Dark Obsession: The Tragedy and Threat of the Homosexual Lifestyle by Timothy J. Dailey

Dark Obsession: The Tragedy and Threat of the Homosexual Lifestyle Reviews

• 
  Chris Priestley

  "This book is not intended to be an instrument to 'bash gays.' It is a dirge--a poem of mourning for a gifted, kind, and supremely appealing soul" (151).
  
  Dailey recounts the biography of a wealthy duplicitous man that pursued him as a young man and died an untimely death of AIDS that wrecked havoc upon his wife and children. Along the way Dailey defends a biblical position on homosexuality historically, exegetically, traditionally and theologically against revisionist efforts. He further defends his argument by citing statistics and medical journals on the negative health effects of homosexual practices, the results of gay households upon children, and the correspondence of homosexuality with pedophilia.
  
  Dailey cites a wealth of helpful statistics, studies and journals that--if the data proves reliable--deserve far more publicity.
  
  Unfortunately, what the book contains in research it lacks in compassion and credibility. Where this book may serve to reinforce the views of those that hold to traditional and biblical sexual ethics, it is unlikely to successfully invite others to that view and is far less likely to be helpful to those struggling with same-sex attraction.
  
  Granted, the scope of Dailey's work is limited to exposing "the tragedy and threat of the homosexual lifestyle," but within this scope he devotes one chapter (arguably his weakest) to "Can Homosexuals Change?" Where a robust theology of sanctification and a celebration of celibacy would have served his readership well, Dailey detracts from his credibility by offering speculative arguments on the origins of same-sex attraction and supporting "reparative therapy." This book would have far more credibility (and likely compassion) if Dailey himself had experienced same-sex attraction in any capacity.
  
  "Dark Obsession" is a fascinating account of a man living a double-life of homosexuality, and the effect this life had upon his own family. Readers looking for statistics and research on the negative effects of homosexuality will find much data within these pages. Readers looking for a biblical defense of traditional sexual ethics would be better served by "Is God Anti-Gay?" by Sam Alberry or "The Bible and Homosexual Practice" by Robert Gagnon (Technical). Readers looking for a personal account of a Christian struggling with ssa while holding to traditional sexual ethics and pursuing sanctification would be served by "Washed and Waiting" by Wesley Hill.