Notes About the October Book of the Month
From The God Box:
"I wasn't sure who was crazier, him or me. During prayers one night, I'd ask forgiveness for hanging out with Manuel, but the next day I'd thank Jesus for bringing him into my life. I couldn't stop thinking about Manuel, and every time I stormed away from him, swearing never to return, five minutes later I wanted to come running back. How could I choose between my sexuality and my spirituality, two of the most important parts that made me whole?"
Lambda Literary Award-winning author Alex Sanchez tackles a subject ripped from headlines in this exciting and thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be both religious and gay.
--The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church
" Alex Sanchez' new book is a breath of fresh air, from a young, passionate spiritual perspective. This is a story that must be told and read and celebrated!!"
--The Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator,The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
Sometimes fiction is the perfect medium for going deeper in our
exploration of faith and sexuality. This is certainly the case with
Alex Sanchez's new coming-of-age story, The God Box. Although there are plenty of excellent novels out there that explore the complex emotions around coming to terms with sexual identity, few also explore the equally complex pull of religious belief. Sanchez's novel is a fun, engaging story that will deepen your spirituality and your faith in humanity. I only wish The God Box was around when I was a teenager!
Harry Knox, Director, Religion and Faith Program, Human Rights Campaign
Thanks to Alex Sanchez for writing a book that bridges our sexual orientation and our faith! His work will help many young Christians come to terms with who God created them to be.
Dave Parker, President of the PFLAG Transgender Network
Teri Myers , Dignity USA
-- Michael Cart, editor of Love & Sex: Ten Stories of Truth
"This is an excellent resource for Christian teenagers addressing scriptural interpretations, ex-gay ministries, hate crimes, and coming out experiences all encountered in the lives of a set of teenage friends."
Reconciling Ministries Network, United Methodist ChurchAlex Sanchez has chosen to focus on providing gay Christian youth with solid spiritual food that is rich in entertainment value.. Sanchez takes us through the struggles of a high school youth who deepens his Christian commitment as he increasingly comes to claim his own sexuality as a gift from God... Sanchez pulls it off by creating believable characters and putting them in contemporary life situations. His struggles with the “clobber passages,†those few verses of the Bible that are used to condemn homosexuality, are worth the price of the book.
...beyond the help that gay teens will find in these pages, and it is enormous, straight youth will benefit as well. ... here are two reasons to buy this book: Save a gay AND straight kid today!Thanks & Blessings...
Charles Keener, Lincoln Temple United Church of Christ, Washinton, DC
cell 202-680-3636
ckeener20005@aol.com You can reach Alex at alex@alexsanchez.comI want to do whatever I can to support this book and get the word out. There is SO LITTLE aimed at LGBT teens on matters of faith. And ultimately this book has much broader insights about faith and being true to oneself than just for Christians.
The book is also set in Texas with a protagonist of Mexican heritage and so has a wonderful multicultural dimension as well.
The book includes an ex-gay theme in that the hero goes to his pastor to talk about his gay feelings and his pastor arranges a meeting for him with an ex-gay rep. Over the course of the story the fallacy of the ex-gay idea and indeed the sadness of the situation of gays who buy into it is made plain.
You might also note that Alex has an extensive list of spiritual links on his webs site
http://www.alexsanchez.com/Spirituality.htm along with many other helpful resources for LGBT youth.He has had some awesome feedback already about the impact of a book like this dealing with the intersections of teens, sexual orientation, and faith - something very rare indeed.
A teen who saw news of the book on Alex's website wrote :
Hey! I was searching up on the internet for a Young adult book that deals with a boy who is both Christian and homosexual and that is how I happened onto your site. I am homosexual but am closeted and only revealed myself to a close friend who has told no one else. Knowing, if my parents were to know I was gay, I would kicked off the streets. I have been very depressed for two years now, I feel awful inside, since
I have been living a pretend life, in fear of someone discovering I was gay. Its awful, I feel like I could tell someone, but then I think of the backlashes, everyone would harrass me, i would not be able to go to college, and would be living on the streets. My school has a GSA, but my mom always check which clubs I am in, so there is no way I would ever be able to join. Man I feel so trapped and I have been praying to God to make me straight. I hate being gay, I hate the feeling as though I'll never experience love. I know, I'm gay, I have no interest in women. But my parents are pushing me to date. I cannot stand it. I feel enclosed in a bubble. I need advice. What should I do? I do not even know why I'm emailing you. Maybe I just need someone to connect with, who has been through the same struggles and need some advice. Hmm.. I want to get your new novel real bad. But my mom would freak if I was reading this or any of your books. I hope to find some way of buying The God Box The main protagonist's struggle totally fits mine. Hopefully, God will supply me a way. I know he loves me for who I am. When I get the book, I can't wait to read, the first chapter had me in tears. Thinking of all the times, I have been through the same. Anyways, thank you for taking the chance of writing these novels. Hope to find some way to sneak them into my house Thank You,
"Being gay and Christian is the hardest thing in the world. One day at church the pastor said the worst things about gay people. It was so hard for me not to cry, and my mom (who I just came out to) stared at me with a sorry feeling. But I still love God, and no matter what anyone says, I am what I am."
