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UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Question
John Shore is widely credited with being central to the sea change that has occurred in recent years in the Christian understanding of homosexuality. Besides his own original and highly influential writings on that topic, UNFAIR offers heart-wrenching and inspiring personal letters from gay people telling what it's like to grow up, and live, both gay and Christian. The book's opening essay, "Taking God at His The Bible and Homosexuality," is a must-read for anyone seeking clarity on the relationship between the Bible, Christianity, and LGBT people. If you read only one book on this subject, make it this one. (This is the revised and updated edition of Shore's book, " Why the 'Christian' View of Gays Doesn't Work.")
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 8, 2011
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355 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 30, 2014
(Note: "This is the revised and updated edition of Shore’s book, UNFAIR: Why the ‘Christian’ View of Gays Doesn’t Work." x)
In reference to this review, this is definitely a book I want to give to my parents. (Or my mother, rather.) Though I also bought this for myself because I've enjoyed what I've read of John Shore's blog. I like that this book touches briefly on theology and is mostly focused on a more personal aspect. Most of the book was letters from LGBT Christians. (Actually trans people weren't represented? Boo!) The letters were both heartening and heartbreaking, and I identified with quite a few of them. (One I especially remember identifying with was one titled "On Sundays I'm Alone".)
After the letters, there was a collection of some of Shore's essays, which were thought-provoking and several times made me shout, "HA! YES. EXACTLY." I probably would've underlined some quotes, except I still can't bring myself to write in shiny new books.
In reference to this review, this is definitely a book I want to give to my parents. (Or my mother, rather.) Though I also bought this for myself because I've enjoyed what I've read of John Shore's blog. I like that this book touches briefly on theology and is mostly focused on a more personal aspect. Most of the book was letters from LGBT Christians. (Actually trans people weren't represented? Boo!) The letters were both heartening and heartbreaking, and I identified with quite a few of them. (One I especially remember identifying with was one titled "On Sundays I'm Alone".)
After the letters, there was a collection of some of Shore's essays, which were thought-provoking and several times made me shout, "HA! YES. EXACTLY." I probably would've underlined some quotes, except I still can't bring myself to write in shiny new books.
September 29, 2015
This book not only saved my faith but it helped me to become more comfortable in my skin. I was a conservative Christian and coming out of the closet was one of the hardest things I ever did. I will always be thankful for this book. I highly recommend it for straight Christians, pastors, etc as it gives not only a logical argument for the support of LGBT in our community but the book also has printed numerous heart-felt letters from LGBT brothers and sisters. I've read this book twice now and want to read it again soon.
August 21, 2018
Thank you, John!
I grew up with the conventional thinking about homosexuality, but there were several elements about this way of thinking that always troubled me. Recently, I questioned this way of thinking a lot more and I became convinced that this conventional thinking is wrong. I’m glad I read this book. It reminded me that Christians are supposed to exhibit God’s love, not His wrath.
I grew up with the conventional thinking about homosexuality, but there were several elements about this way of thinking that always troubled me. Recently, I questioned this way of thinking a lot more and I became convinced that this conventional thinking is wrong. I’m glad I read this book. It reminded me that Christians are supposed to exhibit God’s love, not His wrath.
May 3, 2015
This was a difficult read. These letters broke my heart open again and again, but the overall message was one of hope and closure and above all else, faith. Shore presents his refreshingly logical interpretation of those (endlessly cited) biblical verses dealing with homosexuality in such a rational, readable, and often humorous way that I can't help but be thrilled he's on our side.
May 11, 2016
This book brings to life the stories of actual people and their relationship with the Divine. Hearing the stories of people in the LGBT community helped me begin to reshape the way I understood the issue.
December 4, 2025
“If you don’t know much about LGBT people, get to know some. Spend time with them. Love them the way Christ does. You’ll accomplish two things with this: you will expand your own horizons—your own ministry—and you will allow another human being to see God’s love. Because that’s the crux of the issue: the church is teaching LGBT people that God hates them, when the same Christ who died on the cross for straight people also died for the LGBT community. Don’t nullify Christ’s work with your own hate and ignorance.”
I loved the letters compiled in this book; there are so many touching insights into the lives of gay Christians. I didn’t enjoy the essays from the author as much. He feels very strongly about this issue, which while I think is a good thing, sometimes gives him an air of mockery and harshness that’s off-putting. (At least in my opinion.) There isn’t a lot of (if any) actual arguments for why it’s possible to be both Christian and gay, so if you’re looking for that, you should go elsewhere. What is present is a humanization of people often dehumanized. These are real stories from real people who love the Lord deeply, and do so in the midst of a lot of trials and controversy. That is a beautiful thing.
