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Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age
Bestselling Author Rosaria Butterfield Confronts 5 Cultural Lies She Once Believed Modern culture is increasingly outspoken against a biblical understanding of what it means to be a woman. Even some Christians, swayed by the LGBTQ+ movement, have rejected God’s word on issues of sexuality and gender in favor of popular opinion. In light of these pressures, it’s more important than ever to help women see the truth about who God created them to be.
In this powerful book, Rosaria Butterfield uses Scripture to confront 5 common lies about sexuality, faith, feminism, gender roles, and modesty often promoted in our secular culture today. Written in the style of a memoir, this book explores Butterfield’s personal battle with these lies―interwoven with cultural studies, literary criticism, and theology―to help readers see the beauty in biblical womanhood, marriage, and motherhood.
In this powerful book, Rosaria Butterfield uses Scripture to confront 5 common lies about sexuality, faith, feminism, gender roles, and modesty often promoted in our secular culture today. Written in the style of a memoir, this book explores Butterfield’s personal battle with these lies―interwoven with cultural studies, literary criticism, and theology―to help readers see the beauty in biblical womanhood, marriage, and motherhood.
11 pages, Audiobook
Published September 12, 2023
696 people are currently reading
6976 people want to read
About the author
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield
19 books1,370 followersRosaria is a former tenured professor of English at Syracuse University. After her conversion to Christianity in 1999, she developed a ministry to college students. She has taught and ministered at Geneva College and is a full-time mother and pastor's wife, part-time author, and occasional speaker.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 590 reviews
August 2, 2025
2025 Reread for Bookclub: still find it to be an impactful read and a bold call for Christians to stand on truth. I appreciate Butterfield’s clarity on many topics, but especially that are infiltrating the church to its detriment.
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“This book is for Christians, especially Christian women, who aren’t ashamed of the Bible and its teachings—or who are and want to change.”
This is one of the strongest Christian books on culture that I have read recently. Written in style of a memoir, Butterfield is vulnerable about her past and where the saving work of Christ has brought her to today. “This is a book about dismantling the idol of our times—the world of LGBTQ+ that I in my sin helped build.” The stories of her life told in this book are a strong example of progressive sanctification in the life of a believer.
Butterfield is certainly not one to mince words. Rather, speaking the truth in love she calls out “Christian” leaders who are woefully leading other astray (Preston Sprinkle, Kristen DuMez, Greg Johnson). She also reveals shows the clear & present danger that has come on us from these lies of culture that are infiltrating the church: “The world is in chaos, and the church is divided because we have failed to obey God and value his plan for how men and women should live.”
She plants her position on a solid biblical basis and calls fellow Christians to hold to scriptural convictions while standing on truth in love.
Don’t skip the appendix which contains helpful Q&A, deep fundamental theological teaching, and a scripture index.
Lie #1: Homosexuality is normal.
Lie #2: Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
Lie #3: Feminism is good for the world and the church.
Lie #4: Transgenderism is normal.
Lie #5: Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
I received a complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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“This book is for Christians, especially Christian women, who aren’t ashamed of the Bible and its teachings—or who are and want to change.”
This is one of the strongest Christian books on culture that I have read recently. Written in style of a memoir, Butterfield is vulnerable about her past and where the saving work of Christ has brought her to today. “This is a book about dismantling the idol of our times—the world of LGBTQ+ that I in my sin helped build.” The stories of her life told in this book are a strong example of progressive sanctification in the life of a believer.
Butterfield is certainly not one to mince words. Rather, speaking the truth in love she calls out “Christian” leaders who are woefully leading other astray (Preston Sprinkle, Kristen DuMez, Greg Johnson). She also reveals shows the clear & present danger that has come on us from these lies of culture that are infiltrating the church: “The world is in chaos, and the church is divided because we have failed to obey God and value his plan for how men and women should live.”
She plants her position on a solid biblical basis and calls fellow Christians to hold to scriptural convictions while standing on truth in love.
Don’t skip the appendix which contains helpful Q&A, deep fundamental theological teaching, and a scripture index.
Lie #1: Homosexuality is normal.
Lie #2: Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
Lie #3: Feminism is good for the world and the church.
Lie #4: Transgenderism is normal.
Lie #5: Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
I received a complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
September 9, 2023
On the outset, I was unaware of the content of the book before I read it. I suppose the back cover synopsis might have been more elucidating than the title, but for whatever reason, I didn’t read it.
I was startled out of my ignorance in the introduction with a word picture painted specifically to feed into the fear of the Christian reader. Reading the introduction of this book elicits the very same feelings you might get after watching an hour of Fox News or CNN. In other words, it’s meant to feed fears and anxieties to compel the reader to come back and read more or to take action in some way. The introduction sets the tone for the entire book, and I cannot therefore recommend it because the spirit of fear does not come from God and using the tools of darkness to drive out darkness can never be successful. It only fuels the darkness.
After the introduction, Rosaria sets off to dispel five lies of the “anti-Christian” age. Even the title of the book makes one’s pulse quicken. The lies (and parts of her explanations of the truth, or the cure) are based on relative terms and vague ambiguities. For instance, the first lie she addresses is “homosexuality is normal.” But what is normal is relative to the population. Normal is a relative term and what’s normal changes over time. Normal is a moving target. Precision of language is important in effective communication. In her third lie, “transgenderism is normal,” she says the root sin of all transgenderism is the sin of envy, and those suffering from the sin should repent of their envy and find a good church. Making blanket statements about the root sins of others is a bold claim when you cannot possibly claim to know them all well enough to diagnose their root sin. Secondly, what even is a “good” church? The word “good” is relative. She’s going to bat for the truth because she’s observed the church being more and more divided over the lies she is dispelling, so that begs clarity. What on earth is a “good” church here? How does one struggling with transgenderism who might want to find a good church know how and where to look for one? The answers are not found in this book. In the last lie, she addresses “modesty is an outdated burden.” I was astonished that she felt compelled to address her “disapproval” of the biography of a woman who came out of ATI because of the impact her testimony of spiritual abuse could have to the modesty and virtues of women in the church. Silencing victims within the church doesn’t build the kingdom of God, it builds the kingdoms of men. Jesus Christ was never ashamed or afraid of the truth. He never sought to quash the truth from being known. The truth is what sets us free. Hiding it protects the perpetrators.
To be so learned and studied, I confess, I expected more. This book reads as if it was written not in a spirit of love to help a brother or sister in Christ but in a spirit of deep shame for the part she played in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities prior to her conversion.
I’d like to thank Crossway and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I was startled out of my ignorance in the introduction with a word picture painted specifically to feed into the fear of the Christian reader. Reading the introduction of this book elicits the very same feelings you might get after watching an hour of Fox News or CNN. In other words, it’s meant to feed fears and anxieties to compel the reader to come back and read more or to take action in some way. The introduction sets the tone for the entire book, and I cannot therefore recommend it because the spirit of fear does not come from God and using the tools of darkness to drive out darkness can never be successful. It only fuels the darkness.
After the introduction, Rosaria sets off to dispel five lies of the “anti-Christian” age. Even the title of the book makes one’s pulse quicken. The lies (and parts of her explanations of the truth, or the cure) are based on relative terms and vague ambiguities. For instance, the first lie she addresses is “homosexuality is normal.” But what is normal is relative to the population. Normal is a relative term and what’s normal changes over time. Normal is a moving target. Precision of language is important in effective communication. In her third lie, “transgenderism is normal,” she says the root sin of all transgenderism is the sin of envy, and those suffering from the sin should repent of their envy and find a good church. Making blanket statements about the root sins of others is a bold claim when you cannot possibly claim to know them all well enough to diagnose their root sin. Secondly, what even is a “good” church? The word “good” is relative. She’s going to bat for the truth because she’s observed the church being more and more divided over the lies she is dispelling, so that begs clarity. What on earth is a “good” church here? How does one struggling with transgenderism who might want to find a good church know how and where to look for one? The answers are not found in this book. In the last lie, she addresses “modesty is an outdated burden.” I was astonished that she felt compelled to address her “disapproval” of the biography of a woman who came out of ATI because of the impact her testimony of spiritual abuse could have to the modesty and virtues of women in the church. Silencing victims within the church doesn’t build the kingdom of God, it builds the kingdoms of men. Jesus Christ was never ashamed or afraid of the truth. He never sought to quash the truth from being known. The truth is what sets us free. Hiding it protects the perpetrators.
To be so learned and studied, I confess, I expected more. This book reads as if it was written not in a spirit of love to help a brother or sister in Christ but in a spirit of deep shame for the part she played in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities prior to her conversion.
I’d like to thank Crossway and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 21, 2023
The devil is the great deceiver. Jesus says the devil “was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, ESV). The world believes these lies and is blind to the truth of God’s Word. Rosaria Butterfield addresses some of these lies in her most recent book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age.
The author is quick to point out that her book is not a comprehensive description of all the lies in our world. But the five lies she surveys are an accurate representation of the kind of deception that has our culture by the throat. These lies have fooled the world and tragically as Butterfield writes, “have found a home in evangelicalism.” The five lies include:
Lie #1: Homosexuality is normal.
Lie #2: Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
Lie #3: Feminism is good for the world and the church.
Lie #4: Transgenderism is normal.
Lie #5: Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
Butterfield reveals what these lies have in common: “They don’t think that God had a plan and purpose when he created men and women.” Of course, the stated purpose of men and women is summed up in the first chapter of Genesis:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” (Genesis 1:27–28, ESV)
The author writes with a two-fold strategy: First, she summarizes and defends the biblical role of men and women. In the end, as Dr. Butterfield writes, "We are of no good to God or our loved ones if we believe the lies the culture feeds us about what it means to be a man or a woman."
Second, she exposes the five lies and subjects them to the truth of Scripture. Each lie is explained and exposed through a biblical framework. As a former lesbian activist, Dr. Butterfield brings a depth of perspective and understanding that most people simply don’t possess. She is eager to confront the five lies and offer hope to people who have been deceived by the evil one.
The Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age is a much-needed response in our age of religious pluralism and compromise. The arguments are clear and compelling. The reasoning is sharp and biblical. The author’s heart for hurting people shines on every page. This is required reading for every follower of Christ!.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
The author is quick to point out that her book is not a comprehensive description of all the lies in our world. But the five lies she surveys are an accurate representation of the kind of deception that has our culture by the throat. These lies have fooled the world and tragically as Butterfield writes, “have found a home in evangelicalism.” The five lies include:
Lie #1: Homosexuality is normal.
Lie #2: Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
Lie #3: Feminism is good for the world and the church.
Lie #4: Transgenderism is normal.
Lie #5: Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
Butterfield reveals what these lies have in common: “They don’t think that God had a plan and purpose when he created men and women.” Of course, the stated purpose of men and women is summed up in the first chapter of Genesis:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” (Genesis 1:27–28, ESV)
The author writes with a two-fold strategy: First, she summarizes and defends the biblical role of men and women. In the end, as Dr. Butterfield writes, "We are of no good to God or our loved ones if we believe the lies the culture feeds us about what it means to be a man or a woman."
