Few issues today are as volatile as homosexuality and same-sex marriage. In my experience, writing on the issue of same-sex marriage, I’ve found that that people are very interested in what the Bible teaches on this subject. Now that we’ve seen a radical redefinition in American society on the traditional understanding of marriage, Christians need to stand all the more on the Word of God. We need to speak truthfully but with grace and love to the people who hold positions that oppose the biblical worldview. This is why I’m thankful for Dr. Albert Mohler’s new book We Cannot Be Silent because it will help readers to understand the underlying cultural shifts behind the same-sex marriage issue: the acceptance of divorce culture, liberation of sex from reproduction, the prevalence of heterosexual cohabitation, the normalization of homosexuality, and the rise of the transgender movement. Along the way, Mohler offers a deep look at how the Bible and the Christian moral tradition provides comprehensive answers to these issues upon which Christians can build their entire personal lives, marriages, ministries, and cultural engagement.
We Cannot Be Silent has ten chapters. In these chapters, the author explores the history surrounding this issue, and how it didn’t start with same-sex marriage in the first two chapters. In chapter three, Mohler considers how the homosexual movement happened, and in chapter four he tackles the impossible possibility of same-sex marriage. Chapter five explores the transgender revolution while chapter six looks at the end of marriage. Chapter seven helps us understand what the Bible teaches about sexuality. Chapter eight explores religious liberty and the Christian. Chapter nine looks at how to minister compassionately to issues of sexuality and the challenges they present. Chapter ten looks at hard questions related to the issue of sexuality.
Reading We Cannot Be Silent was gut-wrenching. Not in a bad way, though. Dr. Mohler is faithful in his explanation of what the Bible teaches and how the Church has stood on the truth of God’s Word for 2015. This book was gut-wrenching in that it devastatingly demonstrates how sick our world is and how in need it is of the gospel. As Mohler demonstrates in this book, understanding the history of movements and people’s beliefs is vital. Behind the positions that people hold to are people created in the image and likeness of God.
We Cannot Be Silent is biblical, thought-provoking, convicting, and challenging in all the right ways. As we’ve come to expect from Dr. Mohler in his podcast, The Briefing, in his articles, books, and speaking, he displays a high aptitude for speaking the truth in love and getting to the absolute core of an idea. This book is worldview thinking and analysis at it’s finest. This excellent book will help Christians to understand the why behind the worldviews of people opposing the biblical worldview. I highly recommend this book and believe this is a book that every Christian should read slowly in order to absorb what Dr. Mohler is saying as he points us to the truth of what the Bible teaches about gender roles and sexuality. This excellent book is faithful to the Scriptures and drenched in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to pick up a copy of We Cannot Be Silent for in doing so you’ll become equipped and understand the underlying issues of the significant cultural shift that is occurring in our day and how to face the present challenge of believing, living, and engage the culture faithfully in the light of the gospel.
I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Dave Jenkins is happily married to Sarah Jenkins. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021) and The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