"I'm not homosexual, but I was always interested in how people who were felt. I, being from a fundamentalist family, couldn't ask for answers in certain places, and so I just wondered. Thank you for writing your books, because although I got a lot out of them, I'm sure others will find many more answers than I have, and feel like they're not so alone anymore."
"My parents are very staunch Christians and when they found out about my homosexuality, they sent me for counseling. It didn't really work. My parents now think that I'm "okay". Only I know that my sexuality hasn't changed at all. I love being a Christian and I know that Christianity is real. But according to church doctrines, it's wrong. Now I don't know where to turn."
"Nothing is quite as bad as when you're hanging out with friends,
driving down the highway, moshing at a concert, eating tacos at 5 A.M., and you think that there's no place you'd rather be in the world than with these people...but you always know in the back of your mind that if you asked them what they thought about homosexuality they would say you're going to hell. No questions asked. Fire and brimstone, forever. I think that's what hurts the most."
These kinds of messages really inspire me that this book is important.
Reading such comments made me recall my own faith journey. Growing up, I was blessed to have a mom and dad who accepted me, regardless of my sexuality. But the church presented an image of a God who didn't love me quite so unconditionally. It took quite a few years for me to get up the courage to revisit the Bible and come to my own conclusions about God. And as I began to hear the struggles of young people, I came to believe that my own experience might help others. The result was my newest novel The God Box, coming out in October.
To those of you who are still struggling to reconcile your religion and sexuality, know that you're not alone. Have courage. And love, respect, and accept yourself for the beautiful soul you are.
Peace,
________________________________________________________________________________________ THE GOD BOX, by Alex Sanchez.
A Review by Rev. Dr. Jerry S. Maneker
I very strongly urge everyone who is a Christian to buy and read this book! Although this book is largely geared to Gay youth, it is a must-read for all Christians who genuinely seek to live out our faith by both loving and not judging others, as well as "rightly dividing the Word of truth." (2Timothy 2:15)
First of all, this book is very well written, and easily understandable to people of all ages. It is an engrossing novel about the psychological, social, and spiritual struggles that are all too common among Gay youth.
Moreover, Sanchez deftly integrates within the narrative the critiques of the "clobber passages" erroneously used to condemn Gay people, showing how the Bible is not only misused by self-styld biblical literalists who condemn what they don't understand, but he also shows how those verses that homophobes are all too fond of using are extrapolated from the Bible text to merely justify their preconceived prejudices, and that the body of Scripture, particularly that of the New Testament, doesn't justify their conclusions regarding same-sex love as being in any way sinful.
In his naturally flowing and engrossing narrative, that I couldn't put down, as I read it in one sitting, he shows young (and older) Gay people that there is absolutely no inconsistency between being Gay and being a Christian! Indeed, he not only puts the lie to assertions that state the contrary, but also affirms Gay people in a way that young people need to hear and take to heart, if they are to live the lives of abundance that Jesus promises us.
He shows how in order to live "the abundant life," we must be authentic, and embrace the gift of our sexuality, as we are to embrace all of our God-given gifts. He also delineates the stigma, the bullying, and the indifference of many teachers and school administrators to that bullying of Gay kids, and how that bullying causes untold damage to vulnerable kids who haven't been taught the Gospel message of Jesus' unconditional love for us.
In addition, he beautifully shows many of the destructive manifestations of both homophobia as well as internalized homophobia, and the inner torment of all too many Gay kids. In that connection, he shows how many clergy fuel and seek to justify this inner torment, the psychological and spiritual ravages, and Gay bashing, by appealing to their own prejudices, rather than by seeing the Bible as a Word of a loving God Who created His Gay children, and whom He loves just as they are.
What helps make this book unique is that Sanchez doesn't preach at us, but integrates within an exciting narrative, the crucial points that every Gay and non-Gay Christian needs to hear. In that context, he also puts the lie to the "ex-gay" myth and refutes much of their rhetoric by showing the aspects of same-sex love that they willfully refuse to acknowledge, usually projecting their own dysfunctions onto other Gay people, and assuming that those dysfunctions are common to all Gay people, a contention that this book deftly refutes and finally lays to rest.
In sum, I couldn't put this book down, and neither will any reader who seeks an understanding of the many dynamics of being Gay! Moreover, at an already confusing time of life that adolescence provides, it is crucial that Gay adolescents read this book, and come to realize that they can be Christians and be Gay as well, and be free to fulfill healthy intimacy in their lives; realize that they are not alone; realize that they are to understand the Bible as affirming all of God's children.
