Stranger at the gate : to be gay and Christian in America / Mel White.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

White, Mel, 1940-

Contributor:

Penn Sexuality Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Gift of the William Way LGBT Community Center (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

White, Mel, 1940-.

White, Mel.

Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches--Clergy--Biography.

Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.

Evangelicalism--United States.

Evangelicalism.

Conservatism--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Conservatism.

United States--Moral conditions.

United States.

Homosexuality--Religious aspects.

Homosexuality.

Clergy.

Moral conditions.

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

347 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Plume, 1995.

Summary:

Until Christmas Eve 1991, Mel White was regarded by the leaders of the religious right as one of their most talented and productive supporters. He penned the speeches of Ollie North. He was a ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell, worked with Jim Bakker, flew in Pat Robertson's private jet, walked sandy beaches with Billy Graham. What these men didn't know was that Mel White--evangelical minister, committed Christian, family man--was gay. In this remarkable book, Mel White details his twenty-five years of being counseled, exorcised, electric-shocked, prayed for, and nearly driven to suicide because his church said homosexuality was wrong. But his salvation--to be openly gay and Christian--is more than a unique coming-out story. It is a chilling exposé that goes right into the secret meetings and hidden agendas of the religious right. Told by an eyewitness and sure to anger those Mel White once knew best, Stranger at the Gate is a warning about where the politics of hate may lead America ... a brave book by a good man whose words can make us richer in spirit and much wiser too.--Publisher website.

Contents:

In the beginning : the ghost of silence

Adolescence : the ghost of fear

High school : the ghost of loneliness

College : the ghost of false hope

1962-64, learning to tell the truth

1964-70, learning about friendship

1970-80, taking the first steps toward integrity

1980-81, facing reality

1981, surviving infatuation and isolation

1982-83, "it's going to be all right, Dad!"

1984-90, giving up the ghost!

1990-91, one last year of silence

1991-93, a ghost no more!

1993-94, time for doing justice!

Six letters to the religious right

Author's notes, references, and resources

Epilogue.

Notes:

Originally published: New York : Simon & Schuster, 1994.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 318-319).

Local Notes:

Gift of the William Way LGBT Community Center.

ISBN:

0452273811

9780452273818

OCLC:

31328820