Second, she exposes the five lies and subjects them to the truth of Scripture. Each lie is explained and exposed through a biblical framework. As a former lesbian activist, Dr. Butterfield brings a depth of perspective and understanding that most people simply don’t possess. She is eager to confront the five lies and offer hope to people who have been deceived by the evil one.
The Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age is a much-needed response in our age of religious pluralism and compromise. The arguments are clear and compelling. The reasoning is sharp and biblical. The author’s heart for hurting people shines on every page. This is required reading for every follower of Christ!.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
January 20, 2024
With clarity and grace, Rosaria lays out truth regarding five lies influencing the church. I appreciate her openness and believe she has wisdom for this age (for such a time as this). She speaks on homosexuality, spiritual vs religious, feminism, transgenderism, and modesty. There is just so much to say…it’s just that good. The chapter on feminism was most helpful for me. I appreciated that she included older women and singles in her audience. I highly recommend reading this book.
January 1, 2024
I did not enjoy reading (listening to) this book. The tone was disappointingly harsh. Even when agreeing with what she had to say I was often turned off by the delivery.
March 5, 2024
Here ya go! A super long review because I listened to the audiobook and took notes with time stamps 📝
12 minutes in
Immediately asserts the complementarian position and anyone who disagrees as believing a “conspiratorial hatespeech” by Satan 🙄 throws shade toward “almost Christians” on twitter/bloggers so I guess she is like God and knows who is saved and who isn’t
13:50
“All Christian women who value biblical marriage and childbearing will be blessed” so immediately gives a prosperity gospel tied to belief in marriage and family 🫢😵💫
33 minutes in
Calls The Sistine Chapel crude paganism because of something about how Adam and Eve aren’t the image of God but then contradictorily says male and female are made in the image of God. Something about Adam and Eve not being the image of god? But male and female are? Would love for her to wrestle with Colossians 1:15
Lie 1: homosexuality is normal
* says “gay Christian” is a oxymoron
Lie 2: being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian
* Welcomes people as they are
* Hierarchy is abusive
Lie 3: feminism is good for the church and the world 🌎
* Mary Wollstonecraft
* 4 phases but only talks about phase 1 and then jumps to phase 4
* Current phase can’t define what a woman is
* She says Christian feminists claim “Headship” is a result of the fall ….umm yeah because it is. It’s usually called Patriarchy. Genesis 3:16 calls it “your husband shall rule over you” so more complementarian assertions and uncharitable statements about those that have a differing view
* She tries to counter the notion that Feminism is a check on the church preventing misogyny from running rampant.
* Without feminism, Rosario says her critics will say that “sexual predators will run rampant and women will be prevented from using their spiritual gifts..” Whelp. That sounds like the current state of a lot of the evangelical church 😆 but apparently it’s lie 3
Lie 4: transgenderism is normal
* for the most part I agree with everything here so nothing to note
Lie 5: modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back
* a lot of women and men and different…therefore, women’s bodies are problematic and women not thinking/feeling that they owe their “brothers” modesty is a feminist lie 😳🫢😳🫢😵💫 so we got some typical purity culture/ rape culture / blame the victim crap who is of course a woman and the “stronger” man can’t be strong enough to control his thoughts or whatever because of pseudoscience
Says she has sinned by embracing using preferred pronouns. No argument from me, i have a strong stance that you should not cooperate or give credence to lies.
Says sin is not only actions but also desire. Hmm 🤔
107:10 “sometimes we wonder why we are in conflict with other people who call themselves Christian’s” “can’t we just focus on building a gospel culture and not fret over the Bible? Lolz. It’s kind of funny since she’s already made claims for certain secondary/tertiary issues and indicated that anyone that doesn’t agree with her stances is “unbiblical”
1:12 criticizes Freud which I’m here for!
2:10 she’s very proud of supporting biblical patriarchy 😵💫 “only safe place for a woman is as a member of a bible believing church protected and covered by God and under elders and if God wills, under a husband”
“Guilty as charged she exclaims!”
2:33: she defines sexuality in creation with one man + one woman . Can be captured within the word “heterosexuality” . Is procreative. (Better not tell those struggling with infertility)
4:22 “While you can’t be saved by your theology you can be taken dangerously off course by an unbiblical one” she doesn’t see herself in this statement because she has “biblical theology” ignoring of course that she has embraced particular interpretations of passages. So lots of pride.
“
5:24 in the chapter on feminism she has a long list of families who have children embracing lesbianism, nonbinaryism, and transgenderism
A lot of the families had stories about “we were okay with our daughter sleeping/living with her boyfriend but now that she’s cutting her boobs off and planning to marry her girlfriend we’re freaking out”
In other words, there is a lot of criticism but it’s not toward feminism, but toward transgender ideology
Her “feminist self defense” class sounds like a republican 2nd amendment class 😂
5:49 “submission is biblical, but is it dangerous?” My answer: yes, it cost Jesus his life
5:55 describes physical abuse from her mother. And her father’s passivity. Ironically, for all her criticism of Freud, she describes her mother as the devouring mother archetype that Freud outlines without naming her that way 🤦♀️
6:16 shots fired toward the “gynocentric interruptions” hahahahaha asserts biblical feminists do not embrace the “plain reading of the text” 🙄🙄🙄 wonder if she eats pork 🤔
Under patriarchy, woman’s value is derived from their relationships to men…..um yeah that’s how patriarchy works.
Criticizes Kristen Ku Dumez’s book, Jesus and John Wayne. Hahaha she paints Dumez’s book as a feminist reading of evangelical culture suggesting it is all about “the stereotype of the virtuous woman against the dangerous man.” Conveniently, I have already read Jesus and John Wayne so I don’t have to take Butterfield’s interpretation or characterization of it. I would not describe it as a feminist vs patriarchy critique of evangelical culture. I would say it exposes the “religious right” ‘s quest for political and cultural power. In these spaces, how you vote and what you think about abortion is more important than your sanctification and how you treat your neighbor. Loving God and loving others is secondary to the culture wars and making sure you vote for the “right” candidate that if we can just get in the White House everything will change and we will “take America back for Jesus” 😂
She never critiques feminism partly because she never defines it 😩😩😩 What she does end up critiquing is the backlash against the subjugation of women (she never defines it like that though). She is proudly into “biblical patriarchy” so of course she is seeking to defend that belief against something that undermines it. Feminism could be defined at its most basic level as the belief that women are human and should be treated equally to men. (Not saying it is the best definition but work with it.) Patriarchy tells women their “role” is under men and to support men. Patriarchy tells women their rights do not come from being made in the image of God but in embracing “biblical womanhood” and supporting the patriarchy. Hahahaha. I’m surprised she doesn’t reference “The Making of Biblical Womanhood” by Beth Allison Barr. Anyway, feminism is a “lie” to Butferfield because it could tell women that they gasp 🫢 have rights 🫢. And this is detrimental to Rosaria’s belief in male headship and female submission also known as patriarchy and the subjugation of women. But Butterfield can’t call it what it is so instead she calls it feminism and any of her opponents are rejecting “Biblical truth” for a lie.
The violence against Genesis 1-3 is horrifying. I feel viscerally SICK hearing God’s words twisted so violently.
Shockingly, Butterfield never mentions Betty Friedan or Gloria Steinham or Susan B. Anthony or the temperance movement. She talks about Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelly but no one else. Mind you, Mary Wollstonecraft lived from 1759-1797. I think she’s worth studying but like also your critique of feminism is gonna go back to when America was a British colony and then you’re going to jump to the transgender movement in the 2010s+ and act like you didn’t just skip 200 years of history? Wow. I am flabbergasted that Butterfield thought she could critique feminism without mentioning Friedan. It’s almost like she knows objections to 2nd wave feminism will fail. So she jumps to the transgender movement to couch her critique of “feminism”
This chapter was horrible for what it aimed to accomplish and I’m shocked an editor let it pass.
Lie 4: transgenderism is normal
She says transgenderism will be the final nail in the coffin of feminism because how can you protect a woman if you can’t define what a woman is? Hahahahahhahahaaaaa you just spent the last chapter claiming “feminism” is a lie and the patriarchy is good for protecting women. But now you borrow the feminist goal of “protecting women” because you know it will suit your goal of critiquing the transgender movement. 😂 you can’t borrow from your opposition when it suits you. What an idiot. Also, I didn’t think women needed protecting because the patriarchy is good? 😆 eventually, even the biblical patriarchy crowd is forced to recognize they don’t really believe what they preach. What do women need protecting from? Men.
7:33 finally! She mentions Friedan, Steinem and Simone De Beauvoir
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2 NIV
Rosario just quoted this verse and I’m thinking…but you have lots of condemnation for Christians that don’t co-sign your exact flavor of Christianity
Some talk of hell was interesting. Apparently, Preston Sprinkle was considering/endorsing a view of annihilation. She criticizes him.
9:17 quotes Psalm 110:2 “The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!””
Psalms 110:2 NIV. She uses a version that’s says the “rod” and not the mighty scepter. She says, “It is God’s will that Zion, the church, will shine forth in front of our enemies” OMG UM. No, the church is not Zion. So is she into replacement theology? REALLY? REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY? Omg 🤦♀️
OMG. She commented on the Jmac and Beth Moore “Go home!” Incident without naming them. Hahahaha. I was going to say something scathing about how it is an oxymoron, though ironic, that there are soooo many women that are firm complementarians who don’t believe women can be pastors and yet they do a speaking circuit and they write books. Functionally, they are doing what many pastors do.
At the end she quotes “the Bible is clear” in her defense of her views of inerrancy. This phrase has been quoted and used so many times now that it has no meaning. “The Bible is clear” when it says “slaves, obey their masters” 🙄 I’m ready for Rosario to express full support for slavery because the “Bible is clear” 🙄🙄🙄🫤😐🫠
Westminster confession
4. “Bible passages have a single meaning, not multiple meanings”
“There are no problem passages” lolz 😂
“The difficult passages get interpreted from the clearer passages” 😂 lol but I thought the Bible, meaning all of it, was clear? I thought there weren’t any difficult passages?
11:18 talks about ceremonial laws not being applicable today. Hmm how’d you decide that? I thought “the Bible was clear” ? How did you decide that those laws weren’t laws for all people, in all places, at all times? 😆
Wow. This book 🫢 I have read previous books from Rosario which I thought were good. This book…like I’m embarrassed that it got published. What were they thinking? So many assertions and assumptions. And so much of it always went back to propping up patriarchy / complementarianism. I was taken aback when it just kept going back to that and I considered not finishing the book because I lean more egalitarian in case you didn’t notice and like, it gets old being accused of not valuing the Bible 😂 But like I’ve heard that before and ultimately I wanted to finish the entire book so that I could make an honest review. This book is just about preserving, in the American sense, conservative politics and gender roles. Could be titled Five Truths Threatening Conservatives and their Gender Roles. We get it.
