Queer Prophets: The Bible’s Surprise Ending to the Story of Sexuality and Gender

by Greg Paul

This is the story of a spiritual journey, a theological quest to find better biblical answers (ones that work in real life) to the challenging questions that plague many of us surrounding gender and sexual identity. If God is love, why does he seemingly reject LGTBQ2+ people? How can Christians truly embrace them without abandoning their biblical convictions? How are queer Christians supposed to live? No story ends where it began. If we follow the story instead of treating the Bible as a document recording a set of precepts, we find that the angst, division, and abuse set in motion by the fall in the garden are reconciled and resolved in the city of the new Jerusalem. And just possibly, we may also find that "queer" people have a prophetic function for our age.

Genres: Theology

144 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 11, 2020

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Aj Jansen]

This book resonated in me something I’ve felt for a long time and that is that people on the margins are prophets. While I read a lot, it is people that shape my theology and my understanding of what God is like because it is in people (especially those marginalized) that we find Jesus reaching out to us. I encourage you to read this book and to not be challenged by the stories that Greg Paul shares. This is a personal book of vulnerability detailing the journey of someone wrestling through their convictions over many years. Regardless of where you land on the inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, this is a book to read that will challenge you.

[Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

For other queer people curious about the author's ultimate conclusion:

Yes, he speaks a lot about god's "redemption" and "grace" but he does NOT take the "hate the sin, love the sinner" stance. The first 2/3-ish of the book does cover how he originally supported that narrative, but in the last third, he argues:

--there is no religious basis for bigotry
--passages seeming to condemn homosexuality refer more clearly to sexual violence
--there are no passages that outright, conclusively condemn homosexuality itself (with no other interpretation, like above)
--God could have simply said that outright but specifically did not, while repeatedly taking time to condemn actual forms of violence, harm, and bigotry
--a short passage citing scientific evidence that being queer / transgender is NOT a lifestyle or a choice, followed by repeated references to this being inherent to a person
--God repeatedly states throughout the bible that sex/gender will not matter in heaven, therefore it does not matter to Him now, and we should live by the standards God sets for heaven (ie, not discriminating, no difference between gender, it doesn't matter if someone has or does not have a gender, if they "change" gender, or the genders involved in love / sex / relationships)

Although he uses "queer" as the most common term to broadly refer to everyone under the umbrella, he does specifically note in the introduction that these conclusions are meant to support people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, nonbinary, and any other identities he didn't name.

The tone of the book is basically a straight white dad, self-described as conservative, who nonetheless is making a genuine effort and really does argue that queer people are not sinning / making a sinful choice that deserves to be forgiven, so I'm giving this 5 stars.

[Lyf · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Disclaimer: the author used to be my boss!**

This book reminded me a lot of his first two books. Stories and anecdotes that gently and lovingly wrap themselves around what Greg Paul is getting at. I think this book is really well written for its target audience - thoughtful evangelical Christians who believe they don’t have any LGBTQ+ people in their lives.

It’s well written, the stories are well told/remembered, the message is positive and it’s pretty vulnerable. I can’t remember reading many authors who admit when they have struggled and hurt people they love on a journey like this.

[Quist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thoughtful book from a person who has spent a great deal of his time dealing with the needs of people in the Queer sexuality camp. I appreciated his honesty as well as his hard work in trying to reconcile his faith in God with loving people whom historically the church has considered outsiders.

[David Sheffield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories from the author's journey, as a conservative Christian, to a thoughtful practical theology that is able to include the people he (and God) loves. An engaging primer for anyone on a similar journey.