People to be Loved: where some Christians are getting it wrong

People to be loved by Preston Sprinkle is a pastor’s search to the truth about homosexuality in the Bible. He investigates the verses which are commonly used to condemn homosexuality as well as the cultural and historical settings the verses were written in. Mr. Sprinkle goes through each verse in the Bible which mentions homosexuality and breaks it down through the original language, the cultural settings in which it was written and makes a decision if the verse condemns homosexuality or not. Through the Old Testament verse and the New Testament verses, he makes the decision that homosexuality is a sin. However, it is a sin just as lying, murder, and many other acts are. Mr. Sprinkle is very clear that just because homosexuality is a sin does not mean that Christians can condemn the LGBT community as abominations. While he spends a great deal of time discussing homosexuality in terms of the verse, he also takes more time to discuss why the LGBT community are still people who deserve to be shown Christ’s love.

As a Christian, I believe that homosexuality is a sin; however, I have never treated members of the LGBT community with condemnation and fear. I know many people who are homosexual and I have treated them with nothing but kindness and respect. While reading People to be Loved, I felt Mr. Sprinkle was trying hard to find verses which approved of homosexuality. However, as I read I realized that he was not. He was asking the Christian community to love and respect homosexuals. As he writes “Love doesn’t mean affirming one’s behavior” and “Love means accepting one’s humanity without affirming everything they do.” Affirming means to agree. I can love my friends and family without agreeing with their life choices whatever that may be. I believe this is Mr. Sprinkle’s purpose for this book. Love each other, recognize each other’s humanity and leave everything else to Christ. I recommend People to be Loved for anyone who may question what the Bible really says about homosexuality.

People to be Loved

Is available at major booksellers