topic to cram into one chapter. Yet, it does so very logically with simplicity (no spoilers!).
 
Chapter 16, with its discussion on human dichotomy vs trichotomy, doesn’t seem like a core of Christian faith. Prophet-Priest-King is great theology (Ch 19), but is it really core to our faith? Church government (ch 39) is a core truth? And chapter 18’s discussion of the hypostatic conditions of Christ seemed superfluous.
 
I can confirm that every page presents conservative theology. However, a few things to note: In its treatment of the “gifts of the Holy Spirit,” it presents both the cessationist and continuationist views fairly but doesn’t take a side. Yet, in addition to the traditional view, it also describes the Pentecostal belief of the “second blessing” (aka “baptism of the Holy Spirit”) as a legit belief, unfortunately (ch 32). In regards to predestination, it presents both Reformed and Arminian theology but doesn’t take a side. It’s the same treatment for Regeneration (ch 28), Conversion (ch 29), Perseverance (ch 34), and Baptism (ch 40, infant or believers’). At least it makes a firm stand against the Catholic idea of Justification (ch 30). It also stands against the heresy that hell is not eternal (ch 49).
 
This is a good book to have in any Christian’s library. It’s easy to use as a reference book, and if you read all of it, you’ll have a solid view of the core truths of the Christian faith.

They are not unappealing because they are difficult to understand, but because we actually don’t like what we read, the parts where God sounds so mean, the parts where children are killed, the verses you would never use in a bedtime story.
 
Not only does he collect these unhighlighted verses, he says there’s a bigger story behind it. It shows the God who is real, who is there in the discomforts, even causing them. It shows the God we can’t put into a box, a God who is stranger than we think.
 
Having been so well read, I’m embarrassed that I’ve never read Kandiah before, because he is quite the prolific writer! He draws you in so well in the first chapter, you’ll be hooked to the rest of what he wants to show.
 
Through Abraham, he shows that trusting is God is very complicated – that’s not what you heard from a 3-point sermon. Believing in God actually creates more questions than answers. But is that ok? Through Jacob, he shows that God actually hurts us, that he’s the author of the pain in our lives. Why? Isn’t that strange? He proposes some Biblical reasons by showing us the full narrative of Jacob, juxtaposed in our very real modern situations.
 
A good teacher doesn’t merely make good observations; he asks the hard questions, even questions we are afraid to ask. “Where was God when the bombs were falling on Aleppo?” (97) Why did God turn up so late? too late. Or like in the book of Ruth, God doesn’t even show up (Ch. 5). Or, why does God kill a servant named Uzzah who was just trying to help, yet not intervene when a terrorist truck driver mows down a crowd of people in France? (158)
 
In a way, each chapter is like a really long 1-point sermon, with plenty of related tangents, which could become another sermon in itself. Each chapter is also very detailed, and it deals with our real world circumstances. It’s like the plight of Gideon is more relevant today than it was 20 years ago, or 2000 years ago. For example, he likens Gideon’s act of destroying a Baal altar to the religiously insensitive act of burning a Quran (107), a culturally sensitive issue more in our social consciousness today than even 10 years ago. And then he flips the script and says it’s really more like removing anti-Christian graffiti from the walls of a church, not just aggravating an opposing religion.
 
These strange and unhighlighted sections of the Bible show that these are not cookie-cutter bedtime stories filled with heroic characters. These were real situations. These were real people, and if we know people, we know that even the greatest among us are far from perfect. So in the Bible, heroes like Moses and David are also seen as real people, with real sins, and real pathetic weaknesses. We’ve judged them harder (or skip those uncomfortable stories) because we’ve put them in a pedestal, but you won’t blame a friend who has similar displays of bipolar emotions. This honesty of the Bible “shows us authentic humanity across the spectrum of human experience” (162).
 
Chapter 7 wasn’t as interesting because of its changed perspective. There’s only a little bit of the notion of Isaiah encountering a stranger God. The bulk of the chapter is more like a long sermon that’s a little disconnected from the theme of the book. However, Isaiah also includes some teachings on how this strange God deals with people, and how we should deal with strangers. He ends the chapter by saying that when we open up our hearts to strangers, we open up our hearts to God (203). I thought that would be just a minor side note in the book, but apparently it takes up the whole chapter and is actually the overarching theme of the entire book, being “the litmus test of the Christian confession” (254), or “the litmus test of authentic discipleship” (256), the thing that shows whether our faith is genuine, our “response to the needy” (260). I would disagree with that, but he builds up an excellent case as the book continues. And he adds that this is the way Christianity will “win a hearing for the gospel” in today’s global community (310).
 
I think I saw this book listed in the theology section. Although the author is a very able theologian, a theology book this is not. His theological training is evident in his use of good hermeneutics to manuever the hard-to-accept passages in the Bible that portray God as abusive to women (223). The genre is more Christian Inspiration or Christian Living. It’s also social commentary, as he consistently intertwines the lessons over the backdrop of the current refugee crisis.
 
This book is awesome. The best book I’ve read in 3 years. If there is one criticism, he overuses the term “turn up.” The first 10 times seemed current and refreshing, and then it got old real fast.
 
I would love to read a hypothetical God is Stranger Part II, with more insight and observations into more “unhighlighted” passages of this stranger God. But alas, that is not his point. He selects these specific examples to highlight his own agenda – to teach that a true Christianity that follows the real God loves and actively helps the refugees and strangers of the world.
 
In the end, he shows that this stranger God gives us a better understanding of God and his relation to the world. And it is not that he is so different from what we expect or want him to be. It is actually that we have been the stranger all along.

Other Honest Book Reviews:
​Dwell by Barry Jones
Fool's Talk by Os Guinness