12 minutes in
Immediately asserts the complementarian position and anyone who disagrees as believing a “conspiratorial hatespeech” by Satan 🙄 throws shade toward “almost Christians” on twitter/bloggers so I guess she is like God and knows who is saved and who isn’t
13:50
“All Christian women who value biblical marriage and childbearing will be blessed” so immediately gives a prosperity gospel tied to belief in marriage and family 🫢😵💫
33 minutes in
Calls The Sistine Chapel crude paganism because of something about how Adam and Eve aren’t the image of God but then contradictorily says male and female are made in the image of God. Something about Adam and Eve not being the image of god? But male and female are? Would love for her to wrestle with Colossians 1:15
Lie 1: homosexuality is normal
* says “gay Christian” is a oxymoron
Lie 2: being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian
* Welcomes people as they are
* Hierarchy is abusive
Lie 3: feminism is good for the church and the world 🌎
* Mary Wollstonecraft
* 4 phases but only talks about phase 1 and then jumps to phase 4
* Current phase can’t define what a woman is
* She says Christian feminists claim “Headship” is a result of the fall ….umm yeah because it is. It’s usually called Patriarchy. Genesis 3:16 calls it “your husband shall rule over you” so more complementarian assertions and uncharitable statements about those that have a differing view
* She tries to counter the notion that Feminism is a check on the church preventing misogyny from running rampant.
* Without feminism, Rosario says her critics will say that “sexual predators will run rampant and women will be prevented from using their spiritual gifts..” Whelp. That sounds like the current state of a lot of the evangelical church 😆 but apparently it’s lie 3
Lie 4: transgenderism is normal
* for the most part I agree with everything here so nothing to note
Lie 5: modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back
* a lot of women and men and different…therefore, women’s bodies are problematic and women not thinking/feeling that they owe their “brothers” modesty is a feminist lie 😳🫢😳🫢😵💫 so we got some typical purity culture/ rape culture / blame the victim crap who is of course a woman and the “stronger” man can’t be strong enough to control his thoughts or whatever because of pseudoscience
Says she has sinned by embracing using preferred pronouns. No argument from me, i have a strong stance that you should not cooperate or give credence to lies.
Says sin is not only actions but also desire. Hmm 🤔
107:10 “sometimes we wonder why we are in conflict with other people who call themselves Christian’s” “can’t we just focus on building a gospel culture and not fret over the Bible? Lolz. It’s kind of funny since she’s already made claims for certain secondary/tertiary issues and indicated that anyone that doesn’t agree with her stances is “unbiblical”
1:12 criticizes Freud which I’m here for!
2:10 she’s very proud of supporting biblical patriarchy 😵💫 “only safe place for a woman is as a member of a bible believing church protected and covered by God and under elders and if God wills, under a husband”
“Guilty as charged she exclaims!”
2:33: she defines sexuality in creation with one man + one woman . Can be captured within the word “heterosexuality” . Is procreative. (Better not tell those struggling with infertility)
4:22 “While you can’t be saved by your theology you can be taken dangerously off course by an unbiblical one” she doesn’t see herself in this statement because she has “biblical theology” ignoring of course that she has embraced particular interpretations of passages. So lots of pride.
“
5:24 in the chapter on feminism she has a long list of families who have children embracing lesbianism, nonbinaryism, and transgenderism
A lot of the families had stories about “we were okay with our daughter sleeping/living with her boyfriend but now that she’s cutting her boobs off and planning to marry her girlfriend we’re freaking out”
In other words, there is a lot of criticism but it’s not toward feminism, but toward transgender ideology
Her “feminist self defense” class sounds like a republican 2nd amendment class 😂
5:49 “submission is biblical, but is it dangerous?” My answer: yes, it cost Jesus his life
5:55 describes physical abuse from her mother. And her father’s passivity. Ironically, for all her criticism of Freud, she describes her mother as the devouring mother archetype that Freud outlines without naming her that way 🤦♀️
6:16 shots fired toward the “gynocentric interruptions” hahahahaha asserts biblical feminists do not embrace the “plain reading of the text” 🙄🙄🙄 wonder if she eats pork 🤔
Under patriarchy, woman’s value is derived from their relationships to men…..um yeah that’s how patriarchy works.
Criticizes Kristen Ku Dumez’s book, Jesus and John Wayne. Hahaha she paints Dumez’s book as a feminist reading of evangelical culture suggesting it is all about “the stereotype of the virtuous woman against the dangerous man.” Conveniently, I have already read Jesus and John Wayne so I don’t have to take Butterfield’s interpretation or characterization of it. I would not describe it as a feminist vs patriarchy critique of evangelical culture. I would say it exposes the “religious right” ‘s quest for political and cultural power. In these spaces, how you vote and what you think about abortion is more important than your sanctification and how you treat your neighbor. Loving God and loving others is secondary to the culture wars and making sure you vote for the “right” candidate that if we can just get in the White House everything will change and we will “take America back for Jesus” 😂
She never critiques feminism partly because she never defines it 😩😩😩 What she does end up critiquing is the backlash against the subjugation of women (she never defines it like that though). She is proudly into “biblical patriarchy” so of course she is seeking to defend that belief against something that undermines it. Feminism could be defined at its most basic level as the belief that women are human and should be treated equally to men. (Not saying it is the best definition but work with it.) Patriarchy tells women their “role” is under men and to support men. Patriarchy tells women their rights do not come from being made in the image of God but in embracing “biblical womanhood” and supporting the patriarchy. Hahahaha. I’m surprised she doesn’t reference “The Making of Biblical Womanhood” by Beth Allison Barr. Anyway, feminism is a “lie” to Butferfield because it could tell women that they gasp 🫢 have rights 🫢. And this is detrimental to Rosaria’s belief in male headship and female submission also known as patriarchy and the subjugation of women. But Butterfield can’t call it what it is so instead she calls it feminism and any of her opponents are rejecting “Biblical truth” for a lie.
The violence against Genesis 1-3 is horrifying. I feel viscerally SICK hearing God’s words twisted so violently.
Shockingly, Butterfield never mentions Betty Friedan or Gloria Steinham or Susan B. Anthony or the temperance movement. She talks about Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelly but no one else. Mind you, Mary Wollstonecraft lived from 1759-1797. I think she’s worth studying but like also your critique of feminism is gonna go back to when America was a British colony and then you’re going to jump to the transgender movement in the 2010s+ and act like you didn’t just skip 200 years of history? Wow. I am flabbergasted that Butterfield thought she could critique feminism without mentioning Friedan. It’s almost like she knows objections to 2nd wave feminism will fail. So she jumps to the transgender movement to couch her critique of “feminism”
This chapter was horrible for what it aimed to accomplish and I’m shocked an editor let it pass.
Lie 4: transgenderism is normal
She says transgenderism will be the final nail in the coffin of feminism because how can you protect a woman if you can’t define what a woman is? Hahahahahhahahaaaaa you just spent the last chapter claiming “feminism” is a lie and the patriarchy is good for protecting women. But now you borrow the feminist goal of “protecting women” because you know it will suit your goal of critiquing the transgender movement. 😂 you can’t borrow from your opposition when it suits you. What an idiot. Also, I didn’t think women needed protecting because the patriarchy is good? 😆 eventually, even the biblical patriarchy crowd is forced to recognize they don’t really believe what they preach. What do women need protecting from? Men.
7:33 finally! She mentions Friedan, Steinem and Simone De Beauvoir
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2 NIV
Rosario just quoted this verse and I’m thinking…but you have lots of condemnation for Christians that don’t co-sign your exact flavor of Christianity
Some talk of hell was interesting. Apparently, Preston Sprinkle was considering/endorsing a view of annihilation. She criticizes him.
9:17 quotes Psalm 110:2 “The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!””
Psalms 110:2 NIV. She uses a version that’s says the “rod” and not the mighty scepter. She says, “It is God’s will that Zion, the church, will shine forth in front of our enemies” OMG UM. No, the church is not Zion. So is she into replacement theology? REALLY? REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY? Omg 🤦♀️
OMG. She commented on the Jmac and Beth Moore “Go home!” Incident without naming them. Hahahaha. I was going to say something scathing about how it is an oxymoron, though ironic, that there are soooo many women that are firm complementarians who don’t believe women can be pastors and yet they do a speaking circuit and they write books. Functionally, they are doing what many pastors do.
At the end she quotes “the Bible is clear” in her defense of her views of inerrancy. This phrase has been quoted and used so many times now that it has no meaning. “The Bible is clear” when it says “slaves, obey their masters” 🙄 I’m ready for Rosario to express full support for slavery because the “Bible is clear” 🙄🙄🙄🫤😐🫠
Westminster confession
4. “Bible passages have a single meaning, not multiple meanings”
“There are no problem passages” lolz 😂
“The difficult passages get interpreted from the clearer passages” 😂 lol but I thought the Bible, meaning all of it, was clear? I thought there weren’t any difficult passages?
11:18 talks about ceremonial laws not being applicable today. Hmm how’d you decide that? I thought “the Bible was clear” ? How did you decide that those laws weren’t laws for all people, in all places, at all times? 😆
Wow. This book 🫢 I have read previous books from Rosario which I thought were good. This book…like I’m embarrassed that it got published. What were they thinking? So many assertions and assumptions. And so much of it always went back to propping up patriarchy / complementarianism. I was taken aback when it just kept going back to that and I considered not finishing the book because I lean more egalitarian in case you didn’t notice and like, it gets old being accused of not valuing the Bible 😂 But like I’ve heard that before and ultimately I wanted to finish the entire book so that I could make an honest review. This book is just about preserving, in the American sense, conservative politics and gender roles. Could be titled Five Truths Threatening Conservatives and their Gender Roles. We get it.
April 21, 2024
Rosaria’s previous book, “The Gospel Comes with a House Key” was beautiful, challenging, and integral in the development of my personal understanding and practice of Christian hospitality. Because that book was so impactful, I had high hopes for “Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age.” I began the book eager to learn, I nearly gave up partway through, and I ended it with mixed feelings— mostly disappointment.
In this book, Rosaria presents a strong, unwavering, highly conservative stance on several “hot topics” in modern culture.
I found several of her points to be helpful, insightful, and a few to even be profound, inspiring reflection and examination of my own beliefs.
Additionally, her commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and the importance of repentance is clear throughout the book.
However, as I listened to her narration on audible, her tone was not simply passionate—it was overwhelmingly harsh and at times, even angry. While treating sin harshly is important; treating sinners—human beings—harshly is unhelpful at best and extremely harmful at worst.
Rosaria called out Preston Sprinkle and his organization by name not once, not twice, but three times. She took narrow quotes from his writing, without context, and made bold claims about his beliefs, character, and teachings. One time, immediately after criticizing Preston, she then praised the theology of Jonathan Edwards who was a slave owner who defended other slave owners. Later, she called out Beth Moore, not by name, but made it crystal clear she was referring to Beth and only Beth. Why call out one person by name three times but not the other?
In criticizing Beth’s decision to respond via Twitter to John MacArthur’s now famous “go home” quote, Rosaria claimed that in such instances, it is best to pick up the telephone and have a private conversation instead. I thought this was glaringly hypocritical, as Rosaria denied Preston this very opportunity. Preston published a response to Rosaria’s bold, harsh claims about him (several she made outside of the context of this particular book). In his response, Preston stated that he felt Rosaria misunderstood and misrepresented him, so he reached out to her to request a private conversation to offer clarity on his actual beliefs (these beliefs are clearly published on his website). Rosaria’s husband and pastor responded to Preston’s request on Rosaria’s behalf and refused to have a conversation with him. To challenge Beth to confront MacArthur’s claims privately and then deny Preston the opportunity to do so with her is, sadly, hypocrisy.
In “Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age” Rosaria even emphasized the importance of context in critiquing someone’s work, something she didn’t offer in her selection of the quotes she used to critique Preston.
Below is one belief that Rosaria publicly claimed that Preston holds, followed by his response:
_____________________________________
Supposed Belief 2: "People who experience same-sex attraction are actually gay Christians called to lifelong celibacy."
“I have never said, nor have I ever believed, that “people who experience same-sex attraction are… called to lifelong celibacy.” I’ve always said and believed that our Creator has one sexual ethic for all people who seek to follow him: abstaining from sex while single, and being faithful to your opposite-sex spouse in marriage. Many same-sex attracted Christians who hold a historically Christian view of marriage do commit to lifelong celibacy, while others pursue marriage to an opposite-sex spouse. The Center and I believe and teach that marriage and singleness are both beautiful and necessary vocations, and a person’s experience of sexual attraction doesn’t necessarily dictate which of these two vocations God will lead them into.”
_____________________________________
To be fair, Rosaria’s tone changed towards the end of the book and I thought she provided practical, Biblical, helpful info in the appendix.
I wish I could recommend this book, as Rosaria made several Biblically sound, important points, but her treatment of Preston and overall tone in the audible narration left me disappointed and unable to enthusiastically recommend this book.
In this book, Rosaria presents a strong, unwavering, highly conservative stance on several “hot topics” in modern culture.
I found several of her points to be helpful, insightful, and a few to even be profound, inspiring reflection and examination of my own beliefs.
Additionally, her commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and the importance of repentance is clear throughout the book.
However, as I listened to her narration on audible, her tone was not simply passionate—it was overwhelmingly harsh and at times, even angry. While treating sin harshly is important; treating sinners—human beings—harshly is unhelpful at best and extremely harmful at worst.
Rosaria called out Preston Sprinkle and his organization by name not once, not twice, but three times. She took narrow quotes from his writing, without context, and made bold claims about his beliefs, character, and teachings. One time, immediately after criticizing Preston, she then praised the theology of Jonathan Edwards who was a slave owner who defended other slave owners. Later, she called out Beth Moore, not by name, but made it crystal clear she was referring to Beth and only Beth. Why call out one person by name three times but not the other?
In criticizing Beth’s decision to respond via Twitter to John MacArthur’s now famous “go home” quote, Rosaria claimed that in such instances, it is best to pick up the telephone and have a private conversation instead. I thought this was glaringly hypocritical, as Rosaria denied Preston this very opportunity. Preston published a response to Rosaria’s bold, harsh claims about him (several she made outside of the context of this particular book). In his response, Preston stated that he felt Rosaria misunderstood and misrepresented him, so he reached out to her to request a private conversation to offer clarity on his actual beliefs (these beliefs are clearly published on his website). Rosaria’s husband and pastor responded to Preston’s request on Rosaria’s behalf and refused to have a conversation with him. To challenge Beth to confront MacArthur’s claims privately and then deny Preston the opportunity to do so with her is, sadly, hypocrisy.
In “Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age” Rosaria even emphasized the importance of context in critiquing someone’s work, something she didn’t offer in her selection of the quotes she used to critique Preston.
Below is one belief that Rosaria publicly claimed that Preston holds, followed by his response:
_____________________________________
Supposed Belief 2: "People who experience same-sex attraction are actually gay Christians called to lifelong celibacy."
“I have never said, nor have I ever believed, that “people who experience same-sex attraction are… called to lifelong celibacy.” I’ve always said and believed that our Creator has one sexual ethic for all people who seek to follow him: abstaining from sex while single, and being faithful to your opposite-sex spouse in marriage. Many same-sex attracted Christians who hold a historically Christian view of marriage do commit to lifelong celibacy, while others pursue marriage to an opposite-sex spouse. The Center and I believe and teach that marriage and singleness are both beautiful and necessary vocations, and a person’s experience of sexual attraction doesn’t necessarily dictate which of these two vocations God will lead them into.”
_____________________________________
To be fair, Rosaria’s tone changed towards the end of the book and I thought she provided practical, Biblical, helpful info in the appendix.
I wish I could recommend this book, as Rosaria made several Biblically sound, important points, but her treatment of Preston and overall tone in the audible narration left me disappointed and unable to enthusiastically recommend this book.
February 12, 2025
I am somewhat conflicted about how to rate this book. I agree with some of her conclusions and many of her concerns, however, I can’t get over how polemical this book is. If I were asked to describe the general tone of the writing, I would say that the author comes across as angry or accusatory (as if one were being yelled at by the author). As for the content, it ranges from unsupported dogmatic assertions (leaving us wondering why we should adhere to statements which she has told us are absolutely true, and that we simply must accept, or why we should reject the so-called lies of various authors, that are apparently wrong) to compelling descriptions of sin and its consequences (to which we cry “amen”).
I was frustrated by the fact that so many important statements (often of a controversial nature) are made without support or attending argumentation. Authors are criticized for their opinions, but many times the critiques fall flat, and could be used as examples of either red herrings, straw men, or poisoning the well (i.e. - her interaction with, and criticism of Preston Sprinkle presents some clear examples of some of these fallacies). It was also frustrating to be told about how certain actions or ideas (i.e. - being transgender) were really just instances of some sin (i.e. - envy). This makes a really bad assumption about the motives of the people in question.
All in all, this book felt like a rally speech: intended to awaken the crowd and move them to action, without asking them to think too much about why they should be passionate about the action in question.
There is much here that is of interest. However, due to the difficulties I have mentioned, I cannot recommend this book.
I was frustrated by the fact that so many important statements (often of a controversial nature) are made without support or attending argumentation. Authors are criticized for their opinions, but many times the critiques fall flat, and could be used as examples of either red herrings, straw men, or poisoning the well (i.e. - her interaction with, and criticism of Preston Sprinkle presents some clear examples of some of these fallacies). It was also frustrating to be told about how certain actions or ideas (i.e. - being transgender) were really just instances of some sin (i.e. - envy). This makes a really bad assumption about the motives of the people in question.
All in all, this book felt like a rally speech: intended to awaken the crowd and move them to action, without asking them to think too much about why they should be passionate about the action in question.
There is much here that is of interest. However, due to the difficulties I have mentioned, I cannot recommend this book.
August 29, 2023
,I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I decided to review this book to better understand my best friend as her beliefs align with the author's and mine do not.
I just felt anger and self-hatred when reading this book. I felt like this was written by a straight man trying to convince me he is an angry Christian former lesbian vegetarian to make the book seem more palatable for women.
I'm sure it's not the case, but it does not just nurture and obedient vibes.
I just really don't know how people expect to save souls by being ugly. Jesus would not be ugly, that much I know
I'm sure there are less cruel and angry ways to spread your message.
I decided to review this book to better understand my best friend as her beliefs align with the author's and mine do not.
I just felt anger and self-hatred when reading this book. I felt like this was written by a straight man trying to convince me he is an angry Christian former lesbian vegetarian to make the book seem more palatable for women.
I'm sure it's not the case, but it does not just nurture and obedient vibes.
I just really don't know how people expect to save souls by being ugly. Jesus would not be ugly, that much I know
I'm sure there are less cruel and angry ways to spread your message.
January 14, 2024
This book is amazing and a must read I think. Rosaria is a fantastic writer. She floods you with practical wisdom anchored in biblical truth besting with the loving heart of Christ. She shows how God’s design for men and women in the world is truly the most beautiful and life giving design. She shows how abandoning Eden unleashes chaos and confusion in our world.
If you set aside fear of man and submit to what the Bible says, you actually can find the best life design by the maker of all. I’m thankful Rosaria led us in this task. I couldn’t recommend this book any higher. It is extremely controversial for the modern context. Yet, it resonates the truths God has been displaying in his creation, people, and word, since the beginning.
If you set aside fear of man and submit to what the Bible says, you actually can find the best life design by the maker of all. I’m thankful Rosaria led us in this task. I couldn’t recommend this book any higher. It is extremely controversial for the modern context. Yet, it resonates the truths God has been displaying in his creation, people, and word, since the beginning.
October 11, 2023
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, there's a lot of good food for thought in there. On the other hand, there's so much here that felt reactionary to the culture.
If you're familiar with Rosaria Butterfield's work, you know she's had great insight for Christians on the LGBT community. I've always respected and appreciated her openness in The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith. While not my favorite, The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World has also given food for thought on how the gospel informs our hospitality.
Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age is a slight deviation from Butterfield's previous work, as she walks back some of the things she's said in other platforms (some of which were before her conversion to Christianity). The lies are as follows:
1. Homosexuality is normal.
2. Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
3. Feminism is good for the world and the church.
4. Transgenderism is normal.
5. Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
While I agree that these things aren't true to an extent, I am not entirely convinced that her response is the best one. Furthermore, the way that the lies are represented seems to take the more extreme sides and using them to represent all of more liberal Christianity. Liberal Christianity is no monolith and we should recognize where there isn't a unified position on certain things.
This is where my disappointment with the book lies. I believe that to make your strongest arguments against a position, you should be presenting those positions in ways that people who hold them agree with what you're saying. It is also good practice to refute arguments from their strongest position. It is more difficult, but it is also more honorable.
Additionally, there were several points where sometimes it felt as if she was intentionally dense. I know she is a remarkably intelligent woman, so it was surprising to see so many instances where it felt that words that had multiple definitions were taken to be the most convenient for her argument, rather than also addressing alternate meanings.
The book also felt quite a bit longer than it needed to be. If you want to get a sense of what the book was about, you can just read the introduction and it covers everything fairly sufficiently. I appreciated Butterfield's thoughts on transgenderism and the fact that she relied so heavily on scripture to support her arguments. I also appreciated the continual appeals to the gospel and repentance. That said, a lot of this was preaching to the choir.
If you're familiar with Rosaria Butterfield's work, you know she's had great insight for Christians on the LGBT community. I've always respected and appreciated her openness in The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey Into Christian Faith. While not my favorite, The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World has also given food for thought on how the gospel informs our hospitality.
Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age is a slight deviation from Butterfield's previous work, as she walks back some of the things she's said in other platforms (some of which were before her conversion to Christianity). The lies are as follows:
1. Homosexuality is normal.
2. Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
3. Feminism is good for the world and the church.
4. Transgenderism is normal.
5. Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
While I agree that these things aren't true to an extent, I am not entirely convinced that her response is the best one. Furthermore, the way that the lies are represented seems to take the more extreme sides and using them to represent all of more liberal Christianity. Liberal Christianity is no monolith and we should recognize where there isn't a unified position on certain things.
This is where my disappointment with the book lies. I believe that to make your strongest arguments against a position, you should be presenting those positions in ways that people who hold them agree with what you're saying. It is also good practice to refute arguments from their strongest position. It is more difficult, but it is also more honorable.
Additionally, there were several points where sometimes it felt as if she was intentionally dense. I know she is a remarkably intelligent woman, so it was surprising to see so many instances where it felt that words that had multiple definitions were taken to be the most convenient for her argument, rather than also addressing alternate meanings.
The book also felt quite a bit longer than it needed to be. If you want to get a sense of what the book was about, you can just read the introduction and it covers everything fairly sufficiently. I appreciated Butterfield's thoughts on transgenderism and the fact that she relied so heavily on scripture to support her arguments. I also appreciated the continual appeals to the gospel and repentance. That said, a lot of this was preaching to the choir.
October 12, 2023
The sincere convert accepts a complete Christ. He loves not only the reward, but the labor. He seeks not only the benefits, but the burden of Christ. He takes up the commands, yes even the cross of Christ. In contrast, the unsound and perhaps unsaved person takes Christ by halves. He is all for the salvation but not the sanctification. He is all for the privileges, but neglects the person of Christ..They desire salvation from suffering, but do not desire to be saved from sinning.
Christianity is not about us being perfect but our faith in the One that is perfect. From Rosaria's perspective of being a feminist, liberal Professor, and living as a lesbian, she gave up everything for Christ. She believed the lies and found the truth that set her free. She has found meaning of the pain of what she gave up within the promises of God's word. She also understands how the lies will destroy families, communities and the only hope we have is the truth.
I struggle with the difference of acceptance and approval. I believed that they were the same. They are not the same. I believed the lie and struggled because of it. Acceptance involves listening, caring for, and praying and sharing the truth of God's word. Acceptance helps you in the landmines of lies. You know the difference of the lies and the truth. Acceptance means living in the reality and not fantasy. Rosaria in great detail explains how we can love thru acceptance. Approval is not kindness and pulls us away from the reality and truth.
The five lies are as follows:
Homosexuality is normal
Being a spiritual person is kinder than being biblical Christian
Feminism is good for the world and the church
Transgenderism is normal
Modesty is outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
These lies are the root of what keeps people from God. It is the truth that Rosaria brings forth thru her own experience, study, family, and church that is a shining light of hope. Lies do not bring hope and we need the hope of the truth that Christ testified. It is not about our feelings but the truth. We need the truth of the gospel. The gospel is not a get out of jail card but a realization that there is more. A life that is abundant in worship and awe of the God that saves. Praying that others will be blessed by this book.
A special thank you to Crossway Publishing and netgalley for the aRC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
Christianity is not about us being perfect but our faith in the One that is perfect. From Rosaria's perspective of being a feminist, liberal Professor, and living as a lesbian, she gave up everything for Christ. She believed the lies and found the truth that set her free. She has found meaning of the pain of what she gave up within the promises of God's word. She also understands how the lies will destroy families, communities and the only hope we have is the truth.
I struggle with the difference of acceptance and approval. I believed that they were the same. They are not the same. I believed the lie and struggled because of it. Acceptance involves listening, caring for, and praying and sharing the truth of God's word. Acceptance helps you in the landmines of lies. You know the difference of the lies and the truth. Acceptance means living in the reality and not fantasy. Rosaria in great detail explains how we can love thru acceptance. Approval is not kindness and pulls us away from the reality and truth.
The five lies are as follows:
Homosexuality is normal
Being a spiritual person is kinder than being biblical Christian
Feminism is good for the world and the church
Transgenderism is normal
Modesty is outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
These lies are the root of what keeps people from God. It is the truth that Rosaria brings forth thru her own experience, study, family, and church that is a shining light of hope. Lies do not bring hope and we need the hope of the truth that Christ testified. It is not about our feelings but the truth. We need the truth of the gospel. The gospel is not a get out of jail card but a realization that there is more. A life that is abundant in worship and awe of the God that saves. Praying that others will be blessed by this book.
A special thank you to Crossway Publishing and netgalley for the aRC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
January 5, 2024
One of the most important books to be written in 2023.
Rosaria Butterfield, PhD, a former lesbian, atheist, and sexual rights activist powerfully confronts 5 lies she used to believe with the truth of the Bible:
Lie #1: Homosexuality is normal.
Lie #2: Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
Lie #3: Feminism is good for the world and the church.
Lie #4: Transgenderism is normal.
Lie #5: Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
Woven into the fabric of this book is her own story, struggles, and deliverance. You can read her heart on every page, that Christians would stop buying into the lies supported by our culture, learn how to biblically love those in our lives struggling and wayward, and that the Word would do the work to bring many to repentance.
I was personally inspired to preserve and uphold biblical womanhood, marriage, and motherhood, to reach out more and better to those searching and lost, and to remember that the rage of the nations will end eventually - and only what is done for Christ will last.
Read and be challenged, equipped, and encouraged.
Rosaria Butterfield, PhD, a former lesbian, atheist, and sexual rights activist powerfully confronts 5 lies she used to believe with the truth of the Bible:
Lie #1: Homosexuality is normal.
Lie #2: Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
Lie #3: Feminism is good for the world and the church.
Lie #4: Transgenderism is normal.
Lie #5: Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
Woven into the fabric of this book is her own story, struggles, and deliverance. You can read her heart on every page, that Christians would stop buying into the lies supported by our culture, learn how to biblically love those in our lives struggling and wayward, and that the Word would do the work to bring many to repentance.
I was personally inspired to preserve and uphold biblical womanhood, marriage, and motherhood, to reach out more and better to those searching and lost, and to remember that the rage of the nations will end eventually - and only what is done for Christ will last.
Read and be challenged, equipped, and encouraged.
October 11, 2023
This is a very good work for the contemporary church--dedicated to the supremacy of God and His Word over the false ideologies of our age. Each "lie" is handled carefully and biblically. She leaves little doubt that each issue will require difficult work in the lives of those captured by them, but the answers are fundamentally the same--the application of God's Word and intentional Christian discipleship.
May 3, 2024
I think every Christian (and especially every Christian woman) should read "Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age." Rosaria not only astutely points out 5 major lies many are currently falling for, and the biblical truth to counter them, but also how the Christian is to respond with the biblical truth. Whether it's responding to one's own sin, or the sin of another, this book will help to equip you. This will be a book I come back to for sure.
March 21, 2025
Thoughtfully composed, brilliantly written, Rosaria has a knack for weaving together intellectual debates with dinner table conversations, making this book feel like I just spent meaningful time exploring Rosaria's brain with her. I so appreciate her candidness and wisdom in applying the gospel and unwavering respect for scripture evident throughout this book. 🙌
April 12, 2024
I have loved Rosaria Butterfield’s books for years. Her story of God’s transforming grace in her life moves me deeply, and her zeal for truth fires me up. I always finish her books with a greater desire to be a more unashamed, loving, and faithful Christian neighbor. This book was so good. It was eye-opening, sobering, informative, tethered to truth, and full of biblical exhortation and hope. I would highly recommend it to all Christians. The last couple pages were so empowering and encouraging I had to include them in my review:
“The Christian faith speaks to our whole life and our whole world. Truly all of life is the triune God’s love and law. It is all about the electing love of the Father, the atoning love of the Son, and the sanctifying love of the Spirit. It is all about the kingship of Christ and the care of the eternal soul and the new heavens and the new earth. It is all about and all for the glory of God. It’s all about the Bible’s worth, merit, strength, dignity, and eternal truth. And each step of this journey of prayer and fasting for your loved one is about bringing God glory. It is all about fighting tyrants, defying lies, breaking down strongholds of sin with prayer, reforming the church, and practicing love of brother, sister, family, and neighbor. It is all about the life of the church.
The word preached.
Births.
Baptisms.
The Lord’s Supper.
Weddings.
Funerals.
It is all about callings, the ones you expect and the ones you don’t. It’s all about service and sacrifice and fellowship and the seasons and rhythms of the life of the church. It’s about suffering too. It’s all about purposeful Christian living, where your life matters, where the prayers you bring to the throne of grace are heard. It’s about the Lord keeping your tears in a bottle. It’s about living Lord’s Day to Lord’s Day. It’s about worship and psalm singing and taking up your role as a vital member of a Bible-believing church. Praying for our lost loved ones is part of this tapestry of the Christian life. It’s about taking the time to listen to your neighbors, to break bread with them, to call them to life in Christ.
And the Lord Jesus Christ and his grace that weaves this life together is strong enough to hold you fast, in grief and joy, as you serve in the body of Christ, the church militant, until the Lord returns and we become the church triumphant. We leave our grief and tears here, for there are no tears where we are going. Christian, this is our moment. We must speak boldly to our world. We need to live boldly for Christ. We need to do this now.”
“The Christian faith speaks to our whole life and our whole world. Truly all of life is the triune God’s love and law. It is all about the electing love of the Father, the atoning love of the Son, and the sanctifying love of the Spirit. It is all about the kingship of Christ and the care of the eternal soul and the new heavens and the new earth. It is all about and all for the glory of God. It’s all about the Bible’s worth, merit, strength, dignity, and eternal truth. And each step of this journey of prayer and fasting for your loved one is about bringing God glory. It is all about fighting tyrants, defying lies, breaking down strongholds of sin with prayer, reforming the church, and practicing love of brother, sister, family, and neighbor. It is all about the life of the church.
The word preached.
Births.
Baptisms.
The Lord’s Supper.
Weddings.
Funerals.
It is all about callings, the ones you expect and the ones you don’t. It’s all about service and sacrifice and fellowship and the seasons and rhythms of the life of the church. It’s about suffering too. It’s all about purposeful Christian living, where your life matters, where the prayers you bring to the throne of grace are heard. It’s about the Lord keeping your tears in a bottle. It’s about living Lord’s Day to Lord’s Day. It’s about worship and psalm singing and taking up your role as a vital member of a Bible-believing church. Praying for our lost loved ones is part of this tapestry of the Christian life. It’s about taking the time to listen to your neighbors, to break bread with them, to call them to life in Christ.
And the Lord Jesus Christ and his grace that weaves this life together is strong enough to hold you fast, in grief and joy, as you serve in the body of Christ, the church militant, until the Lord returns and we become the church triumphant. We leave our grief and tears here, for there are no tears where we are going. Christian, this is our moment. We must speak boldly to our world. We need to live boldly for Christ. We need to do this now.”
August 20, 2024
Rosario Butterfield does an excellent job at articulating the lies that modern culture says about both women and the LGBTQ+ movement. She contrasts the lies to the correct biblical view that every Christian should take. Butterfield, a former lesbian, feminist activist, also includes how she came to saving faith through the hospitality of a pastor and his family. It is sweet to see how a simple act of showing the love of Christ and being hospitable can change the trajectory of a person soul, no matter how dark of a place they find themselves in.
April 24, 2024
“If you love a prodigal, you need to know the difference between acceptance and approval. Acceptance means living in reality and not fantasy…acceptance is an important step in seeing the person you love in the sin pattern in which they are trapped. Acceptance, however, does not include believing his interpretation of how he got here or what it means. Acceptance does not lose sight of Jesus and the cross he calls us to bear.”
July 2, 2024
WOW so good. This book is a refreshing fountain of truth in a world full of confusion. Butterfield approaches each lie with straightforwardness deeply rooted in Scripture. How I wish I had read this a long time ago so as to have been better equipped to respond to people in my life that walked down the paths of these lies.
this might even end up being a future st resource, who knows 🤷♀️
this might even end up being a future st resource, who knows 🤷♀️
June 11, 2024
I have enjoyed two previous books from Butterfield—-this one, not so much. She makes some good points but belabors them with redundancies and lots of block quotes. Butterfield is a my way or the highway or the highway type Christian. Yes, some Scriptures are unequivocal (homosexuality) but even with ones that are less so (roles of women), she draws a hard line and calls out as unchristian any that might see things differently. Even when I agree with her premise, I’m not a fan of the strident tone.
April 2, 2024
Wowza this book is truthful and faithful and has provided much food for thought even if I did not agree with every word. Feeling like I should start it over and read it again right now cause wow that was a lot. The world continues to change but the gospel will not. Sin is dangerous and abhorrent but our God is holy and merciful and gives us great hope. He will hold us fast as we strive to live boldly for the gospel.
October 27, 2023
Probably more like a 4.5 * Rosaria talks about several topics that she is well qualified to discuss. As a former feminist and lesbian activist these are two topics she knows very well. So, lie 1, homosexuality is normal, lie 2, being a spiritual person is better than being a biblical Christian, lie 3, feminism is good for the world and the church, lie 4, transgenderism is normal, lie 5, modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back. These are issues that are very relevant today as we live in a society that seems to have completely abandoned the Christian tradition that western culture was founded upon. Everyone should be informed about the issues and Rosaria is well qualified to speak to this. Recommended reading.
November 30, 2023
“The gospel message hurts our pride in life-giving ways, and for that I praise God.”
“God used the offense of God’s word for the good of my soul.”
Rosaria’s newest book is a Bible-saturated and bold truth-telling book that the world needs right now. Her personal experience and background gives her every right to say the things she does.
“This is a book about dismantling the idol of our times— the world of LGBTQ+ that I in my sin helped build.”
Five Lies is not an op-ed. Fully based on Scripture, Rosaria’s book exposes the ways the church has compromised truth, with good intent or not, and calls us as Christians back to the truth— the full truth— even if it goes against our feelings and what the culture has deemed ‘nice’.
The lies she writes to dispel are:
1. Homosexuality is normal.
2. Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
3. Feminism is good for the world and the church.
4. Transgenderism is normal.
5. Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
Rosaria is very honest and transparent about her life and beliefs she had when she was a lesbian.
Throughout the book she shares how God and his Word challenged what she thought to be true and ultimately led her to saving faith.
Her tone may come across as too forthright for some, but I see it as a woman who has walked the path the culture is celebrating. She experienced firsthand what the culture’s lies do. She was saved from that path and her plea and exhortation is out of love for others to escape the life she lived in bondage to her sin.
One reviewer said Rosaria’s introduction was generating fear and that there is no fear in love. I disagree with her— I felt the introduction was written with sadness not to fear-monger. While we may not all encounter those things in our personal lives, they are happening. They are reality. And it is sad. Furthermore, there is a place for fear: fear of the Lord. Reverence for his Word. ‘No fear in love’ is not referring to fearing the holiness of God and delighting to keep his commands.
This book is a controversial one and we can’t discount the courage it took Rosaria to put all of this down on paper. She is sure to get some backlash for sharing these truths and calling the church back from the lines it has crossed, but that does not mean that what she wrote is the problem.
It’s easy to conform to the world and to compromise with the trends of the day. It’s hard to be the dissenting voice especially when the ‘opposing side’ has done such a thorough job of controlling the language in their favor. Those who reject Rosaria’s words do so in the name of love, empathy, grace, and compassion but as Rosaria reveals in her book, their path is a path of lies which is not loving, compassionate, or gracious.
Rosaria caused me to rethink one of my beliefs. I hear it said a lot that we need to stop telling same-sex-attracted people that their sexual desires will go away. We don’t want to set them up for failure when the feelings don’t leave so we tell them it’s something they will have to continue to live with the rest of their lives and that God just calls them not to act on it. That the sin is in the action, not the feeling.
But as Rosaria says, “we can’t domesticate sin.” Scripture tells us that hatred is the same as murder, lust is the same as adultery. Sin is more than just outward behaviors. It’s our thoughts and it’s our hearts. Scripture says that when we trust in Jesus we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. We are to put off our old self and put on our new self.
“Sin is still sin— a transgression against God’s law, an act of moral treason. This definition stands whether we suffer because of our chosen or unchosen sin.”
Are we not in the process of sanctification— the process that we are made to look more and more like Christ? Are we to think sexual desires are too strong for the Holy Spirit to change? Are we to say, come to Jesus, but he can’t change you?
It’s reasonable to say that we can’t expect change overnight or that it could take awhile, but it is wrong for us to tell people to expect to keep their sin. There is grace and forgiveness every day, but there is also power in the Holy Spirit and we have a wrong view of God and his Word if we think we won’t be transformed at all this side of heaven. The Holy Spirit can change our sinful desires and I repent for thinking otherwise.
Some Strengths
I took pages and pages of notes so I’ll just highlight some of the points that stuck out to me:
- She reminds us that we should not normalize sin but should reject anything that seeks to do just that.
“You can’t domesticate sin because sin is predatory. But if you normalize sin (parades, drag-queen story hour at the local library, and other oddities are meant to progress you along in the normalization process), you grow insensitive to its real danger.”
- She lists a series of anecdotes on page 150 that should convict Christians that right now we are to call all sin sin; it is not a matter of ‘I can handle this sin because it’s not as bad as this other sin.’ The gradual progression she exposes is jarring and true.
- She critiques intersectionality.
“Intersectionality maintains that who you truly are is measured by how many victim statuses you can claim— with your human dignity accruing through intolerance of all forms of disagreement with your perceptions of self and world.”
- She points out the idea of sexual orientation originating with Freud and how the idea of objective truth has deteriorated:
“Romanticism introduced the idea of ‘my personal truth’— and with this concept, we lost all standards by which to measure objective truth. Anyone who disagrees with ‘my truth’ is now a bad actor or an oppressor, not merely someone with whom I disagree.”
- She speaks against identifying yourself as a ‘Gay Christian.’
“even if you believe that you are just using the category of gay as a plain way of describing your feelings, you must remember that gay is a keyword, not a neutral one. Gay is no longer just one of the many vocabulary terms. Gay refers to our nation’s reigning idol.”
- She warns us about the sin of empathy. Empathy is a good thing in a lot of ways but it needs to be tethered to something. (referencing Joe Rigney)
“Empathy is dangerous because if the highest form of love is standing in someone else’s shoes, no one is left standing in a place of objective truth… Sympathy allows someone to stand on the shore, on the solid ground of objective truth where real help might be found.”
- She also takes on Kristen Kobes Du Mez who wrote the controversial book Jesus and John Wayne. Her assessments of Du Mez’s book were very similar to my own. She challenges the critiques Du Mez made of Christians:
“God gave us the full story of Judas Iscariot so that we can understand how people can read the same Bible, or in Judas’s case, be a disciple of Jesus and live with him and other disciples and reject the real Jesus for one you make in your imagination. Judas could live with the Lord and betray him fully. And so can anyone else. The fact that we read the same Bible means nothing except that sin deceives us.”
- She exposes how transgenderism is the sin of envy.
“Envy is delusional entitlement masked in a package of victimhood and unbearable pain… Love holds people to the impartial, objective, and safe standard of God’s truth, not the malleability of sinful desires and the posturing of sinful people… Real love confronts the lie that suffering people can’t help but envy others. Real love does not envy.”
- She shows how modesty isn’t just about what we wear, but the way we conduct ourselves. Social media has created a hotbed for immodesty in a whole host of ways. This was a convicting truth.
“Making public everything from your current grievances to your lunch blurs the line between public and private such that the category of private sometimes completely disappears from our lives. And when privacy disappears, so does modesty. Indeed, a social media-infused Christian life will always choose exhibitionism over modesty.”
Preston Sprinkle
Preston Sprinkle gets his own little section in this review because he is increasingly one of the most influential voices in the LGBTQ+ conversation. His book Embodied has been very popular and influential.
Christians who disagree with Rosaria may do so because of Sprinkle and so I think it’s important to consider some things.
He is known for his compassion in listening to and engaging with the LGBTQ+ community, seeking to practically help families whose loved ones identify as LGBTQ and being a bridge between the church and the LGBTQ community.
Rosaria has strong things to say about his teachings which will probably be a point of critique for a lot of readers.
So what does Sprinkle actually believe? Because it’s not enough to just be compassionate and helpful.
Sprinkle believes the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin. He believes there are only two sexes and that Scripture doesn’t allow for humans to be identified by anything other than male or female.
However, he has some other concerning beliefs. He co-wrote the book Erasing Hell with Francis Chan back in 2011. Since then he seems to have changed his belief about hell and is now an annhilationist which essentially means he does not believe in hell.
He is currently complementarian but his recent Twitter posts regarding his exploration of the term ‘kephale’ suggests he may be rethinking that stance as well. This is significant because virtually all churches who ordained women as pastors also came to say that homosexuality is not a sin.
“Egalitarianism is the highway to LGBTQ+ church leadership, as a faulty interpretation that endorses sin in one context is imported wholesale to another.”
He is not willing to say whether or not intersex conditions are a result of the Fall.
In Embodied Preston says, “Maybe using the fall to explain intersex conditions is wrongheaded, to begin with, as many disability theologians have reminded us.”
This is a concerning thing to say, though I don’t have the whole context of this quote. He seems to be affirming teachings of disability theologians. From a brief internet search (because I’m not familiar with disability theologians) it would seem that generally speaking they want to celebrate people with disabilities as if nothing is wrong with them to the point that they will have that disability in heaven.
I would agree with disability theologians in the truth that all people are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect. Illness and disabilities do not make anyone less of a person.
However, to try to convince someone with severe mental depression, a person who is blind, someone missing limbs, or someone who deals with health issues because of bodily defects that they should be happy to have their disability and that they should be overjoyed to know they will continue to endure it in heaven seems unbiblical.
This quote seems to indicate that disability theologians think it’s wrong to point to the Fall as a reason for an intersex condition and, by extension, other disabilities or illnesses.
Preston said he can’t be sure if we can blame the Fall because “he wasn’t in the garden.”
Rosaria counters: “For Sprinkle, the biblical first principle that sin, death, and illness entered the world with the sin of Adam is not at all clear because he wasn’t in the garden at the time of the fall. In other words, the Bible’s witness as the word of God is not sufficient, but what Sprinkle can see with his own eyes is.”
There is a lot more to unpack here than I have space to, but at first glimpse, this is something to look more into as it concerns Preston and whether or not his teachings should be revered.
He is also a proponent of using preferred pronouns. Rosaria has partly used this book to repent of things she has previously said or believed that she now realizes were sins. Using preferred pronouns was one of them.
She says, “For years, and even as a Christian, I used and defended what are called ‘preferred pronouns.’… I falsely believed that this would aid and abet my ability to bring the gospel to bear on these people’s lives. I failed to distinguish between an illness (gender dysphoria) and an ideology (transgenderism).”
“Not only is it lying to people who are already being lied to by the world, but it also falsifies the gospel imperative of the creation ordinance, with its eternal binary of being created in the image of God as male or female and the command to live out that image-bearing within God-assigned sexual roles.”
While it is not an easy thing to live by, especially if you have a loved one who wishes you to use different pronouns, I agree with Rosaria. If someone is anorexic yet claims they are fat, we don’t also call them fat. We seek to show them reality. Lying to someone by calling them pronouns that do not match their biological sex will not help them see reality but will further impress what they believe.
Again, it’s not an easy choice to make. If I was at risk of losing a relationship with my daughter because of pronouns, I can’t say now what I would do. It’s an impossible choice. I would hope that I would trust God that through truth, he could restore that relationship, but I know it could come at a great cost.
It may seem wrong to some readers that Rosaria would come at Preston and call his book untrustworthy. But that’s really the point of her writing this book. If influential Christians and the church are teaching half-truths, they’re really speaking lies and we need to call them to speak the whole truth even if what they seem to be doing is ‘nice.’
Critiques
[None of this negates the importance, the relevance, and the truth of this book. Everyone should read this book.]
However, there are a few things that I felt would have strengthened certain areas of her book. There were a few places that lacked clarity.
She doesn’t really define what she means by feminism. She exposes the lie that feminism is good for the world and the church, but I think there are some people that identify themselves as feminists as defined by someone who just believes that women are equal to men and should be treated with dignity and respect and should not be discriminated against. This is not the same definition of feminism as largely held by the culture.
She speaks briefly on the patriarchy and says that biblical patriarchy is not a sin, it’s a blessing, but she doesn’t really explain what she means by biblical patriarchy. She points out that liberal interpretation of biblical patriarchy is wrong but doesn’t clearly refute why.
She makes the point that “a godly woman’s best defense against a potentially abusive husband is church membership in a biblically faithful church.” I agree with this statement but I didn’t feel like she explained the ‘why’ very well. She also could have spoken more on the topic of abuse in general. I feel like that’s a major issue people have when they reject the Bible’s teachings and it would go a long way for her to address that topic and explain how membership should be seen as protection.
In her chapter regarding modesty I really liked how she considered social media’s role in creating a platform for immodesty in the things we post and our attitude when we do it. But based on the title of that lie I wish she would have also addressed how the idea that women revealing their bodies creates empowerment really doesn’t. Relevant here would be the porn industry or platforms like Only Fans where sex work is trying to become a noble occupation. What are the effects of this locally and globally? Other books speak to this and the effects of ‘immodesty’ in the world are great and far-reaching.
Lastly, she spends a lot of space trying to talk about the nuances between ‘accepting’ vs ‘affirming’ which was mostly helpful. However, as she also indicates how some words are not neutral words and should be avoided I wonder if ‘accepting’ is one of them? The way she defines it makes sense but the larger population won’t use or see the distinctions she makes and I wonder if it isn’t so helpful. It’s one of the top words associated with this discussion so maybe she spent so much time on it because it’s a word we just can’t avoid so we might as well define it better?
Recommendation
Rosaria’s book tells the truths everyone’s afraid to commit to. She forces us to recognize that a ‘Christian’ label does not automatically make something true and we need to be diligent in the ideologies we espouse to make sure they align with the whole of Scripture.
Aligned with God’s Word, Five Lies is an essential read to learn how a Christian should understand these topics and respond when/if their loved ones join the LGBTQ community.
I think it will be a hard and challenging book for some, but one I would encourage you to wrestle with. It is not an easy thing to resist the pull of the culture, the pulse of the loudest voice. But we are called to fear God, not man. We are called to love Jesus more than our loved ones. And entrust them into his care because he loves them more than we ever could, and his design and boundaries he calls us to live in are because of that love.
It’s easy to throw this book away, to criticize it and nitpick, but that’s not an honest response. Be willing to consider this even if even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it means you have a lot of changes to make. Allow his Word to speak to you through Rosaria.
“God calls us to live our Christian lives with courage, tell the truth, and fear God and not man.”
[Check out my original book review for more quotes, links, books Rosaria referenced, and other related reading]
**Received a copy from Crossway in exchange for an honest review**
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“God used the offense of God’s word for the good of my soul.”
Rosaria’s newest book is a Bible-saturated and bold truth-telling book that the world needs right now. Her personal experience and background gives her every right to say the things she does.
“This is a book about dismantling the idol of our times— the world of LGBTQ+ that I in my sin helped build.”
Five Lies is not an op-ed. Fully based on Scripture, Rosaria’s book exposes the ways the church has compromised truth, with good intent or not, and calls us as Christians back to the truth— the full truth— even if it goes against our feelings and what the culture has deemed ‘nice’.
The lies she writes to dispel are:
1. Homosexuality is normal.
2. Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
3. Feminism is good for the world and the church.
4. Transgenderism is normal.
5. Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
Rosaria is very honest and transparent about her life and beliefs she had when she was a lesbian.
Throughout the book she shares how God and his Word challenged what she thought to be true and ultimately led her to saving faith.
Her tone may come across as too forthright for some, but I see it as a woman who has walked the path the culture is celebrating. She experienced firsthand what the culture’s lies do. She was saved from that path and her plea and exhortation is out of love for others to escape the life she lived in bondage to her sin.
One reviewer said Rosaria’s introduction was generating fear and that there is no fear in love. I disagree with her— I felt the introduction was written with sadness not to fear-monger. While we may not all encounter those things in our personal lives, they are happening. They are reality. And it is sad. Furthermore, there is a place for fear: fear of the Lord. Reverence for his Word. ‘No fear in love’ is not referring to fearing the holiness of God and delighting to keep his commands.
This book is a controversial one and we can’t discount the courage it took Rosaria to put all of this down on paper. She is sure to get some backlash for sharing these truths and calling the church back from the lines it has crossed, but that does not mean that what she wrote is the problem.
It’s easy to conform to the world and to compromise with the trends of the day. It’s hard to be the dissenting voice especially when the ‘opposing side’ has done such a thorough job of controlling the language in their favor. Those who reject Rosaria’s words do so in the name of love, empathy, grace, and compassion but as Rosaria reveals in her book, their path is a path of lies which is not loving, compassionate, or gracious.
Rosaria caused me to rethink one of my beliefs. I hear it said a lot that we need to stop telling same-sex-attracted people that their sexual desires will go away. We don’t want to set them up for failure when the feelings don’t leave so we tell them it’s something they will have to continue to live with the rest of their lives and that God just calls them not to act on it. That the sin is in the action, not the feeling.
But as Rosaria says, “we can’t domesticate sin.” Scripture tells us that hatred is the same as murder, lust is the same as adultery. Sin is more than just outward behaviors. It’s our thoughts and it’s our hearts. Scripture says that when we trust in Jesus we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. We are to put off our old self and put on our new self.
“Sin is still sin— a transgression against God’s law, an act of moral treason. This definition stands whether we suffer because of our chosen or unchosen sin.”
Are we not in the process of sanctification— the process that we are made to look more and more like Christ? Are we to think sexual desires are too strong for the Holy Spirit to change? Are we to say, come to Jesus, but he can’t change you?
It’s reasonable to say that we can’t expect change overnight or that it could take awhile, but it is wrong for us to tell people to expect to keep their sin. There is grace and forgiveness every day, but there is also power in the Holy Spirit and we have a wrong view of God and his Word if we think we won’t be transformed at all this side of heaven. The Holy Spirit can change our sinful desires and I repent for thinking otherwise.
Some Strengths
I took pages and pages of notes so I’ll just highlight some of the points that stuck out to me:
- She reminds us that we should not normalize sin but should reject anything that seeks to do just that.
“You can’t domesticate sin because sin is predatory. But if you normalize sin (parades, drag-queen story hour at the local library, and other oddities are meant to progress you along in the normalization process), you grow insensitive to its real danger.”
- She lists a series of anecdotes on page 150 that should convict Christians that right now we are to call all sin sin; it is not a matter of ‘I can handle this sin because it’s not as bad as this other sin.’ The gradual progression she exposes is jarring and true.
- She critiques intersectionality.
“Intersectionality maintains that who you truly are is measured by how many victim statuses you can claim— with your human dignity accruing through intolerance of all forms of disagreement with your perceptions of self and world.”
- She points out the idea of sexual orientation originating with Freud and how the idea of objective truth has deteriorated:
“Romanticism introduced the idea of ‘my personal truth’— and with this concept, we lost all standards by which to measure objective truth. Anyone who disagrees with ‘my truth’ is now a bad actor or an oppressor, not merely someone with whom I disagree.”
- She speaks against identifying yourself as a ‘Gay Christian.’
“even if you believe that you are just using the category of gay as a plain way of describing your feelings, you must remember that gay is a keyword, not a neutral one. Gay is no longer just one of the many vocabulary terms. Gay refers to our nation’s reigning idol.”
- She warns us about the sin of empathy. Empathy is a good thing in a lot of ways but it needs to be tethered to something. (referencing Joe Rigney)
“Empathy is dangerous because if the highest form of love is standing in someone else’s shoes, no one is left standing in a place of objective truth… Sympathy allows someone to stand on the shore, on the solid ground of objective truth where real help might be found.”
- She also takes on Kristen Kobes Du Mez who wrote the controversial book Jesus and John Wayne. Her assessments of Du Mez’s book were very similar to my own. She challenges the critiques Du Mez made of Christians:
“God gave us the full story of Judas Iscariot so that we can understand how people can read the same Bible, or in Judas’s case, be a disciple of Jesus and live with him and other disciples and reject the real Jesus for one you make in your imagination. Judas could live with the Lord and betray him fully. And so can anyone else. The fact that we read the same Bible means nothing except that sin deceives us.”
- She exposes how transgenderism is the sin of envy.
“Envy is delusional entitlement masked in a package of victimhood and unbearable pain… Love holds people to the impartial, objective, and safe standard of God’s truth, not the malleability of sinful desires and the posturing of sinful people… Real love confronts the lie that suffering people can’t help but envy others. Real love does not envy.”
- She shows how modesty isn’t just about what we wear, but the way we conduct ourselves. Social media has created a hotbed for immodesty in a whole host of ways. This was a convicting truth.
“Making public everything from your current grievances to your lunch blurs the line between public and private such that the category of private sometimes completely disappears from our lives. And when privacy disappears, so does modesty. Indeed, a social media-infused Christian life will always choose exhibitionism over modesty.”
Preston Sprinkle
Preston Sprinkle gets his own little section in this review because he is increasingly one of the most influential voices in the LGBTQ+ conversation. His book Embodied has been very popular and influential.
Christians who disagree with Rosaria may do so because of Sprinkle and so I think it’s important to consider some things.
He is known for his compassion in listening to and engaging with the LGBTQ+ community, seeking to practically help families whose loved ones identify as LGBTQ and being a bridge between the church and the LGBTQ community.
Rosaria has strong things to say about his teachings which will probably be a point of critique for a lot of readers.
So what does Sprinkle actually believe? Because it’s not enough to just be compassionate and helpful.
Sprinkle believes the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin. He believes there are only two sexes and that Scripture doesn’t allow for humans to be identified by anything other than male or female.
However, he has some other concerning beliefs. He co-wrote the book Erasing Hell with Francis Chan back in 2011. Since then he seems to have changed his belief about hell and is now an annhilationist which essentially means he does not believe in hell.
He is currently complementarian but his recent Twitter posts regarding his exploration of the term ‘kephale’ suggests he may be rethinking that stance as well. This is significant because virtually all churches who ordained women as pastors also came to say that homosexuality is not a sin.
“Egalitarianism is the highway to LGBTQ+ church leadership, as a faulty interpretation that endorses sin in one context is imported wholesale to another.”
He is not willing to say whether or not intersex conditions are a result of the Fall.
In Embodied Preston says, “Maybe using the fall to explain intersex conditions is wrongheaded, to begin with, as many disability theologians have reminded us.”
This is a concerning thing to say, though I don’t have the whole context of this quote. He seems to be affirming teachings of disability theologians. From a brief internet search (because I’m not familiar with disability theologians) it would seem that generally speaking they want to celebrate people with disabilities as if nothing is wrong with them to the point that they will have that disability in heaven.
I would agree with disability theologians in the truth that all people are created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity and respect. Illness and disabilities do not make anyone less of a person.
However, to try to convince someone with severe mental depression, a person who is blind, someone missing limbs, or someone who deals with health issues because of bodily defects that they should be happy to have their disability and that they should be overjoyed to know they will continue to endure it in heaven seems unbiblical.
This quote seems to indicate that disability theologians think it’s wrong to point to the Fall as a reason for an intersex condition and, by extension, other disabilities or illnesses.
Preston said he can’t be sure if we can blame the Fall because “he wasn’t in the garden.”
Rosaria counters: “For Sprinkle, the biblical first principle that sin, death, and illness entered the world with the sin of Adam is not at all clear because he wasn’t in the garden at the time of the fall. In other words, the Bible’s witness as the word of God is not sufficient, but what Sprinkle can see with his own eyes is.”
There is a lot more to unpack here than I have space to, but at first glimpse, this is something to look more into as it concerns Preston and whether or not his teachings should be revered.
He is also a proponent of using preferred pronouns. Rosaria has partly used this book to repent of things she has previously said or believed that she now realizes were sins. Using preferred pronouns was one of them.
She says, “For years, and even as a Christian, I used and defended what are called ‘preferred pronouns.’… I falsely believed that this would aid and abet my ability to bring the gospel to bear on these people’s lives. I failed to distinguish between an illness (gender dysphoria) and an ideology (transgenderism).”
“Not only is it lying to people who are already being lied to by the world, but it also falsifies the gospel imperative of the creation ordinance, with its eternal binary of being created in the image of God as male or female and the command to live out that image-bearing within God-assigned sexual roles.”
While it is not an easy thing to live by, especially if you have a loved one who wishes you to use different pronouns, I agree with Rosaria. If someone is anorexic yet claims they are fat, we don’t also call them fat. We seek to show them reality. Lying to someone by calling them pronouns that do not match their biological sex will not help them see reality but will further impress what they believe.
Again, it’s not an easy choice to make. If I was at risk of losing a relationship with my daughter because of pronouns, I can’t say now what I would do. It’s an impossible choice. I would hope that I would trust God that through truth, he could restore that relationship, but I know it could come at a great cost.
It may seem wrong to some readers that Rosaria would come at Preston and call his book untrustworthy. But that’s really the point of her writing this book. If influential Christians and the church are teaching half-truths, they’re really speaking lies and we need to call them to speak the whole truth even if what they seem to be doing is ‘nice.’
Critiques
[None of this negates the importance, the relevance, and the truth of this book. Everyone should read this book.]
However, there are a few things that I felt would have strengthened certain areas of her book. There were a few places that lacked clarity.
She doesn’t really define what she means by feminism. She exposes the lie that feminism is good for the world and the church, but I think there are some people that identify themselves as feminists as defined by someone who just believes that women are equal to men and should be treated with dignity and respect and should not be discriminated against. This is not the same definition of feminism as largely held by the culture.
She speaks briefly on the patriarchy and says that biblical patriarchy is not a sin, it’s a blessing, but she doesn’t really explain what she means by biblical patriarchy. She points out that liberal interpretation of biblical patriarchy is wrong but doesn’t clearly refute why.
She makes the point that “a godly woman’s best defense against a potentially abusive husband is church membership in a biblically faithful church.” I agree with this statement but I didn’t feel like she explained the ‘why’ very well. She also could have spoken more on the topic of abuse in general. I feel like that’s a major issue people have when they reject the Bible’s teachings and it would go a long way for her to address that topic and explain how membership should be seen as protection.
In her chapter regarding modesty I really liked how she considered social media’s role in creating a platform for immodesty in the things we post and our attitude when we do it. But based on the title of that lie I wish she would have also addressed how the idea that women revealing their bodies creates empowerment really doesn’t. Relevant here would be the porn industry or platforms like Only Fans where sex work is trying to become a noble occupation. What are the effects of this locally and globally? Other books speak to this and the effects of ‘immodesty’ in the world are great and far-reaching.
Lastly, she spends a lot of space trying to talk about the nuances between ‘accepting’ vs ‘affirming’ which was mostly helpful. However, as she also indicates how some words are not neutral words and should be avoided I wonder if ‘accepting’ is one of them? The way she defines it makes sense but the larger population won’t use or see the distinctions she makes and I wonder if it isn’t so helpful. It’s one of the top words associated with this discussion so maybe she spent so much time on it because it’s a word we just can’t avoid so we might as well define it better?
Recommendation
Rosaria’s book tells the truths everyone’s afraid to commit to. She forces us to recognize that a ‘Christian’ label does not automatically make something true and we need to be diligent in the ideologies we espouse to make sure they align with the whole of Scripture.
Aligned with God’s Word, Five Lies is an essential read to learn how a Christian should understand these topics and respond when/if their loved ones join the LGBTQ community.
I think it will be a hard and challenging book for some, but one I would encourage you to wrestle with. It is not an easy thing to resist the pull of the culture, the pulse of the loudest voice. But we are called to fear God, not man. We are called to love Jesus more than our loved ones. And entrust them into his care because he loves them more than we ever could, and his design and boundaries he calls us to live in are because of that love.
It’s easy to throw this book away, to criticize it and nitpick, but that’s not an honest response. Be willing to consider this even if even if it’s uncomfortable, even if it means you have a lot of changes to make. Allow his Word to speak to you through Rosaria.
“God calls us to live our Christian lives with courage, tell the truth, and fear God and not man.”
[Check out my original book review for more quotes, links, books Rosaria referenced, and other related reading]
**Received a copy from Crossway in exchange for an honest review**
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July 21, 2024
“Do we love our neighbor enough to tell the truth?”
Love does not bend Scripture to the will of our prodigals. True Love accepts, but does not approve sin. True Love knows and believes what the Bible says, trusts Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and therefore prays. From there, Rosaria Butterfield combats 5 lies that have spread like wildfire through our culture and our churches. Rosaria battles fiercely, having fought on both sides of the war and now fully submitting to God’s Word. This book is so full of love and grace and truth. Rosaria isn’t self-righteous because she understands the struggle, but she also understands the power of the Gospel. In a few spots, I wanted more (particularly Lie #2: Being a Spiritual Person Is Kinder than Being a Biblical Person) and felt like she relied maybe too heavily on personal anecdotes, as good as those anecdotes are. Overall, Five Lies challenged me and helped stabilize my Biblical convictions on these topics. Highly recommend for feeling less mad in a mad world.
Love does not bend Scripture to the will of our prodigals. True Love accepts, but does not approve sin. True Love knows and believes what the Bible says, trusts Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and therefore prays. From there, Rosaria Butterfield combats 5 lies that have spread like wildfire through our culture and our churches. Rosaria battles fiercely, having fought on both sides of the war and now fully submitting to God’s Word. This book is so full of love and grace and truth. Rosaria isn’t self-righteous because she understands the struggle, but she also understands the power of the Gospel. In a few spots, I wanted more (particularly Lie #2: Being a Spiritual Person Is Kinder than Being a Biblical Person) and felt like she relied maybe too heavily on personal anecdotes, as good as those anecdotes are. Overall, Five Lies challenged me and helped stabilize my Biblical convictions on these topics. Highly recommend for feeling less mad in a mad world.
January 1, 2025
Excellent. Convicting. A love for God’s word to aspire to from a woman who has been forgiven much. Highly recommend.
The appendix about how to read your Bible is also worth a read. “When we reject biblical inerrancy for the pagan philosophies of men, we are elevating dust over gold: ‘The short duration of mankind is stout in scripture by the vanishing grass. Life is a flower soon withered, a vapor soon vanishing, or a smoke soon disappearing. The strongest man is but compacted dust.’” (p. 332)
The appendix about how to read your Bible is also worth a read. “When we reject biblical inerrancy for the pagan philosophies of men, we are elevating dust over gold: ‘The short duration of mankind is stout in scripture by the vanishing grass. Life is a flower soon withered, a vapor soon vanishing, or a smoke soon disappearing. The strongest man is but compacted dust.’” (p. 332)
March 2, 2024
I’m so grateful for Rosaria’s courage and unflinching ability to speak truth. There’s so much here to recommend and sharpen our conversations in the church and with those outside. Read it through and then double back on the acknowledgement: great advice for those praying for prodigals.
March 12, 2025
Easily the best book I’ve read in the last decade. Butterfield is an exceptional writer and teacher. This book is rooted in TRUTH. If it isn’t applicable to you because of the theme, it is relevant and important as it applies to all sin (regardless of its presentation). FANTASTIC READ!
May 27, 2024
A much needed word from Rosaria amid the chaos and confusion of our time.
October 26, 2024
This rips like old jeans in a deep squat
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