I loved the letters compiled in this book; there are so many touching insights into the lives of gay Christians. I didn’t enjoy the essays from the author as much. He feels very strongly about this issue, which while I think is a good thing, sometimes gives him an air of mockery and harshness that’s off-putting. (At least in my opinion.) There isn’t a lot of (if any) actual arguments for why it’s possible to be both Christian and gay, so if you’re looking for that, you should go elsewhere. What is present is a humanization of people often dehumanized. These are real stories from real people who love the Lord deeply, and do so in the midst of a lot of trials and controversy. That is a beautiful thing.
May 25, 2018
I read this when I first started questioning my sexuality, and let me tell you, this helped.
I've grown up Christian and still am to this day. I was taught that being gay was a sin and that loving someone of the same sex was wrong, but, after reading this, I realized something. There is almost no evidence for that claim, and the little that is there has much historical context. This book reassured me that I wasn't going to hell.
I've grown up Christian and still am to this day. I was taught that being gay was a sin and that loving someone of the same sex was wrong, but, after reading this, I realized something. There is almost no evidence for that claim, and the little that is there has much historical context. This book reassured me that I wasn't going to hell.
February 23, 2020
Very good book. If you have already made up you mind on the LGBTQ issues you will not like this book. if you are open to great information on the subject you will love it.
July 9, 2015
I was really looking forward to reading this book, liking it, and giving it a big pretty glowing 5 star review. Last I checked there weren't many reviews, and I was hoping that my 5-stars would help persuade people to read it, since it covers such an important topic, and I like what I've read of John Shore's stuff when friends post it on Facebook. Unfortunately, it falls a bit flat, at least for me. I was hoping for a pretty detailed analysis of what the Clobber Passages were and why they're bunk. I was hoping for serious and intellectual fodder to use if ever trying to persuade Christians to stop being dicks to gay people. Basically, I was hoping for the book version of the movie "For the Bible Tells Me So" (which you ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH). This book lightly flirted with this stuff, but always stopped short.
In essence, this book was more an appeal to emotion and the heart than an appeal to logic and the brain. It seems to be directed more at gay Christians (or potential Christians) and making them feel welcome than directed at straight Christians and/or other allies. This is definitely a noble goal, so in that respect the book serves a very real purpose. I just wish I'd realized ahead of time that that's what I was about to read. If this book made just one gay Christian feel better, then mission accomplished, job well done, etc.
To people like me, however, the book felt unfocused and ill-organized. Half the book is a collection of letters Shore collected from gay Christians describing their experiences. At first this section was great. It was great to hear from real people, with real experiences, expressing their real emotions. But then there were more letters. And I was like, "Okay, I see what he's doing here. He wants to emphasize that you are truly not alone, and that these experiences are universal, that there are sooo many people going through these struggles, etc." But then the letters kept going, and going, and going, and going, for what seemed like forever. This may have been alright if the book had been titled "A Collection of Letters From Gay Christians, as Compiled by John Shore." But it wasn't. It was titled "UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Questions" (though I don't recall the T being discussed at any point) WRITTEN BY John Shore. But even as a compilation it is not very good, mostly because the majority of the stories are pretty much exactly the same. It got very tiring to read, which means it got boring, which is counterproductive. I do not mean to suggest that each individual story isn't moving or compelling or useful on its own, but mashing them all together like that sucked away half of the underlying meaning.
To his credit, Shore explains the layout of the book right at the beginning, so if the compilations got boring or tedious you could just skip them and go straight to Shore's essays at the end of the book. But I, naively, assumed that if Shore included them all as a selection in his published book, it was because he had an actual plan wherein the reader was actually supposed to gain something from each individual letter, and then combine it with his essays at the end. Nope, not so much. In fact, even the essays at the end didn't really seem to flow in any logical progression. In the end I was disappointed, because I had waited so long to get to the essays at the end, and those were just kinda meh.
SO...
DEFINITELY READ THIS BOOK if you are a gay Christian and are feeling alone, conflicted, unloved, etc. Buy this book and keep it handy so that at any point you can flip it open and read the words of someone who is/was in the exact same position as you. Read it to help realize that there ARE loving, non-crazy Christians out there reaching out their arms to accept you.
DEFINITELY READ THIS BOOK if you are a Christian who is at heart a really nice person but just can't figure out what to think about gays. You will learn how loving and normal they can be, and how harmful your actions (or inactions) can be.
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you're expecting facts, arguments, etc. You will not find them here. This is not a comprehensive examination of the issues, just a relevant collection of thoughts and stories.
