Book Review of The Good Book by Peter Gomes

Peter Gomes recent death put him in the news and made many newly aware of his life and legacy as a preacher, teacher, and public Christian. Gomes was, first and foremost, a preacher. His book reflects the kind of week in, week out wrestling with scripture most preachers experience. He seems to have two audiences in mind--intellectual non-Christians whose passing familiarity with the Bible has made them resistant to it, and literalist Christians who have failed to embrace the cultural and literary complexity of the Bible. Gomes affirms the authority and spiritual vitality of scripture. He clearly loves the Bible and has had a lover's conversation with the Bible for a lifetime. At the same time, he describes the dangers of literalistic readings, demonstrating that a purely literal reading of the Bible affirms such universally abhorred practices as slavery. The historical work on this subject is very good and very thorough.

The book is best known for Gomes's conversation about homosexuality. His reflections on the subject were probably very progressive for the time the book was published, particularly since he writes as a person with a high view of scripture and respect for the authority of the Bible. It would be a mistake to judge the book by one's opinions about one small chapter in a large book, because evangelicals could learn a lot about helpful ways to approach scripture seriously and thoughtfully, no matter what their opinions might be concerning homosexuality and the Bible. In no way does Gomes take a "God loves everybody so let's throw out anything in the Bible that doesn't sound nice" approach. Evangelicals could certainly find food for thought on this contentious subject from Gomes thoughtful reflections. Gomes acknowledged he had a homosexual orientation even as he lived a celibate life, but became an advocate for same-sex unions/marriage equality. His book maintains a balance of affirmation of the physical aspects of sexual love while maintaining that the Gospel requires the believer to submit all aspects of life to Christian discipleship.

Perhaps the book's greatest weakness is that Gomes kept writing after he was finished. For example, the chapter on "The Bible and Temptation" offered nothing about the nature of the Bible per se, but only reflections on temptation that might be found in any devotional book on the subject.

Readers should be aware that though the book has a scholarly feel, Gomes is a preacher first and academic second. His approach is much different than a scholar writing for a general audience, such as NT Wright's "The Last Word." His reflections are the thoughts of an engaged preacher using and quoting academic resources in an illustrative manner.