Review (of sorts) of Out of a Far Country
I read Out of a Far Country by Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan early last semester. Though I do not agree with everything that Christopher states about homosexuality, I will share some of his thoughts and experiences with you today. I encourage you to read this book if you want to know more about this issue from a first-hand (Christopher) and a second-hand (Angela) basis. All of these quotes are from Christopher's chapter titled "Holy Sexuality."
Christopher first discusses the idols in his life. "The most obvious of all the idols that I had in my life was drugs.... for some reason, the pull was no longer their for me- maybe it was because their were other idols in my life that God wanted me to deal with." "Music pulled me back to the years when I lived for going to clubs.... But nightclubs could too easily lead me back to drugs- I didn't want that.... I decided to try to fast from listening to music.... eventually, it got easier, and finally it was quite liberating. I didn't need it after all."
"As I continued to read the Bible, it was clear that God loved me unconditionally. But I also found some passages that condemned the core of who I thought I was- my homosexuality." Christopher shares his testimony with a chaplain who tells him that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality and gives him a book that further clarifies it. Christopher states, "But as I started reading the book and reading the Bible passages it referred to, God's Holy Spirit convicted me that the assertions from the book were a distortion of God's truth. Reading his word, I couldn't deny his unmistakable condemnations of homosexual sex. I wasn't even able to get through the first chapter of that book, and I gave it back to the chaplain.... I was at a turning point, and a decision had to be made. Either abandon God to live as a homosexual... or abandon homosexuality... and live as a follower of Jesus Christ."
"As I continued to read the Bible, I realized that my identity shouldn't be defined by my sexuality.... My sexual orientation didn't have to be the core of who I was.... I had always thought that the opposite of homosexuality was heterosexuality. But actually the opposite of homosexuality is holiness."
"Change is not the absence of struggles; change is the freedom to choose holiness in the midst of our struggles."
I hope that you will take Christopher's thoughts and experiences to heart. Thanks for reading!
Christopher first discusses the idols in his life. "The most obvious of all the idols that I had in my life was drugs.... for some reason, the pull was no longer their for me- maybe it was because their were other idols in my life that God wanted me to deal with." "Music pulled me back to the years when I lived for going to clubs.... But nightclubs could too easily lead me back to drugs- I didn't want that.... I decided to try to fast from listening to music.... eventually, it got easier, and finally it was quite liberating. I didn't need it after all."
"As I continued to read the Bible, it was clear that God loved me unconditionally. But I also found some passages that condemned the core of who I thought I was- my homosexuality." Christopher shares his testimony with a chaplain who tells him that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality and gives him a book that further clarifies it. Christopher states, "But as I started reading the book and reading the Bible passages it referred to, God's Holy Spirit convicted me that the assertions from the book were a distortion of God's truth. Reading his word, I couldn't deny his unmistakable condemnations of homosexual sex. I wasn't even able to get through the first chapter of that book, and I gave it back to the chaplain.... I was at a turning point, and a decision had to be made. Either abandon God to live as a homosexual... or abandon homosexuality... and live as a follower of Jesus Christ."
"As I continued to read the Bible, I realized that my identity shouldn't be defined by my sexuality.... My sexual orientation didn't have to be the core of who I was.... I had always thought that the opposite of homosexuality was heterosexuality. But actually the opposite of homosexuality is holiness."
"Change is not the absence of struggles; change is the freedom to choose holiness in the midst of our struggles."
I hope that you will take Christopher's thoughts and experiences to heart. Thanks for reading!
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