In 2009, the ELCA Lutherans ended a huge debate that had been going on since the 70s- do we allow non-celibate LGBTQ clergy onto our pastoral roster? It was a huge debate and caused a minor split in the church. Other churches such as the Episcopal, the UCC, and a few other denominations have also had the same debate. It has ended positively for many denominations as they became open and affirming, while some are still having the debate or came down a hard no.

I write this because recently, it seems, the Evangelical church has been entering into this debate. There have been several evangelical writers who are pushing for a more open and affirming church when it comes to the LGBTQ community. Of course the difficulty is the hard conservative (politically and theologically) stance that the Evangelical church has. So, some individual pastors have come out as being allies with their cost being their ministries. Individuals like Rob Bell, who is probably the more famous of the ministers.

All of this is preamble to Unclobber by Colby Martin. Originally published in 2016 and now out in paperback, Martin tells his story about when he came out as a ally to the LGBTQ community, after Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed, and the response from his church. He intermixes his story with exegesis on the "clobber" passages of the Bible- passages that are used by evangelicals and other conservative Christians as a hard stance against homosexuality.

While I found his story interesting, I thought his exegesis chapters were much better, but I will also state I have read better books on the subject such as What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality, which takes a more scholarly approach. I also found he focused a lot on himself rather than the many people his former church hurt with their hard stance.

I have recommended this book to individuals who are from an Evangelical church who were questioning the church's stance on homosexuality, so I do find it useful. The book speaks evangelical, so to speak. I would recommend another book if you are from a different tradition though, as many mainline churches have either already gone through the debate or are looking for a deeper theological approach. This book is pretty basic, but very approachable.

I will state for the record that I am a liberal (theologically) minded pastor who takes history into account. So, when the debate came up, I knew that the Bible doesn't actually speak to homosexuality at all, since- there are no Hebrew or Greek words for it, it wasn't a word until the 1800s, and the Biblical thought was that all were born heterosexual, so homosexuality was considered a perversion and we know differently now as we know people who are homosexual are born that way. So, my mind was made up a long time ago even before going into the "debate."

I wound up giving this one a sliding scale 3.5. By that I mean, if you are knee deep into research, you won't get much out of this one. If you are on the beginning of questioning, this book will help a lot. I was knee deep and wasn't struggling with the question, so I didn't get much additional information, but it was a good refresher.

I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read Unclobber for free. I received it in exchange for an honest review. ( )

While Martin's biblical analysis isn't bad, and the work of combatting Christian homophobia is certainly important, I would have a hard time recommending this book to anyone looking for those two things. Swapping between memoirs and Biblical criticism each chapter was distracting and confusing. The memoir chapters paint Martin as a bit of a martyr for the cause in a way that just did not rub me right. He changed jobs, took a risk, and started a new enterprise in order to live out his less homophobic Christianity. Those are all good things, but when you're talking about homophobia and the martyr of the story is the straight guy who had to learn to be less discriminatory, it just... feels like it misses the mark. I'm not even necessarily opposed to Martin being the hero of the story (good for him for starting a new, less discriminatory church!), but the picture that's painted is one where he is suffering greatly for leaving his homophobic church behind, and that just looks so weird next to the people who his homophobic past harmed.

Giving it two stars because the biblical criticism does have a place and I'm certain there are people who will benefit from it and not be as distracted by the memoir chapters as I was, but I'll especially caution other LGBT+ readers that it might just make you roll your eyes a bit too much to get across the finish line. ( )

When I hear the word clobber, I always think of Ben Grimm—the rock-giant dubbed "The Thing" from the pages of Fantastic Four. Ben would arrive on the scene in his blue Speedo, pummel the hoards of evil henchmen and shout, "It's Clobbering Time!" Ben Grimm or his speedo has very little to do with the book I'm reviewing here. Colby Martin's Unclobber was not written as an answer to comic book violence, but to the so-called clobber passages—the six passages in the Christian Bible that directly address homosexuality used by conservatives to prove the sinfulness of the gay lifestyle.

Martin is the founding pastor of Sojourn Grace Collective , a progressive Christian community in San Diego; yet Martin didn't start out as a progressive. He grew up conservative and was ordained as the worship arts pastor at a conservative evangelical Bible church. However, he became increasingly uncomfortable with the traditional view of the LGBTQ community as his passion for justice, mercy and grace grew. Then his tenure at the church ended because of one Facebook post.

Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed and Martin expressed joy on social media for what he felt was the end of a discriminatory policy. This sent shock waves through his faith community. Martin was called on the carpet and asked whether or not he believed homosexuality was a sin. He presented the elders with a ten-page paper explaining his position and reading of Scripture. He was fired even though his church had never taught publicly on homosexuality. In the aftermath, the clobber passages were quoted to him ad naseum.

Unclobber is one part memoir and one part exegetical survey. The even-numbered chapters walk through the clobber passages, unclobbering them, and providing an affirming interpretation; the odd chapters describe Martin's journey from conservative pastor to LGBTQ ally. Martin is still very much evangelical, the Bible bleeds into his story, and his testimony informs his reading of scripture. Martin wrote this book for anyone who has felt the dissonance between head and heart in their response to the LGBT community (i.e. believing the Bible clearly teaches homosexuality is a sin, but feeling affirming toward for LGBTQ neighbors and uncomfortable with some judgmental rhetoric).

Martin is an attentive reader of scripture and it is his reading of the Bible which leads him to the affirming position (when he is fired from the church, he doesn't actually have any close gay friends). In his handling of the clobber passages he engages in narrative and canonical criticism of Genesis 19 (the one narrative clobber passage), historical criticism, rhetorical criticism and linguistic analysis. The clobber passages Martin discusses are Gen 19, Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-27, 1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim 1:10.

I like this book, in part because I like memoirs of pastors getting fired. They make me feel good. Martin's story is a compelling read, he is funny and vulnerable. Martin also makes several strong cases in his handling of the clobber passages. He does a good job demonstrating Genesis 19 (the destruction of Sodom) has little to say about homosexuality (i.e. gang rape and inhospitality are much bigger issues in the text). He ascribes the Levitical prohibitions to a cultural, covenantal moment where Israel (possibly just the Levites) were instructed on how to be radically different from the nations by repudiating Canaanite practices (many of the Levitical restrictions no longer apply to us, or at least not in the same way). He sets the Romans passage within the larger argument of the epistle and asserts it is possibly a Jewish quotation which Paul uses rhetorically before addressing where his Jewish readers likewise fall short of the glory of God. With the other epistles, he discusses the nature of arkenokites and malakos (the active and passive members of a male gay relationship, or prostitute and the John?) as describing a type of homosexual practice which bears little resemblance to committed, monogamous same-sex relationships. He opens up the possibility that some types of homosexuality are condemned in scripture, though not all.

Martin doesn't dismiss these clobber passages, so much as offer an account of them which is self-consciously inclusive and gracious. I appreciate his commitment to wrestling with the scriptures he finds difficult rather than simply jettisoning the hard stuff. But conservatives and traditional interpreters won't likely find Martin's arguments compelling. He traverses similar ground similar to other pro-LGBTQ hermeneutical approaches (i.e. William Countryman, Dale Martin, Matthew Vines) which conservatives are well aware of. Occasionally I found his arguments convoluted (especially in the case of Romans). I also felt like Martin did a better job with the Old Testament passages than he did with interpreting the Pauline Epistles. Still, this remains an intelligent case for reading the Bible inclusively from a Bible-believing cisgender, heterosexual pastor. You don't see that everyday.

This is a worthwhile read whether you agree with Martin's biblical interpretation or not. Conservative Christians ought to examine these clobber passages and discover what they say (or don't say) about sexual orientation and gender. To that end, Martin is a good dialogue partner because he takes the Bible seriously and engages these texts. LGBTQ allies will appreciate Martin's story and commitment to understanding the Gospel of Grace inclusively. Those on the fence will find plenty of food for thought. So put on your blue Speedo and attack this book. "It's Unclobbering time!" I give it four stars ☆☆☆☆

Note: I received a galley copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. ( )

There are six Bible verses that are often cited in discussions about homosexuality. Colby Martin puts context around these verses. He considers the time period in which they were written and analyzes decisions made by translators. Chapters with his interpretation of the so-called Clobber verses are interspersed with chapters that tell Colby's own story as a pastor trying to find a church where he can minister in ways that are consistent with his beliefs. I grew up as an Episcopalian, but we currently are members of a United Methodist Church. The United Methodists are going to be considering changes to their views of homosexuality in the coming years, and I read this book so that I would be better able to articulate my own positions. ( )