Homosexuality: Straight and narrow by Schmidt

Today I'm adding 'Straight and narrow' by Thomas E. Schmidt to the Master Reading List under the category of Homosexuality (Available from Amazon).

In our current climate, affirming homosexual behaviour as sinful is not the easiest thing to do.  Yet Schmidt takes the task in hand and completes it faithfully and sensitively in his book.

Firstly, Schmidt introduces himself in Chapter 1 in an effort to build some form of rapport with the reader.  Chapter 2 then looks at the falseness of the two common arguments for homosexuality (the Bible does not condemn it; or the Bible's condemnation should be qualified).  Then Chapters 3, 4 and 5 give a solid exposition of the Biblical passages concerning right sexual behaviour and homosexuality.  Chapter 6 is an unpleasant chapter outlining the toll that homosexual behaviour takes upon the human body.  Chapter 7 looks at the debate whether homosexuals are born, made or both.  The book then closes with a chapter of summary statements and practical advice for Christians attempting to help homosexuals.

My only concern is that the book is a little dated (published 1995) and so a good proportion of the statistical data given in Chapter 6 is no doubt behind the times.  But apart from that, the book is a faithful treatment of the difficult issue.

If you are trying to help those caught in the sin of homosexually or struggle with the sin yourself, 'Straight and narrow' is a valuable resource.