Whether or not you read the book, definitely check out John Shore's stuff online. I'm not sure why this particular book kinda missed the mark, but his overall body of work is pretty great. And then definitely supplement all of this with the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So for an effective, reasoned look at the Clobber Passages (yes ,I'm plugging it twice, because it is good).
In essence, this book was more an appeal to emotion and the heart than an appeal to logic and the brain. It seems to be directed more at gay Christians (or potential Christians) and making them feel welcome than directed at straight Christians and/or other allies. This is definitely a noble goal, so in that respect the book serves a very real purpose. I just wish I'd realized ahead of time that that's what I was about to read. If this book made just one gay Christian feel better, then mission accomplished, job well done, etc.
To people like me, however, the book felt unfocused and ill-organized. Half the book is a collection of letters Shore collected from gay Christians describing their experiences. At first this section was great. It was great to hear from real people, with real experiences, expressing their real emotions. But then there were more letters. And I was like, "Okay, I see what he's doing here. He wants to emphasize that you are truly not alone, and that these experiences are universal, that there are sooo many people going through these struggles, etc." But then the letters kept going, and going, and going, and going, for what seemed like forever. This may have been alright if the book had been titled "A Collection of Letters From Gay Christians, as Compiled by John Shore." But it wasn't. It was titled "UNFAIR: Christians and the LGBT Questions" (though I don't recall the T being discussed at any point) WRITTEN BY John Shore. But even as a compilation it is not very good, mostly because the majority of the stories are pretty much exactly the same. It got very tiring to read, which means it got boring, which is counterproductive. I do not mean to suggest that each individual story isn't moving or compelling or useful on its own, but mashing them all together like that sucked away half of the underlying meaning.
To his credit, Shore explains the layout of the book right at the beginning, so if the compilations got boring or tedious you could just skip them and go straight to Shore's essays at the end of the book. But I, naively, assumed that if Shore included them all as a selection in his published book, it was because he had an actual plan wherein the reader was actually supposed to gain something from each individual letter, and then combine it with his essays at the end. Nope, not so much. In fact, even the essays at the end didn't really seem to flow in any logical progression. In the end I was disappointed, because I had waited so long to get to the essays at the end, and those were just kinda meh.
SO...
DEFINITELY READ THIS BOOK if you are a gay Christian and are feeling alone, conflicted, unloved, etc. Buy this book and keep it handy so that at any point you can flip it open and read the words of someone who is/was in the exact same position as you. Read it to help realize that there ARE loving, non-crazy Christians out there reaching out their arms to accept you.
DEFINITELY READ THIS BOOK if you are a Christian who is at heart a really nice person but just can't figure out what to think about gays. You will learn how loving and normal they can be, and how harmful your actions (or inactions) can be.
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you're expecting facts, arguments, etc. You will not find them here. This is not a comprehensive examination of the issues, just a relevant collection of thoughts and stories.
Whether or not you read the book, definitely check out John Shore's stuff online. I'm not sure why this particular book kinda missed the mark, but his overall body of work is pretty great. And then definitely supplement all of this with the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So for an effective, reasoned look at the Clobber Passages (yes ,I'm plugging it twice, because it is good).
March 5, 2017
This was a great read. I don't know how anyone could read this and still persecute someone for being gay. I would hope that Christians who are "so sure" that the bible condemns gays directly to hell would read this. Most of them probably won't. But even for Christians that are questioning or who just want another look, this book is wonderful. Highly recommended.
July 20, 2016
Whatever you believe about God, religion and the Bible, a person's story can move you. Shore asked for stories from gay people on his blog and this book is the result. It begins with a brief defense of same-sex relationships before being filled with a couple dozen stories of gay people and their experiences in the church. Sadly, these are stories filled with rejection, anger, hatred and fear. At the same time, these stories are moving as despite such awful experiences, these people still cling to the hope and love a relationship with God offers. I was deeply moved through these stories and appreciate Shore putting them together.
February 5, 2016
It reads like seeing a train wreck. One is moved by these letters of gay Christians who suffer rejection and despair as they seek and hope for the fellowship within their churches. I'm the least likely person to have read this--not moved to religion at all--but found the essays by John Shore, who seeks to counter the religious right's arguments against homosexuals, to be well directed and think they may be helpful to those who are questioning and seeking their place as Christians.
June 12, 2020
This was hard to rate. Probably more of a 3.5. The authors content was just okay. The letters from gay Christians were the best part of the book (about half). Many were just heartbreaking. It was worth the read just for those.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews