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Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us
These days, there’s no dirtier word than “divisive,” especially in religious and political circles. Claiming a controversial opinion, talking about our differences, even sharing our doubts can be seen as threatening to the goal of unity. But what if unity shouldn’t be our goal?
In Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us, Layton E. Williams proposes that our primary calling as humans is not to create unity but rather to seek authentic relationship with God, ourselves, one another, and the world around us. And that means actively engaging those with whom we disagree. Our religious, political, social, and cultural differences can create doubt and tension, but disunity also provides surprising gifts of perspective and grace. By analyzing conflict and rifts in both modern culture and Scripture, Williams explores how our disagreements and differences—our disunity—can ultimately redeem us.
In Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us, Layton E. Williams proposes that our primary calling as humans is not to create unity but rather to seek authentic relationship with God, ourselves, one another, and the world around us. And that means actively engaging those with whom we disagree. Our religious, political, social, and cultural differences can create doubt and tension, but disunity also provides surprising gifts of perspective and grace. By analyzing conflict and rifts in both modern culture and Scripture, Williams explores how our disagreements and differences—our disunity—can ultimately redeem us.
215 pages, Paperback
Published October 8, 2019
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November 9, 2021
In the introduction, Rev. Williams states the purpose of this book, “This book is an argument for how disunity can be holy, and how we can faithfully coexist without being united, at least in any earthly way.” (3) She describes the difference between a false kind of earthly unity and a holy disunity throughout the book. Earthly unity is a false unity that can easily become an idol for us and "a distraction from the greater unity that comes from God.” (2)
I found Williams's first sentence of the introduction very relatable: “I have spent my entire life deeply loving people with whom I will never agree. We disagree on politics, on faith, and on some of our core values."
There are twelve chapters:
1. The Gift of Difference
2. The Gift of Doubt
3. The Gift of Argument
4. The Gift of Tension
5. The Gift of Separation
6. The Gift of Vulnerability
7. The Gift of Trouble
8. The Gift of Protest
9. The Gift of Hunger
10. The Gift of Limitations
11. The Gift of Failure
12. The Gift of Uncertainty
Williams cares about unity and believes we are unified in Christ and bound together in God's love.
But she doesn't believe in a false unity that would ask people to leave huge parts of themselves at the door "in exchange for a tenuous and disingenuous belonging," and neither do I.
I found Williams's first sentence of the introduction very relatable: “I have spent my entire life deeply loving people with whom I will never agree. We disagree on politics, on faith, and on some of our core values."
There are twelve chapters:
1. The Gift of Difference
2. The Gift of Doubt
3. The Gift of Argument
4. The Gift of Tension
5. The Gift of Separation
6. The Gift of Vulnerability
7. The Gift of Trouble
8. The Gift of Protest
9. The Gift of Hunger
10. The Gift of Limitations
11. The Gift of Failure
12. The Gift of Uncertainty
Williams cares about unity and believes we are unified in Christ and bound together in God's love.
But she doesn't believe in a false unity that would ask people to leave huge parts of themselves at the door "in exchange for a tenuous and disingenuous belonging," and neither do I.
October 28, 2019
Summary: Proposes that difference ought be viewed as gift rather than problem, that difference, and even disunity, as messy as it is in the church, can be a source of growth.
Within the Christian community, the existence of difference, disunity, and division is viewed as problematic. These seem to betray the oneness, the unity of the body of Christ of which scripture speaks. Layton Williams makes the argument that difference, disagreement, and sometimes even division, is a gift. She roots her argument in the Trinity where three distinct persons exist as one being. She argues that we do not create unity but that we are one, and this is a unity that does not obliterate difference but treats it as a gift.
Williams observes that often our strategy is to suppress difference and the undesirable in the various forms it takes, which she unpacks chapter by chapter: doubt, argument, tension, separation, vulnerability, trouble, protest, hunger, limitations, failure, and uncertainty. Often, our posture is to try to act as if these things don't exist, or address them with over-simplistic solutions, or to normalize a certain position to the exclusion of others. Worse yet, we often marginalize, demonize, and dispel those who persist in honestly differing. By the same token, sometimes we sacrifice deeply held convictions and perspectives to "keep the peace."
Instead, she contends:
We don't have to fear difference. Difference--our own and others'--is how we know who we are. It's how we distinguish ourselves. Our own unique place in this universe and the experiences and qualities that define us allow us to interpret the world around us and make our own particular mark on it. The world is the way it is--different from how it might otherwise have been--because of us. It's also different because of others. The ways that others are different from us, their unique experiences and qualifications, expose us to new ways to understand the world.
Each of her chapters explore how the various facets of difference save us. Each includes a reading of a biblical text that develops her position. In the chapter on tension, she contends for the hard work of wrestling with tension with a discussion of Jacob's night of wrestling with God in human form, emerging both blessed with a new name, and limping. Difference often means walking into hard things that both leave their marks on our lives and lead to growth and greater self-understanding.
There is an important autobiographical element running through the narrative that makes Williams wrestling with and embrace of difference significant. Williams self-identifies as LGBTQ, and with other "out" LGBTQ Christians. Her own perspective of the gift and "holiness" of difference emerges from her own experience of growing up in a home, and a church in the South where she both experienced deep love, and yet also deep pain as neither could fully embrace her LGBTQ identification. In a chapter on "the gift of separation" she writes movingly about what this has meant for her and her mother:
It isn't that I don't wish, deeply, that my mother and I could be equally at peace in the same church. It's that I know that it takes at least as much love and commitment to look in the face of one of the people you care most about in this world, and to know that at this time you cannot be theologically reconciled, and to let them go to pursue faith in a way that doesn't prevent you from doing the same, hoping all the while that your paths might one day come together. For all the ways we disagree, my mother and I have both done that for each other.
I was impressed with the perspective that allowed for the possibility of disagreement and even separation, whether of individuals or church bodies, while also allowing for the possibility of continued love and charity toward one another. It is a perspective that refuses to diminish or disrespect the theological commitments of either, without minimizing the disagreement, or allowing the disagreement to degenerate into rejection of, vitriol toward, demonizing of, or hatred of the other. This note is exceedingly rare and welcome in what has often been a hurtful area of contention within the contemporary church.
The question I might pose would be how far would the author extend her argument about difference within the church? How would she have responded to the differences in the church in the United States around the issue of slavery? How would she respond to an embrace by the church of a nationalism that diminishes the value and worth of other human beings and obligations as Christians to them, as occurred in Nazi Germany? Is difference always a gift? And if not, by what criteria ought such difference be deemed unacceptable; not a gift but a matter for repentance and re-formation?
At the same time, I found much that resonated deeply. Allowing room for doubt and dispelling the false god of certainty has been a vital part of ministry among university researchers. Getting further on in life, I recognize the gifts of limitations and failure. When people can be more vulnerable in a bar than among the people of God, this challenges the church with the question of what we must become to be places where people can truly disclose themselves. As a cis-gender heterosexually oriented male who might identify more closely with the theological commitments of the author's mother, it was illuminating and important for me to listen to and sit with this LGBTQ woman's journey and to see the church through her eyes. I needed to read of her fears and hopes, and to be challenged with the call to love across our real differences, and to believe with the author that even in the mess of the moment, "[w]e can trust that God is at work."
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Within the Christian community, the existence of difference, disunity, and division is viewed as problematic. These seem to betray the oneness, the unity of the body of Christ of which scripture speaks. Layton Williams makes the argument that difference, disagreement, and sometimes even division, is a gift. She roots her argument in the Trinity where three distinct persons exist as one being. She argues that we do not create unity but that we are one, and this is a unity that does not obliterate difference but treats it as a gift.
Williams observes that often our strategy is to suppress difference and the undesirable in the various forms it takes, which she unpacks chapter by chapter: doubt, argument, tension, separation, vulnerability, trouble, protest, hunger, limitations, failure, and uncertainty. Often, our posture is to try to act as if these things don't exist, or address them with over-simplistic solutions, or to normalize a certain position to the exclusion of others. Worse yet, we often marginalize, demonize, and dispel those who persist in honestly differing. By the same token, sometimes we sacrifice deeply held convictions and perspectives to "keep the peace."
Instead, she contends:
We don't have to fear difference. Difference--our own and others'--is how we know who we are. It's how we distinguish ourselves. Our own unique place in this universe and the experiences and qualities that define us allow us to interpret the world around us and make our own particular mark on it. The world is the way it is--different from how it might otherwise have been--because of us. It's also different because of others. The ways that others are different from us, their unique experiences and qualifications, expose us to new ways to understand the world.
Each of her chapters explore how the various facets of difference save us. Each includes a reading of a biblical text that develops her position. In the chapter on tension, she contends for the hard work of wrestling with tension with a discussion of Jacob's night of wrestling with God in human form, emerging both blessed with a new name, and limping. Difference often means walking into hard things that both leave their marks on our lives and lead to growth and greater self-understanding.
There is an important autobiographical element running through the narrative that makes Williams wrestling with and embrace of difference significant. Williams self-identifies as LGBTQ, and with other "out" LGBTQ Christians. Her own perspective of the gift and "holiness" of difference emerges from her own experience of growing up in a home, and a church in the South where she both experienced deep love, and yet also deep pain as neither could fully embrace her LGBTQ identification. In a chapter on "the gift of separation" she writes movingly about what this has meant for her and her mother:
It isn't that I don't wish, deeply, that my mother and I could be equally at peace in the same church. It's that I know that it takes at least as much love and commitment to look in the face of one of the people you care most about in this world, and to know that at this time you cannot be theologically reconciled, and to let them go to pursue faith in a way that doesn't prevent you from doing the same, hoping all the while that your paths might one day come together. For all the ways we disagree, my mother and I have both done that for each other.
I was impressed with the perspective that allowed for the possibility of disagreement and even separation, whether of individuals or church bodies, while also allowing for the possibility of continued love and charity toward one another. It is a perspective that refuses to diminish or disrespect the theological commitments of either, without minimizing the disagreement, or allowing the disagreement to degenerate into rejection of, vitriol toward, demonizing of, or hatred of the other. This note is exceedingly rare and welcome in what has often been a hurtful area of contention within the contemporary church.
The question I might pose would be how far would the author extend her argument about difference within the church? How would she have responded to the differences in the church in the United States around the issue of slavery? How would she respond to an embrace by the church of a nationalism that diminishes the value and worth of other human beings and obligations as Christians to them, as occurred in Nazi Germany? Is difference always a gift? And if not, by what criteria ought such difference be deemed unacceptable; not a gift but a matter for repentance and re-formation?
At the same time, I found much that resonated deeply. Allowing room for doubt and dispelling the false god of certainty has been a vital part of ministry among university researchers. Getting further on in life, I recognize the gifts of limitations and failure. When people can be more vulnerable in a bar than among the people of God, this challenges the church with the question of what we must become to be places where people can truly disclose themselves. As a cis-gender heterosexually oriented male who might identify more closely with the theological commitments of the author's mother, it was illuminating and important for me to listen to and sit with this LGBTQ woman's journey and to see the church through her eyes. I needed to read of her fears and hopes, and to be challenged with the call to love across our real differences, and to believe with the author that even in the mess of the moment, "[w]e can trust that God is at work."
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
November 14, 2019
I was done at Jesus was prejudiced and repented. Nothing to see here
Received ARC by Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley
Received ARC by Westminster John Knox Press and Netgalley
March 31, 2021
Summary: Unity is important for Christians, but there are times when unity can mask issues of justice and legitimate disagreement.
I also appreciate that, like many good discussions of intersectional issues, no one is purely oppressed or oppressor. No one is always right or always wrong. As an educated bisexual southern white woman, Layton Williams works through many issues where there are lines of whether she should or should not separate because of real social, theological, and practical disagreements. Others will come down with different lines they would draw, and they should. But what I think is a problem is if we do not explore why we join in unity, or not.
I regularly thought of Lauren Winner's book The Dangers of Christian Practice as I read Holy Disunity. As Winner pointed out, spiritual disciplines are good. We should pray, and take communion and be part of Christian churches, etc. But because spiritual disciplines are good does not mean that we do good with those spiritual disciplines. Winner gave examples of Christians who enslaved people, praying for their slave's deaths or for a segregated heaven. Other Christians have used baptism and church membership as a means of exclusion via racism or antisemitism. Because unity is generally good does not mean that unity cannot be misused, and Layton Williams gives good guidance on how to think about when unity may be misused.
I probably would not have picked this up if it has not been included in Audible Plus Catalog (which means it is free to listen to for audible members.) Generally, I am strongly in favor of ecumenical work and of the church as a whole recognizing itself. I am part of a group called The Initiative, designed to facilitate understanding and cooperation between Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians.
I am a part of several groups trying to build a similar understanding and cooperation among Christians of different racial groups. But you cannot seriously participate in groups like this without thinking about lines you will not cross. One of the significant and accurate charges in White Evangelical Racism by Anthea Butler is that White Evangelicals often claim to be against racism but rarely are willing to make racism a line which they will break fellowship over. One example in that book is MLK Jr directly asking Billy Graham not to appear on the platform with a noted segregationist in 1957, a request that Graham refused.
Not all unity is a positive unity. Unity can be achieved through various means, and sometimes the means to unity actually subverts the cause of Christianity. If visible unity requires suppression of people or their personhood, then that unity is a false unity. But even that is not nearly nuanced enough. There are times when it seems appropriate for a person to choose to voluntarily not exert their own rights for the sake of unity. It becomes more difficult when a larger group, especially a group of historically marginalized people, is required to not exert their rights as a Christian for the sake of unity.
Layton Williams is an ordained Presbyterian pastor. This book is filled with examples of disunity within her own life as an openly bisexual pastor, ordained in a denomination that has recently begun to ordain LGBTQ+ pastors. The examples of her life, including her discussion of the fact that she and her mother are theologically on different sides of the ordination of LGBTQ+ pastors and the fact that her mother left the denomination after it allowed ordination, shows exactly how personal many of these issues are. The personal largely adds to the nuance and helpfulness of the book. But I know that some who object to LGBTQ+ marriage or ordination or other nuanced issues may not want to pick up this book, but I want to encourage you to pick it up if that is your position. Listening to others is part of how we gain understanding and empathy and how we confirm our positions.
I also appreciate that, like many good discussions of intersectional issues, no one is purely oppressed or oppressor. No one is always right or always wrong. As an educated bisexual southern white woman, Layton Williams works through many issues where there are lines of whether she should or should not separate because of real social, theological, and practical disagreements. Others will come down with different lines they would draw, and they should. But what I think is a problem is if we do not explore why we join in unity, or not.
I regularly thought of Lauren Winner's book The Dangers of Christian Practice as I read Holy Disunity. As Winner pointed out, spiritual disciplines are good. We should pray, and take communion and be part of Christian churches, etc. But because spiritual disciplines are good does not mean that we do good with those spiritual disciplines. Winner gave examples of Christians who enslaved people, praying for their slave's deaths or for a segregated heaven. Other Christians have used baptism and church membership as a means of exclusion via racism or antisemitism. Because unity is generally good does not mean that unity cannot be misused, and Layton Williams gives good guidance on how to think about when unity may be misused.
May 8, 2022
Some of my favorite parts of this book are Layton’s analysis of Bible stories and her theology woven throughout. Very interesting how the ideas of disunity are still relevant several years later even though the political situation has changed a bit.
August 1, 2019
Many books have been written about unity, about community, and the need to stay together in spite of mounting challenges. One of the key reasons for separation is the lack of openness toward dissenting viewpoints. This is also known as "the idol of unity" where different views are belittled for the sake of a particular view. As a result, some voted with their feet by walking away. Others suppress their own anger which might appear somewhere else. Still others would lament the growing disunity within the community of faith. This book takes the bull by the horns by addressing diversity with boldness and openness. According to author Layton Williams, it is entirely possible to turn disagreements and doubts into understanding and belief. Instead of retreating back to our cocoons of self-assurance, we are encouraged to debate our differences in the hope that we grow in understanding not just of alternative views, but to learn to see the bigger picture of any issue. Rather than promoting either unity or disunity, the key point is to learn about co-existence even in the lack of agreement. The way toward "holy disunity" is via the 12 unconventional gifts. Some of the positive outlooks toward seemingly "negative" emotional behaviours are highlighted as follows:
Difference: Recognizing each of us has unique God-given images and identities will help us cherish our diversity;
Doubt: Helps us to challenge established beliefs in the hope of greater insight and more robust faith;
Argument: Fear of confrontation just to be nice would deprive us from honest and fruitful engagement;
Tension: Helps us avoid the binary lens to distinguish everything between right and wrong. Instead, allowing tensions would bring about needed balance in any relationship;
Separation: There is a legitimate way in which being apart helps. One example of being separate from the world. In fact, the author argues that separation is a "rite of passage."
Vulnerability: If the Church is able to be open and honest, where members are vulnerable and free, it would bring about a unity that would be priceless;
Trouble: Instead of giving in instinctively to flee from trouble, why not address the root of the trouble? Let the troubles bring people together instead.
Protest: These should not be dismissed but seen as opportunities for change, even as moral obligation to stand up against unfair practices;
Hunger: It's the fear of scarcity that separates us. Learn how to harness the lack into an opportunity to pursue an abundance that lasts;
Limitations: Only God is limitless. We need to learn how live within our limitations, together. Knowing our limits also keeps us humble before an Awesome God;
Failure: It is possible for redemption even after a disastrous setback. Better still, rather than to call it a "failure," why not call it a learning experience?
Uncertainty: As the world becomes increasingly uncertain, we don't have to constantly delay our plans or living just because we don't have a 100% certainty.
I appreciate the list of discussion questions at the back of the book to help us refresh and revisit our own reactions to the book's pointers.
My Thoughts
This book is no ordinary run-of-the-mill publication that tells us to do the ordinary right thing or to behave in expected ways. In fact, it does the very opposite to tell us to resist our creaturely instincts and to take a different stance with regard to viewing "negative" emotions. The twelve "gifts" are often the very sparks that break or divide any Christian communities. The two most popular reactions are to fight until one wins or to take flight just to avoid confrontation. Both of these methods do not solve the underlying need for greater understanding and empathy. Many churches are notorious for doing that. Some of the most controversial issues in this modern age is the LGBTQ divide between the traditional and the liberal. Williams seems particularly passionate about this issue, which is probably why this particular group has been singled out throughout her book. I believe that is because the issue has divided the PCUSA for years, and despite the official approval for gay marriage, it is still a controversial matter within the organization today. While it is important to consider all sides and arguments, inevitably, there will come a time in which we have to take a stand. No matter how nice or how intellectual our arguments are made, people tend to let their hearts rule the day. When that happens, changing perspectives becomes secondary. The primal instincts will then take centerstage.
Williams also says that "separation is in our DNA." I wouldn't go that far to say that. Truth is, it is "sin" that separates. Sinful people have that disposition to do things according to their own ways. In fact, whether one is for or against any issue, the moment one takes a stand, it is already a challenge to others to agree or disagree. Yet, for readers who are unable to nuance Williams's arguments, I would suggest patience. Give the book a chance to makes its case. Then, at the end of it all, if you still disagree, that's still ok. At least, make "understanding" the goal.
All in all, this is a very positive book. It teaches us the basic tools of honest and humble engagement, especially with people different from us. It is also an opportunity to re-examine the basic premises we have pertaining to dealing with differences, doubts, diversities, tensions, separations, troubles, failures, and all the negative emotions triggered by issues we are passionate about. Yet, the best that Williams's book could do is to invite all to come and to remain at the negotiating table, and to adopt a spirit of friendship and understanding. While true agreement and unity remain a distant goal, what is most beneficial is to learn to see from the multiple perspectives presented. Hopefully, this would spur others not only to major on the majors and minor on the minors, it would help us redefine what is major and what is minor in the first place.
Layton Williams is a writer who is focused on intersections of faith, justice, politics, and culture. She is also keen on matters pertaining to sexuality and gender. He holds a BA in English from the University of Georgia and an MDiv from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She was ordained as a minister with the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2014.
Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
Difference: Recognizing each of us has unique God-given images and identities will help us cherish our diversity;
Doubt: Helps us to challenge established beliefs in the hope of greater insight and more robust faith;
Argument: Fear of confrontation just to be nice would deprive us from honest and fruitful engagement;
Tension: Helps us avoid the binary lens to distinguish everything between right and wrong. Instead, allowing tensions would bring about needed balance in any relationship;
Separation: There is a legitimate way in which being apart helps. One example of being separate from the world. In fact, the author argues that separation is a "rite of passage."
Vulnerability: If the Church is able to be open and honest, where members are vulnerable and free, it would bring about a unity that would be priceless;
Trouble: Instead of giving in instinctively to flee from trouble, why not address the root of the trouble? Let the troubles bring people together instead.
Protest: These should not be dismissed but seen as opportunities for change, even as moral obligation to stand up against unfair practices;
Hunger: It's the fear of scarcity that separates us. Learn how to harness the lack into an opportunity to pursue an abundance that lasts;
Limitations: Only God is limitless. We need to learn how live within our limitations, together. Knowing our limits also keeps us humble before an Awesome God;
Failure: It is possible for redemption even after a disastrous setback. Better still, rather than to call it a "failure," why not call it a learning experience?
Uncertainty: As the world becomes increasingly uncertain, we don't have to constantly delay our plans or living just because we don't have a 100% certainty.
I appreciate the list of discussion questions at the back of the book to help us refresh and revisit our own reactions to the book's pointers.
My Thoughts
This book is no ordinary run-of-the-mill publication that tells us to do the ordinary right thing or to behave in expected ways. In fact, it does the very opposite to tell us to resist our creaturely instincts and to take a different stance with regard to viewing "negative" emotions. The twelve "gifts" are often the very sparks that break or divide any Christian communities. The two most popular reactions are to fight until one wins or to take flight just to avoid confrontation. Both of these methods do not solve the underlying need for greater understanding and empathy. Many churches are notorious for doing that. Some of the most controversial issues in this modern age is the LGBTQ divide between the traditional and the liberal. Williams seems particularly passionate about this issue, which is probably why this particular group has been singled out throughout her book. I believe that is because the issue has divided the PCUSA for years, and despite the official approval for gay marriage, it is still a controversial matter within the organization today. While it is important to consider all sides and arguments, inevitably, there will come a time in which we have to take a stand. No matter how nice or how intellectual our arguments are made, people tend to let their hearts rule the day. When that happens, changing perspectives becomes secondary. The primal instincts will then take centerstage.
Williams also says that "separation is in our DNA." I wouldn't go that far to say that. Truth is, it is "sin" that separates. Sinful people have that disposition to do things according to their own ways. In fact, whether one is for or against any issue, the moment one takes a stand, it is already a challenge to others to agree or disagree. Yet, for readers who are unable to nuance Williams's arguments, I would suggest patience. Give the book a chance to makes its case. Then, at the end of it all, if you still disagree, that's still ok. At least, make "understanding" the goal.
All in all, this is a very positive book. It teaches us the basic tools of honest and humble engagement, especially with people different from us. It is also an opportunity to re-examine the basic premises we have pertaining to dealing with differences, doubts, diversities, tensions, separations, troubles, failures, and all the negative emotions triggered by issues we are passionate about. Yet, the best that Williams's book could do is to invite all to come and to remain at the negotiating table, and to adopt a spirit of friendship and understanding. While true agreement and unity remain a distant goal, what is most beneficial is to learn to see from the multiple perspectives presented. Hopefully, this would spur others not only to major on the majors and minor on the minors, it would help us redefine what is major and what is minor in the first place.
Layton Williams is a writer who is focused on intersections of faith, justice, politics, and culture. She is also keen on matters pertaining to sexuality and gender. He holds a BA in English from the University of Georgia and an MDiv from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She was ordained as a minister with the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2014.
Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
January 20, 2020
Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us by [Williams, Layton E.]I feel like the timing of this book is excellent for now. Holy Disunity. I feel like it helped me to place my faith in God even more than I already do. People do not have to agree with me to love them. I can love them either way and this book helps with that.
I was given this book by Westminster John Knox Press in exchange for my honest review.
I was given this book by Westminster John Knox Press in exchange for my honest review.
October 2, 2019
"Disunity is so often seen as an evil: the breakdown of relationship, of community, of cohesion. But disunity doesn't have to mean destruction... Our hunger can turn us into enemies, seeking to deprive one another so that we ourselves might have enough. But our hunger also reminds us that we need more than ourselves; we are not sufficient alone. And even when our disunity puts us utterly and irrevocably at odds, when it demands that we be separate, that gulf between us offers space for each of us to grow -- perhaps even toward each other." (p. 190-191)
In her first book (which is hot off the presses!) Layton Williams pushes against calls for unity, compromise, and conciliation in a way that may at first seem at odds with her work as an ordained Presbyterian minister. Williams looks at how states that we try to avoid like Doubt, Tension, Protest, Hunger, Limitations, and Failure can also be gifts, both for ourselves as individuals and in our relationships and communities. Weaving together her personal experiences growing into her call as a queer, female minister from a conservative family in the South; vibrant re-readings of familiar stories from the Bible; and observations on the larger church and society, she makes a strong argument for embracing the uncomfortable, messy, hard, and unavoidable conflicts and using them to grow in both our convictions, faith, and understanding of others. Williams has an engaging and open writing style that makes this a real joy to read: if you are struggling with the divisive state of the world today and a Christian perspective is something that speaks to you, I'd strongly suggest picking this one up.
In her first book (which is hot off the presses!) Layton Williams pushes against calls for unity, compromise, and conciliation in a way that may at first seem at odds with her work as an ordained Presbyterian minister. Williams looks at how states that we try to avoid like Doubt, Tension, Protest, Hunger, Limitations, and Failure can also be gifts, both for ourselves as individuals and in our relationships and communities. Weaving together her personal experiences growing into her call as a queer, female minister from a conservative family in the South; vibrant re-readings of familiar stories from the Bible; and observations on the larger church and society, she makes a strong argument for embracing the uncomfortable, messy, hard, and unavoidable conflicts and using them to grow in both our convictions, faith, and understanding of others. Williams has an engaging and open writing style that makes this a real joy to read: if you are struggling with the divisive state of the world today and a Christian perspective is something that speaks to you, I'd strongly suggest picking this one up.
November 12, 2019
{Full disclosure: Westminster John Knox Press gave me a free copy of this book for review.}
This book makes some fantastic points about diversity, and with some tweaks I would recommend it wholeheartedly. As it is I cannot, but more of that later. The very first paragraph of the introduction captured me, and compelled me forward. I don’t think the author or publisher will mind if I try to draw you in with her words:
I have spent my entire life deeply loving people with whom I will never agree. We disagree on politics, on faith, and on some of our core values. Over the last few years I have watched the divisions in our world and especially our country grow deeper and deeper—or perhaps I’ve merely watched existing divisions come more and more to light. I have observed the conversations becoming both angrier (which I believe is sometimes good, or at least fair) and more hateful (which I believe is neither productive nor good). I’ve seen, all around me, people retreating into havens of like-minded community, and I have seen their ability to tolerate others—even to recognize that others are human beings beloved and created in the image of God—wither to nothing. For an empathetic, sensitive, and conflict-averse person, it has been agonizing.
I could not agree more! And there is absolutely no place for this among people who claim to be followers of Christ. She makes a fantastic point by emphasizing that God, by the very definition of “Trinity,” embraces diversity. “God isn’t just capable of relationship; God is relationship. And that relationship is born out of contrast.” Well said!
I also appreciate her references to Paul breaking down barriers and clearly pointing out that the Church Body not just can but must be composed of people with differences. These are important passages against things like sexism, nationalism, and racism that all who claim to be Christian must be aware of. To nobody’s surprise, though, the author (who self-defines as “a liberal, bisexual, female pastor”) left out Paul’s teaching that some things like homosexual activity are not differences but sin.
She rightly points out that portions of the Bible, such as the curse on Ham, have been improperly used to justify bad behavior. I agree completely that the Bible has been abused. In fact, the author herself does so by contending that when Jesus encountered the Canaanite woman he initially sinned, but when she challenged him he then repented and changed His mind. She repeatedly accuses Jesus of prejudice, but that’s understandable since non-Jews throughout the centuries have been unhappy that God made a special covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
She also points out that the wonderful variety we see in nature is an indication that God appreciates differences. Further, despite her concerns regarding Jesus’ testing of the Canaanite woman, she quite rightly points out that he spent much of his life with people that others had shunned for various reasons. I
think the author hurts her cause when she portrays the world as far more extreme than it is to try to strengthen her position. For example, “There are normal and abnormal hobbies, normal and abnormal ways to feel about a popular thing or person, normal and abnormal life timelines.” I’ve never found anyone, either in person or in social media, who declared hobbies, feelings about pop culture, or timelines as “abnormal.” People may describe such things as unusual, but that’s quite different.
Another example, “If you like soccer, love Brad Pitt, and get married and have kids, you’re normal and that’s good. If you like rock collecting, think Brad Pitt is ugly, and never have a relationship at all—you’re not just different—you’re weird. And weird carries with it a cost, in social capital at least.” Again, I have never come across anyone who would be less engaged with someone else because of rock collecting or opinions on pop culture stars.
Rather than a theological look at disunity, this sounds far more like the petulant hyperbole of a person who was picked on as a child. Early in the first chapter she asserts, “At some point, we also learn that ‘right’ equals ‘normal’ and that normal is good. And we learn that ‘different’ is bad or wrong.” I strongly disagree with that assertion. She may have felt that way, growing up as different from the majority herself, but it isn’t broadly true.
An even more blatant example: “Acknowledging that others are different requires us to either label them as ‘less than’ or confront the possibility that some of our value and power is undeserved.” What rubbish! I have lived in several parts of the U.S. and have never been in a culture that lived such “requirements.” There are certainly some extremists that feel this way, but they are the exception. The author seems to think that Internet trolls are representative of the culture’s true feelings.
She asserts, “We attempt to justify our fear by demonizing those who are different. We transform our fear into hate. And then hate, too, becomes normalized.” I would very much like to know who the author includes with herself in the pronoun “we.” And how can she support her claim that hate has become normalized? Would she claim that KKK members are considered normal? Not by anyone I know! In general, I support her premise, but she weakens her argument by carrying it to absurd extremes—the same behavior she complains about in others.
This book could (and in my opinion, should) have been an insightful, powerful work on the importance of diversity. Things like sexism, racism, and nationalism have divided us, but all of those are simply differences. They are not things that should lead to fear, power battles, and hatred. Not things that the Bible supports. In fact, the Bible is clearly against them! The author does a wonderful job of laying these out well, and I very much appreciate her words. Unfortunately, she chose to also promote her LGBTQ+ agenda by ignoring the fact that the Bible does declare homosexual activity to be sin. That dissolves the book’s power, and makes it one that I must recommend against.
This book makes some fantastic points about diversity, and with some tweaks I would recommend it wholeheartedly. As it is I cannot, but more of that later. The very first paragraph of the introduction captured me, and compelled me forward. I don’t think the author or publisher will mind if I try to draw you in with her words:
I have spent my entire life deeply loving people with whom I will never agree. We disagree on politics, on faith, and on some of our core values. Over the last few years I have watched the divisions in our world and especially our country grow deeper and deeper—or perhaps I’ve merely watched existing divisions come more and more to light. I have observed the conversations becoming both angrier (which I believe is sometimes good, or at least fair) and more hateful (which I believe is neither productive nor good). I’ve seen, all around me, people retreating into havens of like-minded community, and I have seen their ability to tolerate others—even to recognize that others are human beings beloved and created in the image of God—wither to nothing. For an empathetic, sensitive, and conflict-averse person, it has been agonizing.
I could not agree more! And there is absolutely no place for this among people who claim to be followers of Christ. She makes a fantastic point by emphasizing that God, by the very definition of “Trinity,” embraces diversity. “God isn’t just capable of relationship; God is relationship. And that relationship is born out of contrast.” Well said!
I also appreciate her references to Paul breaking down barriers and clearly pointing out that the Church Body not just can but must be composed of people with differences. These are important passages against things like sexism, nationalism, and racism that all who claim to be Christian must be aware of. To nobody’s surprise, though, the author (who self-defines as “a liberal, bisexual, female pastor”) left out Paul’s teaching that some things like homosexual activity are not differences but sin.
She rightly points out that portions of the Bible, such as the curse on Ham, have been improperly used to justify bad behavior. I agree completely that the Bible has been abused. In fact, the author herself does so by contending that when Jesus encountered the Canaanite woman he initially sinned, but when she challenged him he then repented and changed His mind. She repeatedly accuses Jesus of prejudice, but that’s understandable since non-Jews throughout the centuries have been unhappy that God made a special covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
She also points out that the wonderful variety we see in nature is an indication that God appreciates differences. Further, despite her concerns regarding Jesus’ testing of the Canaanite woman, she quite rightly points out that he spent much of his life with people that others had shunned for various reasons. I
think the author hurts her cause when she portrays the world as far more extreme than it is to try to strengthen her position. For example, “There are normal and abnormal hobbies, normal and abnormal ways to feel about a popular thing or person, normal and abnormal life timelines.” I’ve never found anyone, either in person or in social media, who declared hobbies, feelings about pop culture, or timelines as “abnormal.” People may describe such things as unusual, but that’s quite different.
Another example, “If you like soccer, love Brad Pitt, and get married and have kids, you’re normal and that’s good. If you like rock collecting, think Brad Pitt is ugly, and never have a relationship at all—you’re not just different—you’re weird. And weird carries with it a cost, in social capital at least.” Again, I have never come across anyone who would be less engaged with someone else because of rock collecting or opinions on pop culture stars.
Rather than a theological look at disunity, this sounds far more like the petulant hyperbole of a person who was picked on as a child. Early in the first chapter she asserts, “At some point, we also learn that ‘right’ equals ‘normal’ and that normal is good. And we learn that ‘different’ is bad or wrong.” I strongly disagree with that assertion. She may have felt that way, growing up as different from the majority herself, but it isn’t broadly true.
An even more blatant example: “Acknowledging that others are different requires us to either label them as ‘less than’ or confront the possibility that some of our value and power is undeserved.” What rubbish! I have lived in several parts of the U.S. and have never been in a culture that lived such “requirements.” There are certainly some extremists that feel this way, but they are the exception. The author seems to think that Internet trolls are representative of the culture’s true feelings.
She asserts, “We attempt to justify our fear by demonizing those who are different. We transform our fear into hate. And then hate, too, becomes normalized.” I would very much like to know who the author includes with herself in the pronoun “we.” And how can she support her claim that hate has become normalized? Would she claim that KKK members are considered normal? Not by anyone I know! In general, I support her premise, but she weakens her argument by carrying it to absurd extremes—the same behavior she complains about in others.
This book could (and in my opinion, should) have been an insightful, powerful work on the importance of diversity. Things like sexism, racism, and nationalism have divided us, but all of those are simply differences. They are not things that should lead to fear, power battles, and hatred. Not things that the Bible supports. In fact, the Bible is clearly against them! The author does a wonderful job of laying these out well, and I very much appreciate her words. Unfortunately, she chose to also promote her LGBTQ+ agenda by ignoring the fact that the Bible does declare homosexual activity to be sin. That dissolves the book’s power, and makes it one that I must recommend against.
February 15, 2020
It was only a couple of chapters into Layton Williams's "Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us" that I identified to friends who knew that I was reading it that Williams had already left me having to set the book aside for a few moments of quiet sobbing.
There is a rawness and an authenticity to "Holy Disunity," especially in its early chapters, that struck a chord with me and resonated deeply within my soul.
As a paraplegic/double amputee with spina bifida, I was also deeply touched at Williams's repeated inclusion of persons of varying/differing abilities within her inclusive language - as someone who is used to regularly being excluded, especially within church and theological circles, it's hard to express how deeply touched I was by being included.
"Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us" essentially possesses a rather simple and straightforward argument - that there is holiness in the disunity that exists within our lives and, at least sometimes, our attempts to move toward unity at any cost may be widening the chasm and not trusting God to work within those differences.
Williams points out that quite often within the world and within the faith community that the presence of discord and disagreement is highly frowned upon to the point that all sides of an argument feel pressured to either compromise themselves or stifle their authenticity. This can lead to emotional/physical challenges for individuals, unstable/unsafe communities, and increased severity of fractures when they do occur.
In a tremendously organized manner, Williams looks at several different expressions of disunity, or perceived expressions of disunity, and how they can be expressed in our daily lives, biblical examples of their expression and how Jesus dealt with them, and how they can ultimately save us if we are open to living within the tensions that they can cause.
At nearly all times, Williams is quick to point out that there are exceptions to the healthiness of disunity. "Holy Disunity" isn't so much a prescriptive collection as it is a series of opportunities to reflect on the subject matter on a deeper level.
I'm being incredibly sincere when I say that I found the first half of "Holy Disunity" to be an incredibly emotional, cathartic reading experience largely because the first half of the book had a stronger balance of Williams's autobiographical experiences woven into the material and the subjects simply resonated on a deeper level.
On the other hand, I struggled somewhat in the final 1/3 of "Holy Disunity" as it began to feel like perhaps the material was being stretched a bit too thin and the topics began to feel just a wee bit redundant in presentation. I also felt, at times, like Williams was contradicting herself by simultaneously saying that disunity can be holy but then pointing out how disunity can really lead us to actual unity.
Williams, who self-identifies as bisexual and is an ordained Presbyterian minister currently working on the staff of Sojourners, draws many of her autobiographical stories from her identity within the LGBTQ community and as part of a denomination that has only within the past few years allowed for members of said community to be ordained. This in itself is not problematic. However, I at times longed for Williams to reveal other aspects of her being and how they're all impacted by these discussions. If Williams were a character in a movie, I'd likely describe her as coming off as very one-note yet it's abundantly clear from her life experiences that she's far from one-note. We get a glimpse of this in the early pages, especially in discussions around her being a weird child, but nearly all the examples in the latter parts of the book are references to the LGBTQ community. Do I want her to disown that? Of course not. I simply wanted a more complete picture of "Who is Layton Williams?" to give her examples greater context.
I also felt, at times, that Williams didn't delve as deeply into subject matter as she could have gone. For example, she specifically references the disability community on multiple occasions early in the book yet never provides a place for their inclusion as her examples begin to be expressed. As I arrived at the chapter on "The Gift of Limitation," I thought to myself "Ah, here we go!" Alas, nothing even mentioned despite such a wonderful opportunity to use this as an opportunity to explore the role of disability, disunity, and church life. It even fit quite nicely within the topic she did focus on - bias. There were a couple other times where I felt like the book could have expanded its universal reach but didn't quite stretch for it.
Ultimately, however, I loved every minute of reading "Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us." It's a book that challenged me. It's a book that made me think. It's a book that made me feel deeply and, especially in its first half, made me cry openly. It's a book that challenged me to explore my own issues with my own disability and how often I've fought so hard to be what the church wanted me to be that I compromised my well-being, my welfare, and even my health - this is especially vital as I'm sitting here having read the book just two months after having my left leg amputated above the knee.
While I may have had minor issues with "Holy Disunity," I'm excited by Williams's authentic and honest voice being unleashed in the literary and theological worlds and there's literally zero doubt this is a book I will reference again and again. Inviting us into reflection and discussion and into a place where we can be ourselves amidst the tensions and uncertainties, Layton Williams has written an important, vital book for our times.
There is a rawness and an authenticity to "Holy Disunity," especially in its early chapters, that struck a chord with me and resonated deeply within my soul.
As a paraplegic/double amputee with spina bifida, I was also deeply touched at Williams's repeated inclusion of persons of varying/differing abilities within her inclusive language - as someone who is used to regularly being excluded, especially within church and theological circles, it's hard to express how deeply touched I was by being included.
"Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us" essentially possesses a rather simple and straightforward argument - that there is holiness in the disunity that exists within our lives and, at least sometimes, our attempts to move toward unity at any cost may be widening the chasm and not trusting God to work within those differences.
Williams points out that quite often within the world and within the faith community that the presence of discord and disagreement is highly frowned upon to the point that all sides of an argument feel pressured to either compromise themselves or stifle their authenticity. This can lead to emotional/physical challenges for individuals, unstable/unsafe communities, and increased severity of fractures when they do occur.
In a tremendously organized manner, Williams looks at several different expressions of disunity, or perceived expressions of disunity, and how they can be expressed in our daily lives, biblical examples of their expression and how Jesus dealt with them, and how they can ultimately save us if we are open to living within the tensions that they can cause.
At nearly all times, Williams is quick to point out that there are exceptions to the healthiness of disunity. "Holy Disunity" isn't so much a prescriptive collection as it is a series of opportunities to reflect on the subject matter on a deeper level.
I'm being incredibly sincere when I say that I found the first half of "Holy Disunity" to be an incredibly emotional, cathartic reading experience largely because the first half of the book had a stronger balance of Williams's autobiographical experiences woven into the material and the subjects simply resonated on a deeper level.
On the other hand, I struggled somewhat in the final 1/3 of "Holy Disunity" as it began to feel like perhaps the material was being stretched a bit too thin and the topics began to feel just a wee bit redundant in presentation. I also felt, at times, like Williams was contradicting herself by simultaneously saying that disunity can be holy but then pointing out how disunity can really lead us to actual unity.
Williams, who self-identifies as bisexual and is an ordained Presbyterian minister currently working on the staff of Sojourners, draws many of her autobiographical stories from her identity within the LGBTQ community and as part of a denomination that has only within the past few years allowed for members of said community to be ordained. This in itself is not problematic. However, I at times longed for Williams to reveal other aspects of her being and how they're all impacted by these discussions. If Williams were a character in a movie, I'd likely describe her as coming off as very one-note yet it's abundantly clear from her life experiences that she's far from one-note. We get a glimpse of this in the early pages, especially in discussions around her being a weird child, but nearly all the examples in the latter parts of the book are references to the LGBTQ community. Do I want her to disown that? Of course not. I simply wanted a more complete picture of "Who is Layton Williams?" to give her examples greater context.
I also felt, at times, that Williams didn't delve as deeply into subject matter as she could have gone. For example, she specifically references the disability community on multiple occasions early in the book yet never provides a place for their inclusion as her examples begin to be expressed. As I arrived at the chapter on "The Gift of Limitation," I thought to myself "Ah, here we go!" Alas, nothing even mentioned despite such a wonderful opportunity to use this as an opportunity to explore the role of disability, disunity, and church life. It even fit quite nicely within the topic she did focus on - bias. There were a couple other times where I felt like the book could have expanded its universal reach but didn't quite stretch for it.
Ultimately, however, I loved every minute of reading "Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us." It's a book that challenged me. It's a book that made me think. It's a book that made me feel deeply and, especially in its first half, made me cry openly. It's a book that challenged me to explore my own issues with my own disability and how often I've fought so hard to be what the church wanted me to be that I compromised my well-being, my welfare, and even my health - this is especially vital as I'm sitting here having read the book just two months after having my left leg amputated above the knee.
While I may have had minor issues with "Holy Disunity," I'm excited by Williams's authentic and honest voice being unleashed in the literary and theological worlds and there's literally zero doubt this is a book I will reference again and again. Inviting us into reflection and discussion and into a place where we can be ourselves amidst the tensions and uncertainties, Layton Williams has written an important, vital book for our times.
October 9, 2019
I found this to be such an important, powerful perspective! Williams walks us through the various gifts that difference, doubt, argument, tension, separation, vulnerability, trouble, protest, hunger, limitations, failure, and uncertainty have to offer us, giving Biblical examples and modern applications of each.
January 21, 2021
Disunity can be seen as Holy. Differences are not bad they are inevitable. This book made me look at differences as good as inevitable. Living in a binary way of life can be non productive. A very good read. This book really made me think.
December 10, 2019
I wanted to like this book based on the title. I don't know what I expected, but what I got certainly wasn't it.
The author of this book is a bisexual female pastor -something she really doesn't want the reader to forget. She reminds us in every chapter.
While I expected this book to be about how to get along with others who hold different views on various topics, I had no idea that it would turn into a book about how everyone needs to accept the LGBTQ group. And that's what it really is about. It appears in every chapter. Her life story of how she felt different and wants to be accepted. Every single chapter. We are fed over and over again how awful it is for people to hold Biblical beliefs about sin. It is those people who cause all the disunity. If only they would accept the LGBTQ agenda, we could have unity!
The real danger of this book is that it contains partial truth.
"-when we allow those differences to justify our hating others or treating them as less beloved by God than us, as less than human - we are not just rejecting them. We are rejecting the God-image in them."
Absolutely! We need to love each other as God loves us. But we also need to be wary of sin. We can love someone and not accept their sin. What does that look like? When they are in trouble, sick, need help, we provide it. But we do not encourage the sin they are in. In the case of Rev. Williams, if she came to visit me, I would welcome her, but I would not allow her to share a bedroom with someone else knowing her sins to be of a sexual nature. It would be a sin for me to encourage or facilitate her sin.
"...the overarching message of Paul's letters seems to be that what matters is not that we are all the same, but rather that our differences do not determine our worth in the eyes of God."
This is true! God is love. He loves every part of His creation. We are created in His image. However, He also has defined sin for us. No doubt you've heard, "Love the sinner and hate the sin." This is what God does! He calls us to repentance. And this is where we begin to see the half truths - she has presented this to subtly encourage the acceptance of the LGBTQ agenda.
Paul tells the church in Corinth that they need to put a man out of their midst because of his sin. The idea is that when he realizes his sin and repents, he can be restored. Through this "tough love" he will be saved.
It is not the person's "identity" that is the sin, it is the actions this person performs. Rev. Williams can call herself anything she wants - bisexual, queer, whatever. When she struggles with her passions and refrains from engaging in sinful acts, she is living an authentic Christian life. If she revels in her "identity" and engages in these acts, she is living in sin and needs to repent and make every effort to not fall into this sin again.
But it gets worse:
"...even though Jesus has his moments of prejudice...."
Seriously? You believe that God is prejudice? Now we are going off the rails to prove a point we want to make.
"Multiple truths can and do exist all the time, and the space of tension between the opposing and challenging truths is where true faith resides."
Sorry, I don't see multiple truths. I don't see "multiple truths" in any of the examples she gives.
"Compromise on your conviction in the name of relationship. Compromise on justice in the name of peace. Compromise on truth in the name of politeness. I'm not saying that there's never a time for compromise - of course there is. But make no mistake, compromise isn't staying in the tension. It's resolving it. Compromise says, 'Resolving this tension is more important than anything else - more important than what either of us wants.'"
Well, now. There we have it. Resolving the tension of the fact that she is LGBTQ and you see that as sinful means that we must compromise. What does that compromise look like? Well, accepting her and her actions as okay. People are asked to compromise on their convictions - compromise on truth!
This book did not give me any peace, any ideas of how to have "Holy Unity" and it certainly didn't give me ideas of how things that separate us can save us unless we all "compromise and call "truth" what Rev. Williams calls truth We must see it her way, or we are the ones causing the disunity. She never accepts that God created male and female, not bisexuals, transsexuals, and her alphabet of genders. We are to give up that most basic Biblical belief so she can not feel "different."
I think not.
The author of this book is a bisexual female pastor -something she really doesn't want the reader to forget. She reminds us in every chapter.
While I expected this book to be about how to get along with others who hold different views on various topics, I had no idea that it would turn into a book about how everyone needs to accept the LGBTQ group. And that's what it really is about. It appears in every chapter. Her life story of how she felt different and wants to be accepted. Every single chapter. We are fed over and over again how awful it is for people to hold Biblical beliefs about sin. It is those people who cause all the disunity. If only they would accept the LGBTQ agenda, we could have unity!
The real danger of this book is that it contains partial truth.
"-when we allow those differences to justify our hating others or treating them as less beloved by God than us, as less than human - we are not just rejecting them. We are rejecting the God-image in them."
Absolutely! We need to love each other as God loves us. But we also need to be wary of sin. We can love someone and not accept their sin. What does that look like? When they are in trouble, sick, need help, we provide it. But we do not encourage the sin they are in. In the case of Rev. Williams, if she came to visit me, I would welcome her, but I would not allow her to share a bedroom with someone else knowing her sins to be of a sexual nature. It would be a sin for me to encourage or facilitate her sin.
"...the overarching message of Paul's letters seems to be that what matters is not that we are all the same, but rather that our differences do not determine our worth in the eyes of God."
This is true! God is love. He loves every part of His creation. We are created in His image. However, He also has defined sin for us. No doubt you've heard, "Love the sinner and hate the sin." This is what God does! He calls us to repentance. And this is where we begin to see the half truths - she has presented this to subtly encourage the acceptance of the LGBTQ agenda.
Paul tells the church in Corinth that they need to put a man out of their midst because of his sin. The idea is that when he realizes his sin and repents, he can be restored. Through this "tough love" he will be saved.
It is not the person's "identity" that is the sin, it is the actions this person performs. Rev. Williams can call herself anything she wants - bisexual, queer, whatever. When she struggles with her passions and refrains from engaging in sinful acts, she is living an authentic Christian life. If she revels in her "identity" and engages in these acts, she is living in sin and needs to repent and make every effort to not fall into this sin again.
But it gets worse:
"...even though Jesus has his moments of prejudice...."
Seriously? You believe that God is prejudice? Now we are going off the rails to prove a point we want to make.
"Multiple truths can and do exist all the time, and the space of tension between the opposing and challenging truths is where true faith resides."
Sorry, I don't see multiple truths. I don't see "multiple truths" in any of the examples she gives.
"Compromise on your conviction in the name of relationship. Compromise on justice in the name of peace. Compromise on truth in the name of politeness. I'm not saying that there's never a time for compromise - of course there is. But make no mistake, compromise isn't staying in the tension. It's resolving it. Compromise says, 'Resolving this tension is more important than anything else - more important than what either of us wants.'"
Well, now. There we have it. Resolving the tension of the fact that she is LGBTQ and you see that as sinful means that we must compromise. What does that compromise look like? Well, accepting her and her actions as okay. People are asked to compromise on their convictions - compromise on truth!
This book did not give me any peace, any ideas of how to have "Holy Unity" and it certainly didn't give me ideas of how things that separate us can save us unless we all "compromise and call "truth" what Rev. Williams calls truth We must see it her way, or we are the ones causing the disunity. She never accepts that God created male and female, not bisexuals, transsexuals, and her alphabet of genders. We are to give up that most basic Biblical belief so she can not feel "different."
I think not.
October 9, 2019
A desperately needed book for a contentious time...
Here is a book that dares to speak what is deeply uncomfortable for many to contemplate: unity – human-instigated and human-enforced unity – is not the end-all and be-all of the Christian faith. Not only does it make this needed claim, it also explores strategies and thoughts on how to deal with disunity by recognizing the forces and injustices that drive us apart from one another.
The author makes the stakes clear quickly; just two pages into the introduction comes the throwdown statement: “…I believe that when we pursue earthly unity at all costs, it becomes for us an idol – a distraction from the greater unity that comes from God. And in fact, I think this sort of unity – which seems to value collective togetherness over genuine complex relationship – is unholy and is driving us farther and farther apart.”
With the stakes established, the author turns to those means by which disunity manifests itself – difference, doubt, argument, tension, separation, vulnerability, trouble, protest, hunger, limitations, failure, and uncertainty. While the chapters that address these points of division speak of “gift,” the author makes clear that these things themselves are not “gifts,” but provide the opportunity for relationship to be worked through and possibly even strengthened, although that isn’t always guaranteed. For example, chapter 7 (“The Gift of Trouble”) offers the caution that “in our rush to put distance between ourselves and what troubles us, we end up putting distance between ourselves and other people whose realities make us uncomfortable. By refusing to see the full scope of their story we also fail to fully see them” (111-112). Remembering this risk prompts us to listen with renewed sensitivity and compassion, opening the possibility for greater understanding and even reconciliation.
The author, an ordained Presbyterian minister, speaks from experience, and unflinchingly names those events and places in her own life that have made these lessons necessary. That experience, honestly recognized and reckoned, gives the book an authority and depth that might be possible for others who might seek to address this subject.
There is no such thing as a perfect book, nor is there a book with which you will agree with everything said (unless you write it yourself, and maybe not even then). This book, though, is undeniably necessary in a fractious time when division and strife is too readily met with demands for unity at the expense of things like justice and mercy, things that are mandates to anyone who would claim to be a follower of Christ. Read it. Get others to read it. Get your church folk to read it. Recognize those things that trouble you or provoke tension or uncertainty or doubt, and listen to those points of conflict, and learn how relationship might yet still bloom when unity is in doubt.
Here is a book that dares to speak what is deeply uncomfortable for many to contemplate: unity – human-instigated and human-enforced unity – is not the end-all and be-all of the Christian faith. Not only does it make this needed claim, it also explores strategies and thoughts on how to deal with disunity by recognizing the forces and injustices that drive us apart from one another.
The author makes the stakes clear quickly; just two pages into the introduction comes the throwdown statement: “…I believe that when we pursue earthly unity at all costs, it becomes for us an idol – a distraction from the greater unity that comes from God. And in fact, I think this sort of unity – which seems to value collective togetherness over genuine complex relationship – is unholy and is driving us farther and farther apart.”
With the stakes established, the author turns to those means by which disunity manifests itself – difference, doubt, argument, tension, separation, vulnerability, trouble, protest, hunger, limitations, failure, and uncertainty. While the chapters that address these points of division speak of “gift,” the author makes clear that these things themselves are not “gifts,” but provide the opportunity for relationship to be worked through and possibly even strengthened, although that isn’t always guaranteed. For example, chapter 7 (“The Gift of Trouble”) offers the caution that “in our rush to put distance between ourselves and what troubles us, we end up putting distance between ourselves and other people whose realities make us uncomfortable. By refusing to see the full scope of their story we also fail to fully see them” (111-112). Remembering this risk prompts us to listen with renewed sensitivity and compassion, opening the possibility for greater understanding and even reconciliation.
The author, an ordained Presbyterian minister, speaks from experience, and unflinchingly names those events and places in her own life that have made these lessons necessary. That experience, honestly recognized and reckoned, gives the book an authority and depth that might be possible for others who might seek to address this subject.
There is no such thing as a perfect book, nor is there a book with which you will agree with everything said (unless you write it yourself, and maybe not even then). This book, though, is undeniably necessary in a fractious time when division and strife is too readily met with demands for unity at the expense of things like justice and mercy, things that are mandates to anyone who would claim to be a follower of Christ. Read it. Get others to read it. Get your church folk to read it. Recognize those things that trouble you or provoke tension or uncertainty or doubt, and listen to those points of conflict, and learn how relationship might yet still bloom when unity is in doubt.
October 10, 2019
I love this book. I wish all Christians from all walks would read it. Actually, I wish all people everywhere. There'd be a lot of Bible stories and stuff that might annoy nonChristians, but the underlying principles shared in this book are valuable for all...particularly white Americans...
If there is one thing we can all agree on...it is that there is a lot of discord in the United States right now. What we can't agree on is how to fix it. In the church, unity for the sake of unity, is pointed to as the ideal. Any time someone starts to feel anger, injustice, disagreement, tension, or...the topic is swept underneath the carpet of unity first. In her book "Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us" Layton E. Williams points out that unity we create ourselves instead of through Jesus is an idol and always comes at the expense of those with less power and privilege.
The book talks about the things we usually try to avoid in order to "keep unity." Such as anger, discomfort, tension, argument and separation. It is woven with her own personal story of loving people who deny her very existence and Bible stories with a new lens...at least new to me. But true relationship requires us to lean into those things we are most uncomfortable with in order to actually love those we disagree with well. Why are we so afraid of disagreement if it isn't a fear that the other person's different experience might sway us to another point of view?
I mean, in my reality, that is what happened. Getting to know people who experience life differently because they do not have the cisgender, heterosexual, white, middle class, educated, Christian privilege that I do made me realize that my nice, concrete answers didn't work for all. So it is much easier to shut down conversations with the false promise of unity--Christian Unity--but reality lives in the nuances, the both/and, and that if only some are flourishing...that person's flourishing is at the expense of others.
So we (those with the most power and privilege) need to learn how to stay in communion even as we are uncomfortable, feel pain, and tension. We need to learn how to make space for disagreement, confusion, and curiosity.
And yet, the book also acknowledges that separation is sometimes the only answer. In order for her to live out her calling in Jesus to be ordained in ministry as a queer woman, she had to change denominations. I still feel guilt about leaving my old church even though the pain I experienced there still lingers 17 months later. But even in separation--sometimes only through separation--healing can be found. The suggestions outlined in this book are practical, detailed, and never lose sight that there are no easy answers. I strongly recommend it.
I was sent a PDF to read in order to review this book...but I have already ordered two copies of my own.
If there is one thing we can all agree on...it is that there is a lot of discord in the United States right now. What we can't agree on is how to fix it. In the church, unity for the sake of unity, is pointed to as the ideal. Any time someone starts to feel anger, injustice, disagreement, tension, or...the topic is swept underneath the carpet of unity first. In her book "Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us" Layton E. Williams points out that unity we create ourselves instead of through Jesus is an idol and always comes at the expense of those with less power and privilege.
The book talks about the things we usually try to avoid in order to "keep unity." Such as anger, discomfort, tension, argument and separation. It is woven with her own personal story of loving people who deny her very existence and Bible stories with a new lens...at least new to me. But true relationship requires us to lean into those things we are most uncomfortable with in order to actually love those we disagree with well. Why are we so afraid of disagreement if it isn't a fear that the other person's different experience might sway us to another point of view?
I mean, in my reality, that is what happened. Getting to know people who experience life differently because they do not have the cisgender, heterosexual, white, middle class, educated, Christian privilege that I do made me realize that my nice, concrete answers didn't work for all. So it is much easier to shut down conversations with the false promise of unity--Christian Unity--but reality lives in the nuances, the both/and, and that if only some are flourishing...that person's flourishing is at the expense of others.
So we (those with the most power and privilege) need to learn how to stay in communion even as we are uncomfortable, feel pain, and tension. We need to learn how to make space for disagreement, confusion, and curiosity.
And yet, the book also acknowledges that separation is sometimes the only answer. In order for her to live out her calling in Jesus to be ordained in ministry as a queer woman, she had to change denominations. I still feel guilt about leaving my old church even though the pain I experienced there still lingers 17 months later. But even in separation--sometimes only through separation--healing can be found. The suggestions outlined in this book are practical, detailed, and never lose sight that there are no easy answers. I strongly recommend it.
I was sent a PDF to read in order to review this book...but I have already ordered two copies of my own.
November 25, 2019
Holy Disunity: How what separates us can save us by Layton E. Williams is a call to “let go of the idol of unity and see the holiness in disunity” as stated by Diana Butler Bass in the foreword. Ms. Layton, a bisexual ordained Presbyterian minister, who sets out to show how we are unified in Christ and holy unity is not ours to create or to destroy. She sets out to argue for holy disunity and how we can faithfully coexist without being unified with each chapter dedicated to a challenge that we all face such as fear, doubt and tension and how it divides us and how we can use it in the Church. Through Biblical text and her own personal struggles and journey, she presents how we should embrace our differences in our life experiences, our abilities, our limitations and in our failures, so we can further the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
When I picked this book, I was intrigued by the idea of holy disunity. Ms. Williams makes a very convincing case of how the goal of “peace on earth” is not our mission. Holy Disunity is a very interesting read and while I disagreed with a few of Ms. Williams’ assertions, I found myself agreeing with her main points and thinking about how to use our differences as we strive to spread the Gospel. Just as Paul states in Romans 12:3-8 and in 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, we are all one part of the a greater whole and each with different gifts and different roles. At the end of the book, she presents questions for reflection and discussion. They were thought provoking and allows the reader to apply the ideas presented in each chapter. I would have liked to see the questions at the end of each chapter so that the reflections can be done after reading the designated chapters. Overall, I enjoyed this book and Ms. Williams is heartfelt and honest in her arguments and examples for holy disunity. It is a book I will read again in the future. I recommend Holy Disunity.
Holy Disunity:
How what separates us can save us
Is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook
When I picked this book, I was intrigued by the idea of holy disunity. Ms. Williams makes a very convincing case of how the goal of “peace on earth” is not our mission. Holy Disunity is a very interesting read and while I disagreed with a few of Ms. Williams’ assertions, I found myself agreeing with her main points and thinking about how to use our differences as we strive to spread the Gospel. Just as Paul states in Romans 12:3-8 and in 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, we are all one part of the a greater whole and each with different gifts and different roles. At the end of the book, she presents questions for reflection and discussion. They were thought provoking and allows the reader to apply the ideas presented in each chapter. I would have liked to see the questions at the end of each chapter so that the reflections can be done after reading the designated chapters. Overall, I enjoyed this book and Ms. Williams is heartfelt and honest in her arguments and examples for holy disunity. It is a book I will read again in the future. I recommend Holy Disunity.
Holy Disunity:
How what separates us can save us
Is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook
August 3, 2020
Thank you NetGalley and Westminster John Knox Press for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I read 30 pages into this book, before making the decision to DNF. I expected this book to be a Biblical essay reflecting on the examples of productive, Christian disunity from Christ's ministry and how we can emulate that in our polarized American political landscape today. However, it's rather a "Christian-ish" blog post of a book attempting to justify LGBTQIA decisions as Biblically acceptable. I understand this is controversial, but according to the Bible, it's not.
I wholly agree that Christians must bridge the divides between "us and them," seeing all people as images of God like we are, but when the Bible discusses how we are all parts of a body, that analogy only refers to members of the church, not every person. To be a member of a church, one must conform and live to Scriptural truths and repentance. She mentions an instance of Jesus sinning, how the Bible is not a trusted source and was ill written, and how churches not just love but affirm LGBTQIA. This is not Christianity, but a religion that refers to the Bible for morality--which is fine for her denomination, but it needs to be labeled as such.
Aside from theological error and lack of research, the writing needed one more good edit not by the author. It was redundant, sometimes veered off topic, and felt more like an informal blog post, as mentioned above, rather than a researched treatise for a theological principle. The foreword by a different woman than the author was the most well written, inspiring, and clear piece of the book (what I did read, obviously, since I didn't finish).
I give the book one star for the foreword alone! Another star because the author does make a few good points. But ultimately, I cannot recommend this either for content or writing quality.
I read 30 pages into this book, before making the decision to DNF. I expected this book to be a Biblical essay reflecting on the examples of productive, Christian disunity from Christ's ministry and how we can emulate that in our polarized American political landscape today. However, it's rather a "Christian-ish" blog post of a book attempting to justify LGBTQIA decisions as Biblically acceptable. I understand this is controversial, but according to the Bible, it's not.
I wholly agree that Christians must bridge the divides between "us and them," seeing all people as images of God like we are, but when the Bible discusses how we are all parts of a body, that analogy only refers to members of the church, not every person. To be a member of a church, one must conform and live to Scriptural truths and repentance. She mentions an instance of Jesus sinning, how the Bible is not a trusted source and was ill written, and how churches not just love but affirm LGBTQIA. This is not Christianity, but a religion that refers to the Bible for morality--which is fine for her denomination, but it needs to be labeled as such.
Aside from theological error and lack of research, the writing needed one more good edit not by the author. It was redundant, sometimes veered off topic, and felt more like an informal blog post, as mentioned above, rather than a researched treatise for a theological principle. The foreword by a different woman than the author was the most well written, inspiring, and clear piece of the book (what I did read, obviously, since I didn't finish).
I give the book one star for the foreword alone! Another star because the author does make a few good points. But ultimately, I cannot recommend this either for content or writing quality.
August 26, 2019
Layton E. Williams makes the distinction between a unity that we attempt to create, and the holy unity that comes from Christ. The unity we attempt is often hollow, ignores justice, and often causes more pain by attempting to make everything fine, rather than acknowledging what isn’t okay. It’s the “agree to disagree” where the disagreement can still harm us, deny us, ignore us, or even cause us violence. When we value unity over people, we have missed the point of unity altogether.
Holy Disunity causes us to refocus what it is we seek to be unified in–to be unified in Christ–and to find the gifts of our diversity and difference. Williams’ reframes disunity as a place of challenge and learning, a willingness to stay in the struggle, rather than seeing disunity as a negative, as a failure or abandonment of unity. Disunity may never seem ideal to us, but Williams makes the case that our idealized visions of unity cause more harm than good. Instead, by being our authentic selves, struggling with the challenges of being in relationship with one another, we can remain true to ourselves, honor the differences in others, and love one another in Christ.
This is a helpful book for trying times, and the topical chapters are easy to follow with good discussion guides at the end of the book. This would be a great book for individual or small group study, and I believe accessible from a wide range of views, even if one comes from a different background or perspective from the author. It is especially helpful for those who struggle within their own families and churches to remain in relationship with those they disagree with without seeking a false common ground that often causes more harm than good.
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Holy Disunity causes us to refocus what it is we seek to be unified in–to be unified in Christ–and to find the gifts of our diversity and difference. Williams’ reframes disunity as a place of challenge and learning, a willingness to stay in the struggle, rather than seeing disunity as a negative, as a failure or abandonment of unity. Disunity may never seem ideal to us, but Williams makes the case that our idealized visions of unity cause more harm than good. Instead, by being our authentic selves, struggling with the challenges of being in relationship with one another, we can remain true to ourselves, honor the differences in others, and love one another in Christ.
This is a helpful book for trying times, and the topical chapters are easy to follow with good discussion guides at the end of the book. This would be a great book for individual or small group study, and I believe accessible from a wide range of views, even if one comes from a different background or perspective from the author. It is especially helpful for those who struggle within their own families and churches to remain in relationship with those they disagree with without seeking a false common ground that often causes more harm than good.
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 10, 2019
Maybe you're like me, inclined to huddle up in the places where you feel safe, surrounded by people as much like you as possible, or with allies whose records are impeccable, to avoid the challenge of disagreement, disappointment, or disillusionment. Or perhaps you feel like it's hopeless to engage where there is a difference of opinion, lifestyle, or theological understanding. In these fractious times, plenty of us avoid what feel like certain confrontations. Or you might think we should quell our questions and complaints for the sake of unity (or more likely, that others should do that!). In Holy Disunity, Layton E. Williams reconsiders the value of challenges contributing to disunity that she describes instead as gifts: difference, doubt, argument, tension, separation, vulnerability, trouble, protest, hunger, limitations, failure, and uncertainty. It might be hard to accept that these are gifts, but Williams argues from a faith perspective that by working to stay in relationship instead of withdrawing we will be true to what God hopes for us. Through personal stories, contemporary illustrations, and scripture, Williams makes the case for continuing to engage in the midst of the situations that threaten to divide us from others. She writes, "As the divisions in our society and our world become increasingly evident, many -- if not all -- of us face this question: Do you hold on to your convictions or your relationships? When forced to choose, I saw we stubbornly commit to saying, 'both.'" A wonderful discussion guide provides the tools for deeper reflection by individuals or for using the book with groups.
September 13, 2019
Full disclosure: I'm friends with the author of this book and she invited me to read an advance copy of this and encouraged me to write an honest review of it. Also full disclosure: I finished this book nearly two months ago but needed some time to process it before I could write that review hence why I am now finally writing a review of it in mid-September.
I really resonated with this book. We live in divisive times, ones in which we find ourselves divided against friends, neighbors, coworkers and family. Williams looks at all of that and declares that we have created a false sense of unity in order to feel less divided. This unity does us a disservice though as it actually makes things worse for those in the margins and those whose views don't align with the majority. "Authentic relationship requires honesty with ourselves and others about our vulnerabilities," Williams writes. Through out these chapters, Williams writes about the ways in which our desire for unity has silenced others and actually created more division, not less.
I would encourage you to check this book out when it releases in just a few short weeks. It will certainly provoke and prompt discussion and make you think about the ways in which you yourself have chosen unity at the expense of being authentic with others.
I really resonated with this book. We live in divisive times, ones in which we find ourselves divided against friends, neighbors, coworkers and family. Williams looks at all of that and declares that we have created a false sense of unity in order to feel less divided. This unity does us a disservice though as it actually makes things worse for those in the margins and those whose views don't align with the majority. "Authentic relationship requires honesty with ourselves and others about our vulnerabilities," Williams writes. Through out these chapters, Williams writes about the ways in which our desire for unity has silenced others and actually created more division, not less.
I would encourage you to check this book out when it releases in just a few short weeks. It will certainly provoke and prompt discussion and make you think about the ways in which you yourself have chosen unity at the expense of being authentic with others.
December 15, 2019
I found this work to embrace the intersections of faith, relationships and justice. This book highlights how God’s love is greater than the chaos of our world. Layton argues that God is not calling humans to unity, but to relationship. This distinction allows for folks to communicate and embrace their differing experiences of God. Layton notes that our desire to force normativity often results in constructed cultural hierarchies and barriers, and that our differences can expand our understanding of who God is . Layton notes that to be in relationship with one another we need to be honest and vulnerable with one another, and that disagreement and conflict are a part of that journey. She highlights that often disunity and struggle are a holy experience, and even shows how Jesus embraces Judas as brother and friend even with the knowledge of betrayal. I found this work to be insightful and love the questions at the back. I think this would be a wonderful discussion book for a church to do as a community. I would highly recommend this work. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review of this work. These are my honest thoughts about this work.
July 4, 2021
This was a mixed read for me. Some chapters and passages were powerful, but most of the book was just okay.
Far too much time was taken up describing the plots of movies, tv shows, or relating personal stories and anecdotes; these had meaningful lessons but were strung together too ramblingly. I had to keep reminding myself of the primary thesis and guess about how the current story related to it.
For instance, the author spent a significant portion of the book talking about failure and uncertainty. While fear of failure and discomfort with uncertainty are important topics to address when proposing the Church embrace disagreement, somewhere between a relation of the plot of “The 100”, a story about middle school embarrassment, a story about improv class, the plot of “It’s A Wonderful Life”, a trip to Guatemala, and a detour into “Shakespeare in Love”, I completely forgot what the point of this book was supposed to be.
I like storytelling as illustration better than most, but maybe a tighter edit for relevance, necessity, and brevity next time. In essence, another book that should have been a paper.
Far too much time was taken up describing the plots of movies, tv shows, or relating personal stories and anecdotes; these had meaningful lessons but were strung together too ramblingly. I had to keep reminding myself of the primary thesis and guess about how the current story related to it.
For instance, the author spent a significant portion of the book talking about failure and uncertainty. While fear of failure and discomfort with uncertainty are important topics to address when proposing the Church embrace disagreement, somewhere between a relation of the plot of “The 100”, a story about middle school embarrassment, a story about improv class, the plot of “It’s A Wonderful Life”, a trip to Guatemala, and a detour into “Shakespeare in Love”, I completely forgot what the point of this book was supposed to be.
I like storytelling as illustration better than most, but maybe a tighter edit for relevance, necessity, and brevity next time. In essence, another book that should have been a paper.
October 9, 2019
I like to read different points of view books and this book did that. At first, I had trouble with the writing but then I figured out it was written the way it is so that the reader would stop to think about what they were reading. With all that is going on in the world today, this book is the perfect book to read. It helped me to understand more and also how to think about things differently.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and I have to say this book opened my mind, is making me think and I think in some things it is even changing my mind on a few things. After reading this book I find myself thinking about it and different things that are happening. This was the first book I have read by this author and once I figured out the style of writing, it was a book that opened my mind, made me think about things and made me pause and take a look around. A few times I thought I am seeing this in a whole new light.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and I have to say this book opened my mind, is making me think and I think in some things it is even changing my mind on a few things. After reading this book I find myself thinking about it and different things that are happening. This was the first book I have read by this author and once I figured out the style of writing, it was a book that opened my mind, made me think about things and made me pause and take a look around. A few times I thought I am seeing this in a whole new light.
October 6, 2019
As someone who has been challenged and blessed many times by reading sermons, blog posts, and other writings of Reverend Williams, I did not expect to be surprised by much in this book, but I came away simply amazed. Maybe it was having so much wisdom tied together in one place. Maybe it was how everything was related to a theme that seems particulary relevant right now. Maybe it was the degree to which she weaves her own experiences into the narrative, which could not have been easy, but which was so important. Maybe it was the easily accessible (to a lay reader like me) scholarship. There are way too many favorite parts to highlight, but one thing I really liked is that each chapter, which identifies a “gift,” can be understood on its own, but also as part of a greater whole. I will return often to this book for comfort and discomfort, courage, insight, and motivation.
January 15, 2020
As a Christian, I thought unity was an essential trait I had to employ at all costs. However, disunity is more common as we build relationships with other humans. And, according to author Layton Williams, disunity is not a sin. In fact, we should learn how, when and why to embrace and practice disunity as we grow more into God’s likeness.
In “Holy Disunity,” Lawton discusses differences, doubt, conflict avoidance, protest, and other topics. Every chapter is dedicated to a challenge that we fear, how it can divide us, and what gifts we can find in it.
I finished this book and felt encouraged to embrace disunity and view it as an opportunity to grow together in unity with my fellow believers.
One improvement I would make is less talk about Lawton’s homosexuality. In places, this book read like a memoir rather than a book that would help the church at large.
In “Holy Disunity,” Lawton discusses differences, doubt, conflict avoidance, protest, and other topics. Every chapter is dedicated to a challenge that we fear, how it can divide us, and what gifts we can find in it.
I finished this book and felt encouraged to embrace disunity and view it as an opportunity to grow together in unity with my fellow believers.
One improvement I would make is less talk about Lawton’s homosexuality. In places, this book read like a memoir rather than a book that would help the church at large.
April 7, 2021
Williams, a female Presbyterian pastor, believes in embracing the things that so often drive us apart. She affirms that our differences, be they race, gender, sexuality, or other, are vital in developing relationships. She further argues that the tribalism and demand for unity that we see in politics, religion, and society are destructive. Each of twelve chapters takes a different concept and explains it first in general, then relative to the Bible, thirdly as to how it divides people, and finally explains how it can save us. Chapter topics are wide-reaching universal concepts such as doubt, argument, separation, and failure. Williams is insightful and brave in sharing her personal struggles as a female, bisexual, Protestant Christian. Sadly, those who most need to hear her wise words may well refuse to read them because of those same struggles.
December 11, 2019
I requested and voluntarily read an advanced review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley and I offer my honest opinion in response.
I struggled with this book. I battled between quitting because I was offended by the liberal theology presented (eg., Jesus was prejudiced and repented; the Bible was written by people who were prejudiced by the cultural beliefs of their time so some things don't apply to our modern times) and sticking with the reading to glean the inspirational, feel-good ideas that were promised by the blurb. In the end, I stuck with the reading. I think I gained some insight from this exploration of the "gifts" presented to us by diversity. I wouldn't recommend this to someone young in their faith or grappling with the idea of inerrancy of scripture.
I struggled with this book. I battled between quitting because I was offended by the liberal theology presented (eg., Jesus was prejudiced and repented; the Bible was written by people who were prejudiced by the cultural beliefs of their time so some things don't apply to our modern times) and sticking with the reading to glean the inspirational, feel-good ideas that were promised by the blurb. In the end, I stuck with the reading. I think I gained some insight from this exploration of the "gifts" presented to us by diversity. I wouldn't recommend this to someone young in their faith or grappling with the idea of inerrancy of scripture.
March 17, 2020
I was challenged, stirred, provoked and encouraged by this book. Have quoted from it in a blog. Recommend to read it.
I get it that some will struggle since the author is bisexual and a church minister and she writes about LGBTQ+ matters and how often much of the church world is harsh in its response.
Yes she does write on these issues but so? Hear her heart on it. And despite what some reviews say, the book is about far more than LGBTQ+. Layton Williams ranges wide in Scripture, shows a deep faith in Christ amid the ambiguities of life and touches on all kinds of topics that impact us all. She does this by reflecting on various 'gifts' such as differences, doubt abd vulnerability
You may or may not like all she writes but this is worth engaging with.
I get it that some will struggle since the author is bisexual and a church minister and she writes about LGBTQ+ matters and how often much of the church world is harsh in its response.
Yes she does write on these issues but so? Hear her heart on it. And despite what some reviews say, the book is about far more than LGBTQ+. Layton Williams ranges wide in Scripture, shows a deep faith in Christ amid the ambiguities of life and touches on all kinds of topics that impact us all. She does this by reflecting on various 'gifts' such as differences, doubt abd vulnerability
You may or may not like all she writes but this is worth engaging with.
January 15, 2020
This was a great book about how we can letter differences divide us or make us stronger. In it, the author analyzes "gifts" of things like many emotions that most people do not view in that light. She brings in her own experience as a Presbyterian minister and a part of the LGBTQ community, and then brings in biblical references to show why these uncomfortable emotions can be gifts that draw a community together. A very good read that didn't get bogged down at all but moved from topic to topic in a straightforward natural manner. Very thought-provoking and meaningful.
January 20, 2020
I have been challenging myself to read more books that come from different perspectives - and this book came in that category. Layton Williams is a LGBTQ clergyperson who writes from a very different perspective than me. With that in mind, I did enjoy this book! Her approach to seeing the "gifts" in things we often see as problems - like failure and tension - was unique and eye opening. Her writing style is excellent and easy to read! While there were many points on which I didn't agree, I still enjoyed this read!
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