"'I think that unless people are told homosexuality and God are in conflict, there is no conflict.' As I listened to her, I sliced some celeryâ€"carefully, so as not to cut myself. 'But what about what the Bible says'? 'Pablito, the Bible was meant to be a bridge, not a wedge…. It's the greatest love story ever told, about God's enduring and unconditional love for his creationâ€"love beyond all reason. To understand it, you have to read it with love as the standard. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Always remember that.'" (p. 171)
All of us, especially Gay kids, need to hear this message, and I have found no better vehicle for hearing this message than in Sanchez' novel!
Please read this book! And please give this book to a Christian, and even a non-Christian Gay adolescent, friend, relative, or neighbor as a gift that will redound to their benefit, and all others privileged to read it, the rest of their lives!
Really?
Donny, you say:
And Christ Jesus detailed what God the Father had in plan for marriage.
Please point me to the exact words in the Gospels where this is to be found. I can't seem to find it.
Donny
Love does not mean "anything goes." Otherwise Jesus would have declared that men could leave their parants and marry another man. Or the same formula for women. But it seems quite clear that "sex" as intended by God, is supposed to be within the confines of a one-path marriage. And Christ Jesus detailed what God the Father had in plan for marriage. Also, the Apostles were more than clear that same-gender sex acts were not in keeping with what a Christian should do sexually. So if a person has desires and/or even intense desires to engage in same-gender sex, they should be motivated to understand that the concept of "original sin," that everyone (everyone born after Adam) is born a sinner. Clearly that includes as a sin, same-gender sexual activity.
Now, if the Progressive and Gay "movement" are presenting same-gender couples as committed friends that desire to live a life of companionship, then no one has any theological grounds to oppose that. Nuns and Monks have been doing that for thousands of years. But when the line is crossed to promote same-gender sexual behavior as sanctioned or approved "in the Bible" this crosses the line to altering and changing the Bible. That is wrong and of course one needs to look at the serious implicationms of evil being present in the attempt. Why do people that call themselves, or, go by the self-applied label of "Gay and Lesbian" get a license to commit sin? What Biblical right is afforded to same-gender sexual proclivities? None as far as the Biblical witness is concerned. Feeling compassion and desing no harm to befall a person claiming to be only same-gender sexually attracted, does not license agreeing that the behavior is somehow OK for a Christian to engage in.
There is no theological honesty in altering and changing the Biblical record on sexuality to license same-gender sexual activity. It is lascivious licentiousness plain and simple, no matter how complicated hurting individuals claim the condition makes them "feel." What is being done in the attempt to license same-gender sex is to reject the Gospel and Apostolic mission of bringing sinners OUT of their sins and into a place of forgiveness and grace. It also crosses the line into the Christian Community agreeing with the worldly views on unfettered promiscuity and debauchery. Again, the New Testament record as well as, the Old Testament condemnation of sexual abandon is clear. There is no right for anyone in the "modern world" to alter eternal truth to make anyone "feel good" about themselves. Any study done on Biblical Prophets, knows that sin and sinners were dealt with consistently, and it was not to allow it, or condone it, and them.
Feeling compassion for a sinner is at the very heart of every convert to Christ, because every convert to Christ was and is a sinner. But certainly teaching that one can "stay" in their sins - literally continue doing what is sinful - was dealt with in no uncertain terms by Christ Jesus and the Apostles. In is right to say that the New Testament no where allows for or condones and promotes same-gender sex acts to be continued by a anyone "once" that person becomes a Christian. No amount of scripture twisting and certainly no alterations of the clear Biblical redcord opposing same-gender sex acts, is honesty. What is honest is recognizing that people and indeed even Christians will sin even though they are in the body of Christ. But, without any doubt, the Apostles like Jesus before them hold the individual Christian accountable for their choices.
The gross error of Progressive and Liberal ideologues is that they ignore that "being" a sinner is a far cry from enticing and encouraging others to sin. It is heart wrenching situation when knowing a person that has an intense same-gender sexual drive (though NO different than any other desire to engage in sinful behavior), but allowing it to be acted upon with approval, and licensing the behavior as something that the Christian Church body Universal should now agree to . . . is simply wrong.
The course to take for a Christian brother or sister that will not repent of behavior that is clearly "condemned" - and same-gender sex acts is clearly in that category - is to continue to pray that some day, that individual will repent and stop their sinning. Until that time comes, holding to the New Testament record of opposing same-gender sex is in keeping with a clear segment of the Biblical Evangelical mission laid out from one end of the New Testament to the Book of Jude (as it is already too late for unrepentant sinners in Revelation).