Perfect Chaos

George and I struck up conversation on Twitter and I immediately felt he was a kindred spirit. We got talking and shared a little about our respective spiritual journies, and it soon became obvious that God wanted our paths to cross because we have a great deal in common.

For instance, we both came to Christ after exploring Eastern and new age philosophy. Also, we’ve had similar family struggles. We’ve both experimented with drugs, before being born again. We’ve both been sexually promiscuous (George with guys and me with girls). We’ve both worked in the music industry. And the list goes on!

We decided to exchange books, so I gave George a copy of my The Philosophy of a Mad Man, and he gave me a copy of his From Queer to Christ: My Journey Into the Light.

George’s book is a fascinating read. If you want to understand some of the struggles that people in the LGBT community face, and how childhood experiences can really shape our feelings around gender and sexuality, this book has some powerful insights. The author has suffered a great deal of bullying, and he grew up around some very conservative Christians who did little to make him feel loved and accepted.

Through all his struggles, which have included abuse, suicide attempts, and depression, George was seeking God. Sometimes he got really angry with God, but he could never shake the feeling that he needed the kind of love that only God can offer. His story is one of coming home to Jesus, and experiencing God’s healing and freedom, after a life of emotional pain.

One passage from the book that really spoke to me is in Chapter 15, which is entitled ‘Woe Unto You Hypocrites’. I recently made a vlog about how freedom of speech is under threat in the UK, and George describes the same thing happening in the US. This is what he writes:

The issue of Christian businesses being targeted with lawsuits by some LGBT individuals, because the Christian owner refused to offer a service simply because he or she didn’t want to go against his or her religious beliefs, is on the rise. And this was before the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage in June 2015.

One example involved the owners of an Oregon bakery who refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. They were fined a massive sum for violating the couple’s civil rights.

The real hypocrisy was exposed when a Christian contacted thirteen pro-gay bakeries asking each one to include “Gay Marriage is Wrong” on a cake. Not one bakery complied with his request. He was met with insults and obscenities. After his experiment, he was bombarded with hate messages about how “hateful” he was for simply giving them a taste of their own medicine.

The gentleman said, “Here is our point. A Christian making a homosexual cake with ‘Support Gay Marriage’ goes against his faith, and a homosexual putting ‘Gay Marriage is Wrong’ goes against his faith as well. Now, of course we honor their right to say no; this is not the issue, but what about honouring the Christian’s right to also say no?”

Yes, we need to find a common sense solution that protects the LGBT community from discrimination, but also protects religious freedom.

George has exemplified the problem very well, and I totally concur. Many in the LGBT community have become so aggressive and totalitarian in their attitude towards gender and sexuality that they are trampling all over the rights of Christians. And those with political power, in the US and in the UK, seem to be allowing this to happen. If you’d like to see evidence of this in the UK, simply follow Christian Concern on social media.

In the final chapter of the book George offers advice to people experiencing same-sex attraction, and describes what the Bible says about salvation, and how we are all sinners who need to repent in order to be right with God. There is no discrimination here, God wants everyone, regardless of their background or sexual preferences, to turn to Him.

If you’re struggling with same-sex attraction or gender issues then I would recommend this book, which is available from Amazon. George is also on Twitter, and he’s a very friendly (also very busy!) guy, so if you feel like dropping him a message I’m sure he’ll respond.

For a full list of my book reviews, covering topics including philosophy, religion, spirituality, and mental health, click here.