Holy Terror by Mel White

Holy Terror by Mel White

Holy Terror by Mel White, subtitled Lies the Christian Right Tells Us to Deny Gay Equality is a book review – this review comes from a pro-traditional marriage view.

I have to say that I was hesitant to read this book, as I knew that it would present issues and ideas from which I differ. I come from a Southern Baptist evangelical background. I do not identify myself as a fundamentalist, however, I do part with them in ministry. As I reviewed this book, two things struck out at me:  (1) the way in which the author rightly presented the hypocritical nature of fundamentalist leaders presented in the book, and (2) the anger which this author seemed to still hold toward these fundamentalist brothers of the faith.

Mel White was a former ghostwriter for Dr. James Dobson, Pat Robertson, D. James Kennedy, and Jerry Falwell. As a result, he has a unique perspective about these four men (who I would call the Four Horsemen of the Fundamentalist Apocalypse.) His anecdotes about these four men were very revealing. Personally, I found the insight helpful into the fundamentalist mindset.

The problem with this arises with the fact that the author first identifies with the evangelical fundamentalist community as a fellow pastor and ghostwriter and then completely changes when he reveals his homosexuality. The author proceeds to vent his anger at these four men (especially Dr. James Dobson and D. James Kennedy.) I found the reciprocal animosity disturbing. If Dr. White has found true love in Christ in his homosexuality, then at least he should understand that true love in Christ (no matter whether one is homosexual or not) will endure persecution. One should not be surprised. Frankly, I was surprised at the author’s reaction in the book to these four men. Did he not know them well enough to know that writing for their cause and then claiming to be a homosexual and a Christian would cause these four men to be upset at him? What did he expect, a Christian group hug?

Both groups who claim to know the love of Christ showed a hypocritical nature. First, the four men of the fundamentalist apocalypse state that they follow the Bible, but they show little Christian love to a man who sins. Second, instead of responding with forgiveness to how these men treated him, the author vents his anger in print. I found his history of fundamentalism and its dangers informative. However, this important information had a biased intent. The reader can tell that he is not impartial with the facts. On a positive note, the final two chapters were useful in understanding the dangers of intolerance and how to respond in a non-violent fashion.

This review was posted for Speakeasy.

Twitter tag: #SpeakeasyHolyTerror, @MelWhite,

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. 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.