Book in Review: "We Cannot Be Silent"

Al Mohler's new book takes a look at the warp-speed moral revolution, and how Christians under the authority of God's Word are to respond.

The opening chapters of "We Cannot Be Silent" gives the reader a fairly comprehensive history of the LGBT movement. Beginning surprisingly with contraceptives, Mohler shows how separating sex from child bearing has really been the foundation of the new revolution. "Once human beings were able to have sex without children and children without sex, marriage simply becomes a lifestyle option." Compounded with divorce rates and adultery, marriage was increasingly undermined in 20th century. Mohler points out that this revolution was only possible "because vast moral, intellectual, and cultural changes were already underway even as a large majority of Americans held a negative judgment on homosexuality."

With the stage set, the revolution has not only taken off--it has flown by! As a millennial myself, I have observed the massive shift in public sentiment towards homosexuality within the last 10 years. "Homophobia is now the new mental illness and moral deficiency, while homosexuality is accepted as the new normal." The church today is under substantial pressure to conform and to "tolerate"--and many have. Dr. Mohler reminds us that the problem with this cultural Christianity "is that the culture always predominates over the Christianity." Unless believers are rooted in the authority of God's Word they will cave to the societal pressures of the day.

Mohler continues the book telling what the Christian response should be to this revolution. I found this part of the book most helpful. "We should not be surprised that we live in a world that is at war with God's truth to rationalize lust." Why would we expect any different? Our response is two fold: compassion and truth. There is truth in compassion and compassion in truth. In John 1 we see the Word coming from the Father full of "grace and truth" and that communicates the perfect balance we need to have when we address such issues. I think the church has often wrongly stood either exclusively on the compassion side (we accept you) or the truth side (you are a sinner)--we need to bring both.

Mohler reminds us that we are all sexually broken creatures. We all have fallen "orientations" and tendencies. We are in need of a Savior. Though this revolution is a great threat to the church, Mohler does well to remind the reader it is also is also a great opportunity. The illusion of a moral majority is finally gone. We are strangers in a land where Christians are looking increasingly strange! This is a good thing, as we have an opportunity now to communicate the blessed gospel out of a place of cultural marginalization. We can no longer be comfortable Christians. We are living in exile. Now is the time to speak and live the truth.

All in all this a great book from a man I respect. I thought that his use of terms like sexual "orientation" and "identity" were a bit excessive as sexuality was never associated with identity until the 20th century. Sexuality was always something you did not something you were. This may ignore the disproportionate value our culture places on sex. With that being said Dr. Mohler's book is an excellent call for the church to be the church. I recommend it especially for pastors and church leaders.

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