Does Jesus Really Love Me?

A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America

By: Jeff Chu

Narrated by: Jeff Chu

Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America is part memoir and part investigative analysis that explores the explosive and confusing intersection of faith, politics, and sexuality in Christian America.

The quest to find an answer is at the heart of Does Jesus Really Love Me? - a personal journey of belief, an investigation, and a portrait of a faith and a nation at odds by award-winning reporter Jeff Chu.

From Brooklyn to Nashville to California, from Westboro Baptist Church and their "God Hates Fags" protest signs, to the pioneering Episcopalian bishop Mary Glasspool - who proclaims a message of liberation and divine love, Chu captures spiritual snapshots of Christian America at a remarkable moment, when tensions between both sides in the culture wars have rarely been higher.

Funny and heartbreaking, perplexing and wise, Does Jesus Really Love Me? is an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual pilgrimage that reveals a nation in crisis.

©2013 Jeff Chu (P)2020 eChristian

Beautiful

This was such a heartbreaking yet encouraging journey to go on with this author. I so appreciated the way the various voices throughout the book were handled with grace and honesty. It doesn’t shy away from the pain nor the beauty.

God does love

Thus was a difficult book for me to read. I cried I hoped and I pray for those of us who are hurting parents and children. I pray for me as I examine this sin have divided us Christians as no other sin have. God wants to love. Do we love him?

Appreciate the work of love

No matter how you feel about the relationship between the LGBTQ community and the church, one thing we should all agree upon...it needs work! This book helps the listener understand the harm the church is doing by neglecting to show the love that is supposed to be the trademark of a follower of Christ.

An extensive discussion of Christianity and homosexuality

Mr. Chu spent a great deal of time interviewing people across the country from a variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths. Informative and engaging, I gained a new understanding of people with views I didn’t comprehend, and I also heard my own beliefs echoed in the words of others. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in how faith and homosexuality intersect.

powerfully & passionately presented.

Listening to this book was like having a conversation with an old friend. At the conclusion I felt like I was parting with my old friend. That is how personable the author, Jeff Chu, related to the audience.

This Is Where I Found Hope in '20/'21

My parent's sermon on Sodom and Gomorrah seemed to have led me to this book. (I fell into a state of questioning my own faith and God's love for me and needed hope and guidance.)

The stories of people Jeff interviewed have encouraged and humbled me. These stories seemed to have revealed my silly obsession—perhaps a pattern for most people of FAITH—for definite answers. But, I am reminded that God's infinite love for me is the only thing that is certain in my life, and that I am truly wonderfully and fearfully made. With this certainty, I am called to live authentically as salt and light; to live and to love fearlessly as the beloved child of God.

(Also, having followed the Evolving Faith Podcast; Jeff's familiar voice in his narration and his renderings of all whom he has interviewed was a serious treat!)

A grace-filled listening tour

Note: It took me a good bit of the book to decide that the author's attempt at voices was probably not intended to color his representation of the people he was writing about. Overall, Jeff's reading style is very nice to listen to.

I came to this book hoping it would help me process my own journey as a gay Christian. It exceeded my expectations with beautiful writing and a listening heart that was balm for my soul. I bought a couple hard copies, as I sometimes do with books that move me, so that I can have a copy for myself and a copy to share, should the opportunity arise.

This book is not a breakdown of the clobber passages (though they are mentioned very late in the book), but rather a range of people's attempts to interpret for themselves what it means to love and obey God. This book is especially apropos for people coming from an evangelical background, or who are curious how evangelical Christians work out their faith in this particular arena.

Many books on this subject center on defending a particular reading of the Bible and on the author's personal journey. Jeff manages to remain on the edge of the story as a patient and loving and curious observer who still has skin in the game. The result is a unique and valuable contribution to the existing collection of books available to gay Christians and those who want to thoughtfully engage with them.