Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America
by Mel White
On This Page
Description
Few issues divide our country more dangerously today than does the question of homosexuality and the conflict between the concept of family values and the individual rights of gays and lesbians. Families are divided, careers are ruined, lives are lost - all in the struggle between beliefs founded in tradition and those based on personal freedom. Spearheading the fight against the increasingly vocal homosexual community are the leaders of the so-called "religious right," men and women who show more denounce gays and lesbians from their pulpits and encourage their followers to enact laws against them. Perhaps no one is better qualified to write about these issues and the conflicts they engender than Mel White. He was born into a conservative Christian home and educated in conservative Christian schools and churches. He met his wife there, and together they raised their children to believe in God and to follow a Christian lifestyle. He worked within the church as a filmmaker and writer, and eventually became a ghostwriter of books, autobiographies, and speeches for such noted figures in the religious right as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Billy Graham. But all that time Mel White had a secret. He was gay. In this remarkable book, Mel White looks at his own life in the church and details the struggles he went through to deny and overcome his own natural sexual desires. And in ways sure to anger many of the people he used to know best, he provides a firsthand look at the teachings and workings of the religious right today, showing how they use their power first to politicize their followers and then, using these politics, to spearhead fund-raising efforts. Most specifically, he examines the methods they use to create a campaign of hate and fear against homosexuals. It is a deeply personal story of torment and triumph, as well as a frightening examination of the anti-homosexual tactics of the religious right and a prophetic look at where they might lead our nation. Both autobiography and personal manifesto, Stranger at the Gate is the eloquent and deeply spiritual story of a gay Christian American determined to tell the truth as he experienced it. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I first read this book many years ago, and it has held up over time. In fact, it's probably close to time to read it again. Mel's story was the first I heard that made gay plus Christian=okay make sense. I will never forget parts of it, but I do like to read it every so often because he told the truth the whole way through. I personally believe that it is Truth with a capital T, but I know all these years later, some disagree with my belief.
I wonder if it will always be this way. The world has changed, but will it ever change that much? Maybe we will at least let God judge someone like Mel instead of trying to judge him ourselves if he is so threatening.
I wonder if it will always be this way. The world has changed, but will it ever change that much? Maybe we will at least let God judge someone like Mel instead of trying to judge him ourselves if he is so threatening.
And this remarkable book, Mel White, minister, details his 25 years of being counseled, exercised, electric shocked, prayed for, and nearly driven to suicide because his church said that homosexuality was wrong. But his salvation came by being openly gay and Christian.
A radical story of a man heavily involved with the far right... and his journey out from under it, as well as his journey out of self-denial.
I was very moved by this book, especially the depiction of the author's relationship with his wife.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
12+ Works 938 Members
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Mel White; Mike White; Jerry Falwell; Pat Robertson
- Important places
- Cathedral of Hope (Dallas, Texas, USA)
- Epigraph
- "I was a stranger and you took me not in..."--Jesus (Matthw 25:43)
- Publisher's editor
- Adams, Chuck
- Blurbers
- Radecic, Peri Jude; Smedes, Lewis B.; Yancey, Phil; Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey; McNeil, John; Boyd, Malcolm
Classifications
- Genres
- Religion & Spirituality, Nonfiction, LGBTQ+, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction, Sexuality and Gender Studies
- DDC/MDS
- 261.835766092 — Religion Christian organization, social work & worship Social theology and interreligious relations and attitudes Christianity and socioeconomic problems Social Teaching With Respect to Culture and Institutions Sexuality Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity Homosexuality
- LCC
- BX9896 .Z8 .W45 — Philosophy, Psychology and Religion Christian Denominations Christian Denominations Protestantism Other Protestant denominations
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 632
- Popularity
- 45,749
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (4.38)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 5
